Nov. 16, 2002

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Loyola claimed the outright Horizon League regular season championship thanks to a 28-30, 30-28, 25-30, 30-25, 15-9 win over UWM Saturday afternoon at the Klotsche Center.

Tari Boutin had 25 kills to lead the Panthers (17-13, 11-3), who will be the second seed in next week's Horizon League Tournament in Green Bay. The Ramblers (25-4, 13-1), who avoided sharing the title with UWM, were led by Shari Davis' 23 kills.

Sarah Potts added 18 kills, Larissa Cattanach 14 and Karen Fruit 13 for the Panthers. Setter Lindsey Spoden also had seven kills and a team-high 18 digs to go with 63 assists for UWM. Kristen Daly pitched in with 18 kills and Nichol Amberg 14 for Loyola. Setter Lauren Holbrook had 61 assists and 16 digs plus six kills.

UWM appeared in control of the match after three games but Loyola rallied by committing just eight hitting errors in the final two games and hitting .353 in the fifth game.

"I think Loyola's low error total in games four and five was the difference," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "We didn't give ourselves a chance in the fourth or fifth game. I thought the first three games were awesome, but in games four and five we backed off a little bit and wanted them to hand us the win. Loyola isn't going to do that. We weren't the same team in the last two games that we were in the first three."

The Panthers grabbed a 5-4 lead in the deciding fifth game on a kill by Boutin, but Loyola quickly struck back with three-straight points to grab a 7-5 edge and force a Panther timeout. UWM then tied the game at 7 and 8 before the Ramblers grabbed control, scoring four-straight points for a 12-8 advantage. A Potts kill pulled UWM to within 12-9 but the Ramblers closed out the game and the match on kills by Daly and Amberg and a service ace by Daly.

The two teams split the first two games after playing evenly much of the way. The Panthers clawed back from a 23-19 deficit in the first game to tie things at 23 following a Rambler error. The game was then tied at 24, 25 and 28 before UWM closed out the game on kills by Potts and Cattanach. Game two also nearly went the way of the Panthers after UWM fought back from being down 24-20 to tie the game at 26 on a kill by Fruit. The game was tied at 27 and 28 before Loyola evened the match as UWM committed back-to-back hitting errors for the final two points of the game.

UWM won the third game after gaining control midway through. The Panthers turned a 13-12 lead into an 18-12 lead thanks to five-straight points, three coming on Rambler attack errors. Loyola rallied to within 18-16 and eventually pulled within 24-23. But the Panthers closed strong, rebuilding a 27-23 lead before closing out the game on back-to-back kills by Boutin.

The Ramblers then forced a fifth game with a strong effort in game four. Loyola bolted to a 6-2 lead and at one point led 21-14. The Panthers rallied to within 23-18 but Loyola again surged, claiming a 27-19 advantage on an ace by Carrie Culos. After the Ramblers pushed things to game point at 29-21, the Panthers scored four-straight points before a kill by Davis forced the fifth game.

UWM's defense played a big hand in giving the Panthers their chance to win. Along with 12.5 blocks, the Panthers recorded a season-high 84 digs. Along with Spoden's 18 digs, Fruit and Boutin had 17 and Potts had 14.

The Panthers now turn their attention toward the Horizon League Tournament, which begins Friday in Green Bay. For the second-straight year UWM will hold the second seed and will open the tournament against seventh-seeded Cleveland State at a time to be announced. The championship match for the tournament is Sunday and the winner receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

Last year, UWM swept through the tournament, winning three matches in three games each to claim their fourth-straight berth into the NCAA Tournament.

"We know we have it in us and we know we can do it," Litzau said of the tournament next week and the prospect of facing Loyola again. "We have a week to get better at the things we need to improve on."