Oct. 28, 2000

MILWAUKEE - The UWM women's volleyball team scored a 15-10, 15-11, 9-15, 15-6, win over Loyola Chicago Saturday, moving into a first-place tie with the Ramblers and winning for the ninth straight time.

The Panthers (18-3) are now 8-1 in the MCC, and handed the Ramblers (15-8, 8-1 MCC) their first league loss. UWM also won for the 42nd time in its last 43 home matches.

"It was a big battle. Both teams came to play," coach Kathy Litzau said. "We did all the right things. I thought we were able to stay very aggressive and very focused."

Loyola bolted out to a 5-1 lead in game one, but the Panthers fought back to tie at 5-5 and again at 9-9, before scoring six of the game's final seven points. Setter Lindsey Spoden delivered kills for the final three points. In game two, the Panthers broke free from an 8-all score with seven of the final 10 points of the game.

The Panthers led only briefly in game three, then broke a 4-4 tie with three straight points in game four. UWM closed out game four and the match with seven straight points.

The win avenged a three-set loss to Loyola in September.

"In the first matchup, we backed off and didn't push through their block," Litzau said. "Today, we did push through. Our serve was wonderful, and we really took them out of their offense."

Junior Laura Dallenbach led a balanced Panther attack with 16 kills, while four other Panthers had at least 10 kills. The Panthers also recorded 11 team blocks, and junior Chrissy Schurla led the team with 15 digs.

The Panthers host Valparaiso Tuesday, then travel to Wright State and Butler for a difficult MCC doubleheader next weekend.

"Next week might be tougher than the last two weeks with all of the ranked teams," Litzau said. "We'll be playing some very good MCC teams on the road."