The Milwaukee Panthers completed their historic run through the conference gauntlet Sunday afternoon with a 3-0 sweep of Cleveland State to win the 2011 Horizon League Volleyball Championship.
Milwaukee (25-4) went 16-0 in the regular season, the first time since 1994 to accomplish that feat, and then did not drop a set in either of its tournament matches.
The Panthers defense was outstanding in Sunday’s final as Milwaukee held Cleveland State to a .102 hitting percentage for the match and limited All-League member Kara Koch, who had set a tournament record with 34 kills in CSU’s semifinal win over Butler, to just nine kills and a .028 hitting percentage.
Junior Elizabeth Egerer was named MVP of the tournament after posting a team-high 15 kills in the championship match. Egerer also led the team in Saturday’s semifinals win over Valparaiso with 12 kills.
Milwaukee used an early run in the first set to establish control of the frame. The Panthers and Vikings were tied at six when the Panthers went on a 5-0 run to take a lead CSU was never able to recover from. Kerri Schuh, two-time Player of the Year, and freshman Julie Kolinske had five kills to lead the Panthers who hit .333 in the opening frame.
In the second set, Milwaukee ran out to a 6-1 lead and led comfortably throughout the set to edge closer to the win. The Vikings went on a 5-0 run late in the set to cut a 22-14 Milwaukee lead to 22-19, but Cleveland State committed three attack errors to hand Milwaukee the final three points it needed.
In the third set, Cleveland State leaped out to a 4-1 lead, but Milwaukee answered with a 4-1 run of its own to tie the match at five. With the match knotted at seven, Milwaukee ran off four straight points to take control of the set and cruise to their third championship in four seasons. The finishing touch was done by the tournament MVP as Egerer slammed a kill to clinch the match.
Joining Egerer on the All-Tournament team was teammates Kolinske and Kayla Price. Cleveland State was represented by Koch and Jackie Dabbelt. The seven-member team was rounded out by Butler’s Maureen Bamiro and Valparaiso’s Taylor Root.
Milwaukee will find out its next opponent next Sunday at 6 p.m. ET when the NCAA Selection Show airs on ESPNews.
All-Tournament Team
Elizabeth Egerer, Milwaukee (MVP)
Julie Kolinske, Milwaukee
Kayla Price, Milwaukee
Jackie Dabbelt, Cleveland State
Kara Koch, Cleveland State
Maureen Bamiro, Butler
Taylor Root, Valparaiso
