Nov. 24, 2002

Box Score

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Sarah Potts had 23 kills and Horizon League Player of the Year Tari Boutin added 19 kills, including the game-winner, as UWM recorded a 30-25, 30-27, 18-30, 24-30, 15-13 win over Loyola Sunday in the championship match of the Horizon League Volleyball Tournament.

With the win, the Panthers (20-13) earn their fifth-straight NCAA Tournament berth and have now won 20 matches in six-straight seasons. The Ramblers (27-5), who entered the tournament as the top seed, will have to await the NCAA pairings next Sunday night to see if they can gain an at-large berth into the field of 64.

Junior Lindsey Spoden was named the tournament's most valuable player as she recorded 60 assists and 14 digs in the championship match. Karen Fruit added 13 kills, 17 digs and six blocks for the Panthers. Gina Peterson had 20 digs to lead the Panthers defensively.

Jorie Miguel had 20 kills to lead the Ramblers, who also got 16 kills from Shari Davis, 15 from Nichol Amberg and 11 from Carrie Culos.

In the decisive fifth game, UWM quickly jumped out to a 5-2 advantage and led 9-5 after a kill by Boutin. But the Ramblers rallied to tie the game at 9 before the Panthers bounced back with kills from Potts and Spoden for an 11-9 edge. The lead was 12-10 following another Potts kill and moved to game point at 14-11 following a kill by Fruit. But Loyola was not done, scoring points on a kill by Amberg and a UWM error to pull within 14-13. The Panthers had the final say, though, as Potts passed off the Loyola serve to Spoden who set Boutin for the game-winner.

The two teams split the first four games, with the Panthers appearing in control after jumping to a 2-0 advantage before the Ramblers claimed the momentum of the match by winning decisively in games three and four.

"Control is the key word for the match," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "In games one and two we definitely had control. In games three and four Loyola gained control early and we were always fighting from behind. But to turn things around in game five really showed the character and fight of this team. To do it in this way makes it one of our biggest wins ever."

The tournament title also brings the Panthers all the way back from a 1-7 start to the season, giving UWM wins in 19 of their last 25 matches.

"It really hasn't sunk in yet to think back to when we were 1-7 against where we are now," Litzau said. "Then there was a lot of questioning and we were switching a lot of players around. But to look back at how it developed and unfolded, the way leaders developed and people stepped up, it really is quite a great accomplishment."

The Panthers led game one nearly from the start, building a 9-5 lead after back-to-back Loyola errors. UWM still led 14-10 after a Potts kill and, after Loyola closed to within 17-16, the Panthers held a 20-17 lead following a Boutin kill. The Ramblers pushed back to tie the game at 20 but UWM controlled the frame from there. A Potts kill made it 23-20 and two more kills by Potts made it 26-22. The lead hit 29-24 on a service error and the Panthers closed out the game on a block by Spoden and Fruit. Potts had nine kills in the first game as the Panthers hit .326 as a team.

UWM won a hard-fought game two that had 15 ties. UWM built a three-point edge at 16-13 following a Potts kill, but the Ramblers fought back for a 19-18 lead on a kill by Jorie Miguel. Loyola led for the final time at 26-25 following another Miguel kill, but the Panthers broke a 27-all tie with the final three points of the game. Boutin was responsible for all three, recording two kills and a block.

The Panthers could not dig themselves out of a big hole in game three. Loyola jumped out to a 7-1 advantage and quickly pushed the lead to 11-2. UWM recovered long enough to score five-straight points and pull within 12-7 but the Panthers would never get closer than five the rest of the way. Loyola's lead hit 10 for the first time at 22-12 and never dipped below nine after that.

Game four was tight from the start. UWM did build an 8-5 advantage following a pair of Loyola errors, but the Ramblers fought back to grab a 12-11 lead and eventually pushed the lead to 14-11. The Panthers tied the match at 15 on a Potts kill and had a 19-18 lead following a block by Spoden and Fruit. But Loyola controlled the game from there, building a 24-20 lead and never letting UWM closer than three points the rest of the way.

The NCAA Tournament pairings will be announced next Sunday at 8 p.m. Tournament play opens the weekend of Dec. 6-7.