Nov. 30, 2001

MADISON, Wis. - Erin Byrd had 16 kills and Sherisa Livingston added 13 as sixth-ranked Wisconsin collected a 30-19, 30-15, 30-27 win over UWM Friday night in front of 5,115 noisy fans at the UW Fieldhouse in first round NCAA Tournament action.

Tari Boutin led UWM (20-8) with eight kills, while Laura Dallenbach added six.

After dropping the first two games, it looked like the Panthers might restart their upset bid in game three. UWM turned a 9-5 deficit into a 19-14 lead thanks to a 14-5 run. Boutin had four kills during the run, much of which was sparked the service of Robin Alt. But, following a timeout, the Badgers (26-3) responded, tying the match at 19 with five straight points. The Panthers did not go away, though, fighting back from a 28-24 deficit to pull within 28-27 following a Lindsey Spoden block. But, the Badgers scored the final two points to wrap up the match.

"I'm just really proud of my team," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "In the last game we played, we really fought to the end. We were serving very aggressively. We said, 'Let's go down swinging.'

"If you're going to end your season, you want to go down fighting," Litzau added. "We fought all the way into the stands on that last ball."

The Badgers never trailed in game one, gradually expanding a 6-4 lead into a 16-7 lead. UWM pushed back, closing to within 20-12 and 21-13 on kills by Boutin, and UWM then pulled within 23-16 on a Badger error. Wisconsin closed the game strong, though, building a 28-17 lead and cruising to the finish.

In game two, the Badgers scored 11 of the final 13 points of the game to pull away for an easy win. UWM had pulled within 19-13 on a kill by Boutin before the Badgers started their run. Livingston wrapped up the game by pounding a free ball into the back row.

But following the break between games two and three, the Panthers responded with their best volleyball of the match, limiting Wisconsin to a .156 hitting percentage in game three and forcing eight Badger errors.

"In volleyball a lot of it is about making the other team make errors," Litzau said. "We really started to put them in difficult positions with our serve and our attack and we really had the momentum."

The 5,115 fans at the match Friday night are the most ever to witness a Panther volleyball match.

Wisconsin advances to a second-round match with Michigan State, a winner in four games in the first match of the day against Notre Dame. That match will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday at the UW Fieldhouse.