Nov. 23, 2003

Box Score

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Janelle Tomlinson's kill capped a four-point University of Wisconsin-Green Bay rally in the deciding fifth game to give the Phoenix a 30-15, 18-30, 30-24, 22-30, 16-14 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Sunday afternoon in the championship match of the Horizon League Tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

With the win, the Phoenix (23-10) gain the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, while the Panthers (25-5) will await word of a possible at-large berth into the field of 64, which will be announced next Sunday. A bid would be UWM's sixth-straight.

"We're six points away from having only two losses," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said of the Panthers, who have suffered three of their losses by two points apiece in deciding fifth games. "Of course it depends on how teams do in other conferences as to whether we can get a bid or not, but certainly the strength of our league is very good and we have quality losses."

The Panthers, regular season champions in the Horizon League, have already tied a school record with their 25 wins and have lost just two times since Sept. 20. The loss also snaps a seven-match tournament winning streak for the Panthers, who were the two-time defending champions.

UWM led 14-12 in the fifth game following a Phoenix error, but UWGB rallied thanks to a kill by Tomlinson and a net violation against the Panthers. Following a UWM time out, the Phoenix grabbed 15-14 lead on a Panther error before Tomlinson's kill capped a long rally to finish the match.

"It was a great match. Green Bay played its heart out," Litzau said. "We had some good swings on our two game-points but they got to the balls. Then they gave the ball to the person that should have it and she made the big play."

Karen Fruit led the Panthers with 25 kills and 16 digs and was named to the all-tournament team. Lindsey Spoden, UWM's other member of the all-tournament team, had 55 assists, 20 digs, five kills and four service aces. Sarah Potts and Robin Alt led the Panthers defensively with 23 digs apiece.

Tomlinson, the tournament's most valuable player, led the Phoenix with 22 kills and 25 digs, while four other Phoenix were in double figures in kills. Green Bay hit .216 for the match to help overcome 11 service errors, while the Panthers hit just .173 but had a season-high 115 digs.

Much as was the case in the final regular season match between the two teams, much of the play in the first four games was evenly split. UWGB controlled games one and three while UWM was in command of games two and four.

UWGB owned game one from the outset, jumping to a 6-1 lead and never looking back. The lead hit 16-8 following back-to-back aces by Amanda Timmers, forcing a Panther timeout. But the Phoenix were far from done, rolling off four more points for a 20-8 advantage. A Spoden kill stopped the run, but UWGB pushed the lead to 28-13 on a Leslie Kuhn ace and closed out the game on a UWM error. The Phoenix hit .429 in the first game and did not commit an error.

The Panthers took control of game two early, grabbing a 5-1 lead following an ace by Fruit. The lead grew to 11-6 on a Fruit kill and then hit 20-14 on a block by Spoden and Larissa Cattanach. UWGB could get no closer the rest of the way, with three kills by Fruit, an ace by Spoden and a Green Bay error pushing the lead to 29-16. A kill by Cheryl Hegemann closed out the game.

UWGB took control of the match by winning game three. UWM had an early 5-3 lead but the Phoenix responded to grab a 13-9 advantage on a Tomlinson kill. UWM was able to narrow the deficit to three on numerous occasions, but could never get any closer. A Crystal Lange kill made it 28-24 before a block by Kuhn and Theys brought the Phoenix to game point. UWGB then closed things out on a Kuhn kill.

UWM built a big lead in game four and then hung on during a Green Bay rally. The Panthers led 10-4 after a Melissa Lange ace and pushed the lead to 18-10 following a Phoenix error. But Green Bay fought back, pulling within three points on four occasions. But the Panthers finished with a flurry, scoring the final six points to force the fifth game.

All-Tournament Team

Areal Bienemy, Butler

Lindsey Spoden, UWM

Karen Fruit, UWM

Amanda Timmers, UW-Green Bay

Jessie Theys, UW-Green Bay

Janelle Tomlinson, UW-Green Bay (MVP)