Nov. 22, 2009
Contact: Greg Murphy
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Liz Fazio had a double-double of 15 kills and 19 digs, but Cleveland State fell to Milwaukee, 3-1, in the Horizon League Championship match on Sunday afternoon in Woodling Gym.
It is the second straight season that the Panthers defeated CSU to win the league title and automatic berth to the NCAA Championship.
CSU fell to 26-8 overall, while Milwaukee, which has won 11 straight, improved to 16-14.
Sophomore setter Jordan Goad and junior middle hitter Amy Benz were both named to the all-tournament team.
"Congratulations to Milwaukee," head coach Chuck Voss said. "They played well today and showed why they were the preseason pick to win the league. They are really on a roll and really played with a lot of passion and energy.
"It's disappointing to fall short of our ultimate goal, but we had a lot of success this season, winning 26 matches. We know that we are going to have to work harder this winter and next spring to get back here next year."
Match scores were 27-25, 19-25, 25-19, 25-13.
The Vikings could not get its offense on track for most of the match, committing 31 attack errors and hitting just .112, the second lowest percentage of the season.
The first set was the most exciting, featuring 14 ties and six lead changes, as CSU fought off two set points by the Panthers. However, following a CSU attack error, a Natalie Schmitting kill gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
CSU took control of the second set, racing out to a 6-1 lead. After UWM fought back to within 10-9, the Vikings scored three straight to extend the lead back to four points on a Fazio kill as CSU tied the match at one set apiece.
However, Milwaukee scored the first four points of the third set, pushing the lead to as many as eight points, and jumped out to a 10-1 lead in the fourth set, en route to claiming their sixth league tournament title.
CSU never led in either of the final two sets.
Benz finished with 12 kills, while Beth Greulich added 11. Goad handed out 42 assists with 11 digs and Amy Grabiec notched 18 digs.
Maddie Sueppel totaled 16 kills and Schmitting added 11, while Lauren Felsing made a match-best 20 digs.
