UW-Milwaukee wins League Championship with sweep over UIC

Dayton, Ohio - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee won the Horizon League Volleyball Championship and the League's automatic entry into the NCAA tournament by sweeping the University of Illinois at Chicago, 30-24, 30-23, 30-22. 

The Panthers were unstoppable at the net, hitting .302 for the match.  Senior Monica Ferguson had a career day for the Panthers, posting 17 kills with a .387 hitting percentage.  Senior Melissa David put up 13 kills, while sophomore Becky Peters led the defensive effort with 16 digs.

Senior Ambria Springer recorded 14 kills for the Flames, while UIC hit just .140 in the loss. 

Both teams made lengthy runs in the first game, before UW-Milwaukee pulled away midway through.  Senior Monica Ferguson recorded four kills in game one to fuel the Panther attack.

Ferguson then doubled that performance at the net in game two, pounding eight kills to lead the Panthers to the win.  At one point, UW-Milwaukee won as many as six-straight points, as UIC committed several errors.  The Panthers put the match away in game three despite a late run by UIC. 

UW-Milwaukee's Sarah Moore was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, leading a group of outstanding performers for the All-Tournament Team.  Moore was joined by teammates Melissa David and Monica Ferguson.  UIC had two players on the team as Katie Kozak and Ambria Springer garnered the honors along with UW-Green Bay's Abby Bergsma.    

2006 Horizon League All-Tournament Team

Sarah Moore, UW-Milwaukee (MVP)

Abby Bergsma, UW-Green Bay

Melissa David, UW-Milwaukee

Monica Ferguson, UW-Milwaukee

Katie Kozak, UIC

Ambria Springer, UIC

2006 Horizon League Championships Results

First Round - Nov. 17

Match 1: No. 3 Cleveland State 3, No. 6 Loyola 0 (30-28, 30-17, 30-21)

Match 2: No. 2 UIC 3, No. 7 Butler 0 (30-20, 30-22, 30-14)

Match 3: No. 1 UW-Milwaukee 3, No. 8 Youngstown State 0 (30-26, 30-25, 30-19)

Match 4: No. 4 UW-Green Bay 3, No. 5 Wright State 0 (30-25, 33-31, 30-19)

Semifinals - Nov. 18

Match 5: No. 2 UIC 3, No. 3 Cleveland State 2 (28-30, 30-25, 23-30, 30-26, 16-14)

Match 6: No. 1 UW-Milwaukee 3, No. 4 UW-Green Bay 1 (30-24, 35-37, 30-23, 30-26)

Final - Nov. 19

Match 7: No. 1 UW-Milwaukee 3, No. 2 UIC 0 (30-24, 30-23, 30-22)