Sept. 6, 2003

Box Score

TOLEDO, Ohio - Karen Fruit had 15 kills and Larissa Cattanach added 13 kills and five blocks to claim tournament most valuable player honors as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee won the Clarion Westgate Rocket Classic with a 24-30, 30-27, 30-22, 30-22 win over Toledo Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers (6-0) finished a perfect 3-0 on the weekend and have claimed tournament titles on back-to-back weekends for the first time since 1999. That year was also the last time the Panthers started a season 6-0.

Cattanach hit .591 and did not record a hitting error for the second-straight match to claim top honors for the tournament. Fruit added 19 digs to her 15 kills while Sarah Potts had 14 kills and 11 digs. Lindsey Spoden led the attack with 46 assists while also tallying five blocks.

Toledo hit .591 in game one but the Panthers controlled the Rockets from there.

"It was really a great team effort," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "I was really impressed with how my team fought back after losing the first game, especially with how well Toledo played. We stayed composed and really played hard. We were very steady throughout the match and that's what helped us get the victory."

Potts and Spoden joined Cattanach on the all-tournament team.

The Panthers return to action Tuesday night, playing a 7 p.m. match at DePaul. UWM opens its home season Friday night, facing Illinois State in the Panther Invitational.