Oct. 11, 2003

Box Score

CHICAGO - University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee head coach Kathy Litzau's 200th career win was a memorable one.

Karen Fruit tallied 20 kills and the Panthers collected a season-high 16 blocks en route to a 27-30, 30-13, 30-27, 30-27 win over Loyola Saturday afternoon.

The Ramblers (8-12, 3-3 Horizon) have won the last two regular-season Horizon League titles, but it was the Panthers (16-3, 5-0) who stayed atop the league standings with their sixth-straight win.

Litzau is the winningest coach in UWM's Division I history and only Tom Pleyte, who won more than 500 matches at UWM when the Panthers were in the NAIA ranks, has more wins as a UWM coach all-time.

The story of the day was defense, though, as the 16 Panther blocks translated into 37 Loyola hitting errors and a .130 attack percentage. The Panthers were steady, meanwhile, hitting .250 for the match and totaling five players with at least five kills.

Freshman Melissa David, playing for the injured Sarah Potts, had 12 kills, six blocks and four digs, while Cheryl Hegemann led the team with 10 blocks. Robin Alt added 14 digs.

Courtney Ashley had 17 kills and Jorie Miguel 15 for the Ramblers, who have lost at home to the Panthers in each of the past two years.