Sept. 1, 2001

Stats

NORMAL, Ill. - Louisville's defense limited UWM to a .085 attack percentage and forced 29 UWM hitting errors en route to a 30-15, 30-24, 30-27 victory at the Barker GMC Classic at Illinois State.

Tari Boutin led the Panthers (1-1) with 12 kills, while Chrissy Schurla added nine kills and 11 digs. Sonja Percan led a balanced Louisville (2-0) attack with 11 kills and three other Cardinals had at least seven kills. UWM was hurt by nine service errors and just three service aces, while the Cardinals tallied nine service aces.

The Cardinals (2-0), ranked 26th in the nation and picked to win Conference USA, controlled the match from the outset.

"We had a hard time finishing," UWM coach Kathy Litzau said. "We could keep our focus for a few points, and then we would lose it for a few points. Maybe right now that's the difference between a Top 25 team and where we're at. We'll see."

Louisville had an easy time in game one, scoring seven straight points to break a 9-all tie and take control of the game. The Cardinals wound up scoring the final nine points of the game as the Panthers hit -.027 in the game and committed 11 hitting errors. Louisville, meanwhile, hit .367 in the first game and committed just one error.

UWM grabbed a 9-8 lead early in game two and eventually pushed the advantage to 15-10 on a Laura Dallenbach service ace. But, the Cardinals rallied, regaining a 17-16 advantage by scoring seven of the next eight points in the game. The Panthers led for a final time at 21-20, but Louisville broke a 23-all tie by scoring seven of the final eight points in the game - four points coming on UWM errors.

In game three, Louisville broke free from a 13-all tie to build a 23-17 advantage. The Panthers rallied to within 27-24, then pulled to within 29-27 on a Lindsey Spoden kill. But, a Boutin attack into the net closed out the match for the Cardinals, who will claim the Barker GMC Classic championship with a win over UMKC later Saturday afternoon.

Key for the Cardinals was the job they did defensively on UWM's reigning league player of the year Laura Dallenbach, limiting the star senior to just two kills and a -.381 hitting percentage.

"We didn't have Laura," Litzau said. "Louisville was throwing a triple block at her. Everyone knows she's one of our best players. I'm sure Louisville's blockers were told to just go to number eight.

"We know she'll bounce back and Chrissy and Tari stepped up nicely. But we just didn't have that left-side attack."

Freshman Karen Fruit made her debut in a Panther uniform during the first game and later received extended playing time in the third game. She collected her first three collegiate digs.

UWM wraps up play in the Barker GMC Classic later tonight against the hosts from Illinois State. The Redbirds (0-1) were scheduled to face UMKC (1-0) this afternoon after losing to Louisville last night.