Oct. 4, 2002

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Tari Boutin and Larissa Cattanach each recorded career-highs in kills and Cattanach set a school-record for hitting percentage in a four-game match while leading UWM to a 29-31, 30-17, 30-19, 30-19 victory over Youngstown State Friday night at the Klotsche Center.

Boutin collected 20 kills in just her second match of the season after missing the first 15 with a broken finger. Cattanach added 18 kills and hit .692 for the match, the best mark ever for a Panther in a four-game contest.

Sarah Potts and Karen Fruit each added 13 kills as UWM (7-10, 2-1 Horizon) landed four players in double figures to help overcome a sluggish start and dominate the final three games of the match. Potts also had 19 digs to record her ninth double-double of the season.

Plus, junior Lindsey Spoden spearheaded the attack with 62 assists, becoming just the second Panther in the school's Division I history to record 3,000 assists in her career.

Nickole Kennedy led the Penguins (8-10, 0-2) with 13 kills while Colleen Royer had 10.

"We haven't had four hitters in double figures this season until tonight. Certainly Tari found her groove swinging high," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "Larissa only had one blocker on her the majority of the time, and most of the year she's had two blockers on her, so it has been hard for her to score. Lindsey really went after that and really was smart throughout the match in making the right sets."

The Panthers fell behind early in game one, seeing the Penguins score 11 of the first 16 points in the frame. UWM rallied to within 23-22 on a kill by Potts, but the Penguins pushed their advantage back to 25-22 following a UWM service error and a Panther attack error. UWM fought back to tie the game at 28 and again at 29, but the Penguins closed out the game on a kill by Annie Buschur and a UWM attack error.

UWM would not stumble again, tallying dominating performances in games two through four. The Panthers wasted little time in taking control of game two, scoring seven-straight points to build a 14-5 advantage. The Penguins closed back to within 17-11, but a six-point Panther run, including kills by Boutin and Cattanach, put the game away. The Panthers then closed out the game on a kill by Fruit.

In game three, the Panthers broke open a frame that was tight early with a 7-1 burst that gave UWM a 19-12 lead. Youngstown rallied to within 19-14, but the Panthers pushed back, scoring 11 of the final 16 points of the game. Cattanach closed out the game with a kill. Boutin had eight kills in the game as the Panthers hit .444, recording 18 kills and just two hitting errors.

UWM gradually built its lead in game four, turning a 10-9 edge into a 14-9 lead following back-to-back kills by Cattanach and Fruit and a service ace by Molly McNab. A Boutin kill made it 17-10 and a pair of kills by Potts pushed the advantage to 24-14. The Panthers then closed out the match with four of the final five points, as Boutin recorded two kills, McNab tallied another service ace and Cattanach capped things off with her 18th kill of the match.

The Panthers, who won for the 60th time in their last 62 home matches, return to action Saturday afternoon, hosting Cleveland State at 2 p.m. in the Klotsche Center.