Oct. 31, 2003

Box Score

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Melissa Lange's service ace in the decisive fifth game gave the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee an amazing 27-30, 30-26, 26-30, 31-29, 18-16 win Friday night over UW-Green Bay.

With the win, the Panthers (21-3, 10-0 Horizon) move two games ahead of the Phoenix (18-6, 8-2) in the Horizon League with four regular-season matches to play. UWM has now won 11-straight matches and has beaten Green Bay in 20 of the last 21 meetings between the two schools.

Lange's ace completed the two-and-a-half hour marathon match, with the Panthers rallying from three points down in the fifth game.

"It's a huge win," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "I felt like we were behind even when we were winning. But in an opponent's gym you really have to scratch and claw for everything and I really think we did that."

UWM trailed 12-9 in the final frame but rallied, tying the game at 13 on a Rachel Kuebbing kill. From there, the Panthers fought off two game-points and UWGB one. The final push for the Panthers started with a Kuebbing kill to tie the game at 16. A UWGB error made it 17-16 before the Lange ace finished the match.

"The fact that we have a two-match lead now is huge," Litzau said. "We know we have tough competition ahead, but we also know we can be better."

Karen Fruit led the Panthers with 24 kills and 22 digs, while Cheryl Hegemann added 13 kills and eight blocks. Sarah Potts, playing for the first time in a month, had 16 digs in a limited role.

Janelle Tomlinson had 23 kills and 18 digs to lead the Phoenix, while Jessie Theys added 20 kills and seven blocks.

The Panthers almost never got to a fifth game, as game four nearly got away from UWM. The Panthers built a 7-3 lead early and extended it to 14-9 on a kill by Spoden. The lead shrunk to 19-18 follow a Panther error and Green Bay then tied the game at 20. The game was tied at 21, 22 and 23 before the Phoenix grabbed a 25-23 edge. UWM responded thanks to two Green Bay errors and a kill by Cattanach for a 26-25 lead. The Phoenix fought back to tie the game at 28 and again at 29 but the Panthers forced the fifth game thanks to a pair of kills by Fruit.

Green Bay had the edge much of game one, turning a 13-13 tie into a 22-18 lead following a series of UWM errors. The Panthers did score the next four points to tie the game at 22 but the Phoenix rebuilt a 28-24 lead and hung on.

UWM had early leads in games two and three but could only win game two. The Panthers built a 15-5 lead in that second game and then led 20-9 following a Green Bay error. But the Panthers had to hang on during a furious Phoenix rally that saw the game get as close as 29-26 before a Hegemann kill finished things off for the Panthers.

The Panthers couldn't hold on to their early lead in the third game, seeing a 10-6 edge turn into a 15-14 deficit on a Green Bay block. The Phoenix eventually built a 24-20 lead on a Theys kill and then hung on. UWM got within 27-26 on a block by Hegemann and Sarah Moore, but the Phoenix scored the final three points of the game to claim the win.

UWM returns to action next Friday night, hosting Loyola at the Klotsche Center.