Sept. 13, 2003

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Lindsey Spoden recorded the first triple-double by a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee player since 1996 to lead the Panthers to a thrilling 30-24, 30-27, 26-30, 25-30, 15-11 win Saturday night in the final match of the Powerade Panther Invitational.

Spoden collected 10 kills, 15 digs and 62 assists, with her 10th kill coming as the match-clincher in the fifth game.

Karen Fruit had 22 kills and 24 digs while Sarah Potts added 21 kills and 24 digs for UWM (9-1).

Sandra Bandimere had 21 kills while Lisa Beauchene had her own triple-double with 10 kills, 16 digs and 56 assists for the Hornets (5-5), who won the tournament title thanks to a better overall games record in the event. UWM, Sacramento State and Illinois State all finished with 2-1 records in the invitational, but the Hornets held an 8-3 record in games while UWM was 8-5 and Illinois State 6-7. Kristin Lutes of Sacramento State was named the tournament MVP after tallying 30 digs Saturday night.

"We certainly grew a lot from last night to tonight," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said, referring to her team losing a 2-0 lead in falling to Illinois State on Friday night. "These were tough conditions to play in being the third match and with the high humidity, but we were much steadier and much more confident. We took advantage of some of the errors Sacramento State made and we stayed composed down the stretch."

The play of Spoden, who joined Potts as UWM's representatives on the all-tournament team, stole the show on Saturday. She is the first Panther with a triple-double since Kristin Fitzgerald did it on Sept. 22, 1996.

"I thought she had a great match tonight," Litzau said. "Her sets were great and her serves were perfect. She was the key to us winning tonight."

In the decisive game five, the Panthers trailed early but took the lead for good at 8-7 on a Hornet error. The lead hit 10-7 on a Potts service ace and Sacramento State could get no closer than two points the rest of the way.

Larissa Cattanach added 15 kills for the Panthers, while Kuebbing had eight kills and six blocks. The two teams combined for 471 attacks and 218 digs in the marathon match, which lasted two hours and 17 minutes.

The Panthers took some control midway through game one, turning an 11-7 deficit into a 14-11 lead behind the serving of Melissa Lange. An ace by Lange capped off the run and the Panthers still led 19-15 following a kill by Potts. The Hornets closed to within 19-17, but UWM rolled off five-straight points, topped off by a Fruit kill, to grab a 24-17 edge. UWM then closed out the game on kills by Potts and Molly McNab.

UWM led most of game two, grabbing a 14-10 lead following a Fruit service ace. The lead hit 18-13 on a Fruit kill before the Hornets pulled within 21-18. UWM's lead grew back to 25-19 following a kill by Rachel Kuebbing. The Hornets stormed back, pulling within 26-24 on a UWM error and to within 27-26 on a kill by Bandimere. But the Panthers hung on thanks to a Hornet error and a kill by Potts.

Sacramento State rallied to win games three and four. In game three, the Panthers never led after a 1-0 advantage early. UWM did tie the match at 14 and 15 but the Hornets ran out to a 20-16 lead from there and UWM could never get closer than two points. In game four, the Hornets broke free from a 15-all tie to build a 20-16 edge and UWM could again never get closer than two points. The Hornets closed out the game on an ace by Stephanie Gamst.

The Panthers return to action next Friday night, opening play in the Diet Coke Classic in Minneapolis against Charlotte.