Oct. 25, 2002

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Tari Boutin had a career-high 28 kills to lead UWM to a 30-17, 30-25, 25-30, 30-18 win over Butler Friday night at the Klotsche Center.

Boutin hit .449 in collecting the third-most kills in a match in Panther history. She also added 10 digs and four blocks. Sarah Potts tallied 17 kills and 15 digs while Larissa Cattanach had 13 kills and six blocks as UWM (12-11, 7-1 Horizon) won its seventh-straight league match to stay atop the Horizon League standings.

Laura Klancnik led Butler with 12 kills while Keely Norris and Kali Carter added 10 apiece for the Bulldogs (11-14, 4-4).

"Tari certainly had a great match," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "I love the fact that, after hitting negative against Northern Iowa on Tuesday, she came out tonight confident and hitting high and hard."

The Panthers controlled the first game from the outset, grabbing a 10-3 advantage and never being seriously threatened after that. The lead hit 20-12 following a kill by Potts and moved to 25-16 on a kill by Rachel Kuebbing. The Panthers then closed out the game on consecutive kills by Kuebbing, Boutin and Cattanach.

UWM broke open game two with a run midway through the frame. Butler had pulled to within 12-11 on a kill by Klancnik but the Panthers responded by scoring seven of the next eight points for a 19-12 lead. Much of the run came on the jump serve of Fruit and included two kills by Boutin. After Butler closed to within 27-24, UWM closed out the game on two kills by Potts and a kill by Boutin.

Butler turned the tables in game three, bursting to a 10-4 lead and never really allowing the Panthers back in the game. The lead eventually grew to 15-6 before UWM began to threaten, pulling within 17-12 on back-to-back kills by Potts and again to within 18-13 on a kill by Fruit. But the Bulldogs ran back out to a 25-16 lead following back-to-back kills by Klancnik and held on from there.

UWM fell down, 3-1, in the fourth game but recovered to take a 13-8 lead following a short burst that included two kills by Boutin and a kill by Cattanach. The lead grew to 19-11 following a kill by Fruit and then to 23-12 following three-straight kills by Boutin. Butler closed back to within 24-18, but the Panthers closed the game with six-straight points, the final two coming on service aces by Gina Petersen.

"I think we started off playing great then pulled back some in the second game waiting for Butler to hand us the match," Litzau said. "I think once we saw in the third game and in the first few points of the fourth they weren't going to do that, we came out fired up and played great. I was impressed with the way we bounced back and took control of the fourth game."

UWM returns to action Saturday afternoon, facing Wright State at 4 p.m. at the Klotsche Center.