Aug. 30, 2003

Box Score

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Karen Fruit and Larissa Cattanach had 10 kills apiece to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to a 30-20, 30-25, 30-18 win over Purdue and the championship of the Billiken Invitational Saturday.

The Panthers, off to their best start since the 1999 season, finished the tournament with a perfect 3-0 record. Lindsey Spoden was named the tournament's most valuable player and joined Fruit and sophomore Rachel Kuebbing on the all-tournament team.

In the match against the Boilermakers (2-1), UWM hit .363 while limiting Purdue to a .127 hitting percentage. Kuebbing added nine kills and five blocks while Spoden had six kills and 39 assists. Fruit also had 14 digs while hitting .348.

"It was just a great team effort," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "Players stepped up when they needed to and Karen was just a stud. Lindsey was consistent, as always, and Rachel played well all weekend long. Winning the tournament championship and beating a Big 10 team is a great way to start the season."

The in-season tournament title is the first for the Panthers since the 2000 season, when UWM won the Panther Invitational, and the first on the road since they won the Purdue Invitational in 1999.