Oct. 26, 2001

Box Score

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.- Robin Alt recorded a career-high 13 kills as UWM kept its share of first place in the Horizon League with a 30-24, 20-30, 30-23, 30-25 win over Butler Friday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Chrissy Schurla added nine kills, 10 digs and four blocks while Laura Dallenbach pitched-in with 16 digs and five service aces for the Panthers (13-5, 9-1 Horizon). Allison Cox and Andrea King had 15 kills apiece for Butler (9-8, 5-5).

"Robin really came through," head coach Kathy Litzau said. "Her hitting down the stretch was obviously a key. I thought she did a great job.

"It was a streaky match. They were streaky and we were streaky, but I give my team credit - it did what it needed to do to win. But sometimes it can be frustrating when you know you are capable of so much more."

UWM controlled games three and four in winning its ninth straight match.

The Panthers grabbed a 5-4 advantage in game three and never trailed the rest of the way. UWM's advantage was as large as 24-11 and the Panthers held off a late Bulldog rally to claim the game. UWM won the game with defense, limiting the Bulldogs to a .000 hitting percentage and recording five blocks.

Game four was tight throughout. Following nine ties, the Panthers broke free from a 23-all deadlock with four straight points, two on kills by Alt. Another Alt kill kept the advantage at 28-24 and the Panthers closed out the match on kills by Schurla and Tari Boutin.

"I thought our serve was a big key in the win," Litzau said as the Panthers recorded 11 service aces. "Our hitting wasn't anything great and sometimes I felt like we sat back and waited for Butler to make a mistake."

The Panthers also benefited from great depth, with 11 players seeing action in the match. Boutin entered in the middle of the second game and collected six kills and three blocks in one of her best efforts of late.

"Tari is just so athletic. She's an option almost anywhere," Litzau said. "She came through hitting and blocking. She was very poised and she was very aggressive. She did a great job."

The teams split the first two games of the match. UWM overcame a slow start to win game one. The Panthers trailed by scores of 7-2, 11-6 and 15-10 before rallying with five straight points to tie the game at 15-all. UWM claimed the lead for good at 21-20 on a Chrissy Schurla ace, then saw the lead expand to 25-21 following another Schurla ace and a block and kill by Dallenbach. Butler pulled to within 25-22, but the Panthers scored the next four points to put the game away.

The Bulldogs controlled game two from the outset, never trailing after breaking a 2-2 tie. Butler built their advantage to 14-8, and after UWM closed to within 15-12, the Bulldogs embarked on a 9-1 run to grab an insurmountable 24-13 lead.

The Panthers return to action tomorrow afternoon, traveling to Wright St. for a battle with the third-place Raiders. The match begins at 3 p.m. central time.

"We know Wright St. will play a much more aggressive game," Litzau said. "Their tempo will be faster and they won't be as streaky. We'll have to be focused and really fight. It will be a tough match."