Oct. 1, 2004

Box Score |  Quotes |  Notes

MILWAUKEE - Karen Fruit had 22 kills while freshman Leanne Felsing added a career-best 14 kills and 14 digs as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee recorded a convincing 30-23, 30-22, 30-17 win over the University of Illinois at Chicago Friday night at the Klotsche Center.

The Panthers (6-6, 2-0 Horizon) hit a season-best .339 for the match while committing just 13 attack errors in the three games. UWM was pushed somewhat in game one but then controlled the second and third frames en route to their 16th-straight win over the Flames (5-11, 1-2 Horizon).

Sarah Moore added eight blocks for a UWM team that recorded 10 team blocks in limiting the Flames to a .064 hitting percentage.

Ambria Springer led UIC with eight kills.

"The thing that was most spectacular was our passing and defense," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "I think we made it look easy but we were working very hard to make it look easy. Leanne was just awesome out there. She made some unbelievable digs on balls."

UWM also showed no signs of looking ahead to an early-season showdown tomorrow afternoon with Loyola in a battle between the two teams that have either won or shared the last seven Horizon League regular season titles.

"I feel like we needed this heading into tomorrow," Litzau said. "There have been some questions marks lately and there shouldn't be any question marks."

UWM won a game one with a strong late run. After building an 8-5 edge early, UWM let UIC recover and the Flames took a 17-16 advantage on an ace by Sarah Lang. But, after the two teams traded points over a 10-serve stretch, UWM scored nine of the final 10 points of the frame to win. A kill by Cheryl Hegemann started the run, which also included two kills by Fruit, a kill by Moore and five UIC errors.

The Panthers controlled most of game two after using a quick 5-1 run to build a 14-9 lead. The advantage grew to 17-10 following a kill by Felsing and hit 25-17 on an ace by Hegemann. UIC could get no closer than six points the rest of the way, and a kill by Felsing closed out the frame.

UWM closed out the match with a dominating performance in game three. The Panthers bolted to a 7-2 lead following a kill by Hegemann and extended the advantage to 17-9 with a long service run by Melissa Lange. The lead hit 23-10 on an ace by Jamie Gabrielson and the Panthers were never threatened from there.

The contest with Loyola begins at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Klotsche Center.