Sept. 13, 2003

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Karen Fruit and Larissa Cattanach collected 15 kills apiece to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to a 30-17, 30-28, 30-24 win over Eastern Illinois Saturday afternoon in the Powerade Panther Invitational.

Sarah Potts added 14 kills and the Panther defense limited EIU (3-6) to a .125 hitting percentage for the match. UWM is now 1-1 in the invitational, while EIU is 0-2.

Erica Gerth had 13 kills to lead Eastern Illinois.

The Panthers (8-1) had to hang on in the third game after building a big lead. UWM led 12-5 after a Potts kill and built the advantage to 20-10 following a service ace by Molly McNab. But EIU rallied, pulling within 23-19 on a kill by Gerth and then within 25-23 following a UWM error. But the Panthers hung on, closing out the match and the game with three-straight points, the final one coming on a kill by Rachel Kuebbing.

UWM controlled game one from the outset, jumping out to a 6-3 lead following a kill by Cattanach. The lead hit 14-9 on a kill by Fruit and, after EIU scored the next point, UWM scored six-straight to build a 20-10 lead and was never challenged from there. The Panthers closed out the game on a kill by Potts.

Game two was much tighter, with EIU building a 10-7 lead early. UWM rallied to tie the match at 13 and then took the lead for the first time since early in the game at 19-18. The game was then tied at 20, 21, 22 and 24 before UWM rolled off three-straight points for a 27-24 lead. EUI pulled within 28-27 and 29-28, but a service error by Gerth gave UWM the victory.

EIU will play Illinois State at 4:30 while UWM faces Sacramento State at 7 p.m.