Oct. 26, 2002

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Tari Boutin had 19 kills as UWM gained sole possession of first place in the Horizon League with a 30-20, 30-27, 30-16 win over Wright State Saturday afternoon at the Klotsche Center.

Larissa Cattanach added 11 kills, Sarah Potts nine and Karen Fruit eight as the Panthers (13-11, 8-1 Horizon) won for the eighth-straight time in league play and moved one-half game ahead of idle Loyola in the league standings.

Eboni Kidd had 10 kills to lead the Raiders (14-9, 4-5), who hit just .169 in the match and had 10 service errors. The Raiders had beaten the Panthers in three games to start the league season in September, but UWM has not lost in league play since.

"It shows how far we've come in a month," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "I think we're getting better. This is easily the best weekend Tari has had since coming back from her injury, and she has elevated the play of our entire team. Her play is making everyone else better."

UWM controlled game one from the start, jumping out to an 11-7 lead following back-to-back kills by Spoden and Rachel Kuebbing. The lead grew to 18-10 after another kill by Spoden and, after Wright State closed back to within 21-15, the Panthers rolled off five of the next six points to grab a 26-16 advantage. UWM then closed out the game on a kill by Cattanach.

Game two was tight throughout, with no team holding more than a four-point advantage. The Raiders grabbed a 12-10 lead following kills by Kidd and McKenzie Tiffin before UWM again tied the game at 12. The frame would then be tied at 13, 14, 15 and 16 before the Panthers broke free, grabbing the lead for good at 17-16 on a Cattanach kill. The lead hit 23-19 on a Boutin kill before Wright State pulled back to within 26-25 following an attack error by Potts. But the Panthers rebuilt a 28-25 a following a kill by Fruit and closed out the game on a kill by Kuebbing.

The Panthers easily won game three, building a 12-4 advantage after scoring eight-straight points. The Raiders closed back to within 14-9, but the Panthers ran off five more points in a run that included two kills by Boutin and kills by Kuebbing and Fruit. The lead grew to 24-11 following another Boutin kill and UWM closed out the match on back-to-back kills by Potts and Fruit.

The Raiders, who were already playing without senior Karis Day, lost setter Mandy Gels to an injury midway through the first game. Wright State was the pre-season pick to win the Horizon League but now sits four matches back of the Panthers with just five regular-season matches remaining.

"I certainly feel for Wright State because of their injuries, since we were in a similar situation earlier this year and still are to some extent," Litzau said. "We sat back some in the second game and created a lot of positive opportunities for them. But we took care of business."

UWM returns to action next Friday night, playing at Cleveland State in a 6 p.m. CST contest.