Oct. 12, 2001

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Laura Dallenbach and Julie Yankus collected 12 kills apiece to lead a balanced UWM attack in a 30-25, 30-21, 30-18 win over UW-Green Bay Friday night at the Klotsche Center.

Chrissy Schurla added 11 kills for the Panthers (10-5, 6-1 Horizon), who won for the sixth straight time overall and for the 50th time in their last 52 home matches. UWM has also won 14 straight over UWGB.

Crystal Necech led the Phoenix (11-5, 4-3) with 12 kills.

"As beat up as we are, I am so happy we're 6-1 right now," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said of her team, which has lost middle hitter Larissa Cattanach for the year and has numerous other players - including defending league player of the year Laura Dallenbach - suffering from various injuries. "I'm actually breathing a sigh of relief. We get a long weekend and some time to recover, and then the second half of the season starts in a big way Friday with Loyola."

UWM gained control of the match with a stirring comeback in game one. The Phoenix bolted to a 16-9 advantage and still led 22-17 following a service error by Lindsey Spoden. But, the Panthers brought their share of the season-high Klotsche Center crowd of 603 to its feet by scoring 13 of the final 16 points in the game. The Panthers took the lead for good on a block by Carly Allison and Yankus, then closed out the match with a kill by Schurla and a block by Schurla and Spoden.

"I felt like we prepared well for this match and had great, focused practices all week," UWGB head coach Debbie Kirch said. "It showed with the great start in game one, but it just unravelled."

"Green Bay came out very strong, and I felt like everything that could go wrong for us did in game one," Litzau said. "But you just figure, in your gym, that's not going to last."

UWM controlled games two and three. The Panthers scored six straight points to break a 14-all tie in game two and UWGB never pulled closer than four points. A Dallenbach kill made it 29-21 before the Panthers won the game on an attack error by Jessie Theys.

The Panthers bolted to a quick start in game three and never looked back in claiming the match. UWM captured leads of 6-2, 10-3, 14-6 and 25-14 while pulling away. The Phoenix made a brief run in the middle of the game to pull within 17-14, but UWM scored eight straight points on serves by Robin Alt. In the run, Alt had one ace while Yankus and Schurla had two kills apiece.

"Robin Alt really did help change the match early on, and she played well throughout," Litzau said. "She came up big on the defensive side and her play in the front row was a big key."

UWM returns to action Friday night, welcoming league-leading Loyola to the Klotsche Center for a 7 p.m. match.