Nov. 15, 2002

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Tari Boutin had 15 kills to lead a balanced Panther attack as UWM overcame a red-hot start by UIC to claim a 27-30, 30-27, 30-22, 30-23 win Friday night at the Klotsche Center.

With the victory, the Panthers (17-12, 11-2 Horizon) remained one game behind Loyola for the top spot in the league standings on the final weekend of the regular season. The Ramblers beat UW-Green Bay in three games tonight to claim a share of the league crown, but UWM would also claim a share of the title and the top seed in next week's Horizon League Tournament with a win over Loyola tomorrow afternoon at the Klotsche Center.

Larissa Cattanach had 13 kills while Sarah Potts and Karen Fruit added 12 for the Panthers, who saw UIC hit .361 in the first game then drop to .056 in game two, .082 in game three and -.029 in game four. Setter Lindsey Spoden had a stellar all-around match for the Panthers, collecting seven kills and eight digs to go with 41 assists. She also hit .455 for the match and had three blocks.

Lindsey Filkins had 14 kills, Teaha Shepperd 12 and Lara Clarkson 10 to lead the Flames (19-13, 6-7), who remained one game behind Green Bay for third place in the league.

"We really struggled passing the ball tonight, but the fact that we were able to be out of system and still get good swings really made the difference for us in the last three games," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "UIC pushed us and this was definitely one of the most hard-fought matches by both teams we've had in this gym this year."

The Panthers were also greatly assisted by some stellar defense. Fruit had 14 digs and a career-high eight blocks while Boutin added 12 blocks and Potts 10. The Panthers had 12 blocks as a team and limited UIC to an overall hitting percentage of .115.

Game one was tied at 25, 26 and 27 before UIC scored the final three points of the game to get the win. But the Panthers bounced back in game two, first building a 16-11 advantage following back-to-back service aces by Spoden. Then after UIC closed back to within 16-14, the Panthers extended the advantage to 22-15 and still led 26-22 late in the game. UIC rallied to within 26-25 and again to within 27-26, but the Panthers closed out the game thanks to a kill by Potts and three UIC errors.

UWM was eventually able to gain more control of games three and four. In game three, UWM turned a 13-12 lead into a 17-12 advantage with a brief run, then pushed the lead all the way to 27-18 following three-straight UIC errors. The Panthers then closed out the game on kills by Cattanach and Boutin. In game four, the contest stayed tight much of the way with UWM holding just a 19-18 lead and, even after a brief run, still led just 26-23. But the Panthers scored the final four points of the game to close out the match and turn their attention toward trying to win a share of the league title Saturday.

"I told the team, 'There's one to go, it's our gym, this is where we want to be right now. Let's take care of it,'" Litzau said.

Saturday's match with Loyola begins at 4 p.m.