Nov. 8, 2003

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Karen Fruit had 14 kills and Cheryl Hegemann added 12 kills and eight blocks as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee clinched at least a share of the Horizon League regular season championship with a 30-21, 30-26, 30-21 win over the University of Illinois at Chicago Saturday afternoon at the Klotsche Center.

The Panthers (22-4, 11-1 Horizon League) clinched at least part of the crown, their first in the regular season since the 2000 campaign, thanks to a Loyola five-game win at UW-Green Bay Saturday afternoon. UWM will win the outright title with a win at either Butler or Wright State next weekend.

Larissa Cattanach added nine kills while Lindsey Spoden had 38 assists, pushing her past 5,000 for her career.

Megan Hoffman had nine kills to lead UIC (11-19, 2-11), which hit just .063 for the match thanks to 13 UWM blocks.

"It really takes some of the pressure off of us for this coming weekend," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said of winning a share of the league title. "We're certainly going into it to win, but hopefully we'll play more relaxed knowing we are league champions. I thought we played a little tight against Loyola on Friday and hopefully we'll play better and get prepared for the league tournament."

It was Senior Day as veterans Robin Alt, Larissa Cattanach, Sarah Potts and Lindsey Spoden were playing their final home matches, but it was a group of youngsters stealing the show for a while. A front row of all freshmen - Hegemann, Melissa David and Sarah Moore - recorded five blocks during an 8-0 Panther run that set the tone for the day. UWM never looked back in that first game and was in control of the match throughout the afternoon.

"I'm happy with how we improved as the match went on," Litzau said. "We were never really in any stressful situations in the match except for early in the games, but we were able to pull away in every game. It was nice to send the seniors out with a bang.

"It was good to have the three freshmen across the front," Litzau added. "The future of UWM volleyball made some positive plays."

In game two, UWM fell behind 12-10 before rallying. The Panthers took a 21-14 lead following another strong run behind the serving of Fruit. Kills by Hegemann and Sarah Potts highlighted the 7-0 burst. UIC did close within 25-23 on a kill by Kristi Herrington, but the Panthers closed out the game thanks to kills by Fruit and Potts.

The Panthers had little trouble in game three, turning a 13-12 lead into an 18-12 advantage following a kill by Cattanach. The lead grew to 24-14 on an ace by Sarah Potts and UWM led by as many as 15 points in claiming the win.

UWM closes out the regular season next weekend with matches at Butler Friday and Wright State Saturday.