Sept. 21, 1999

NORMAL, Ill. - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee volleyball team defeated Illinois State, 3-1, in a hard-fought contest at the Redbird Arena in Normal, Ill. The Panthers up their record to 11-1, with their only loss to No. 13 Wisconsin-Madison on Sept. 18. The Redbirds drop to 4-7 overall. The Panthers tallied 88 team kills and 106 digs to set a new Redbird Arena team single match kills and digs records.

On offense, Ericka Malterer led the Panthers with 21 kills. She also had 20 digs, 7 assists and one block assist.

Defensively, Laura Dallenbach led the team with 31 digs?matching her UWM single-match record high set last season and setting a new Redbird Arena digs record. She also was second to Malterer in kills with 19. Sue Raschka and Chrissy Schurla hit the double digits in kills, with 15 and 14 respectively.

In the first game, the two teams traded leads, remaining within a two points of one another, until the Redbirds pulled ahead to lead, 14-10. But the Panthers came back to take the lead 15-14, before finally taking the game, 17-15. In game two, ISU took an early, 8-3, lead. The Panthers brought it back within three, but the Panthers were not able to keep their momentum, dropping the game, 10-15. In the third game, the teams battled point for point, remaining within two points of one another throughout the game, until the Panthers took control of the game, taking it 15-8. The two teams again kept it close in game four, with the Panthers taking the game, 16-14, to give them the match.

?I thought it was a great match,? said head coach Kathy Litzau. ?Illinois State is tough and scrappy, and I'm proud of the way we stuck with it during long rallies and were able to transition off them.?

The Panthers return home Friday, Sept. 24, for their conference opener against Cleveland State, at 7 p.m. in the Klotsche Center.