Oct. 16, 2004

Box Score |  Notes

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Karen Fruit had 20 kills as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee rolled to a 30-19, 30-27, 30-14 win over Youngstown State Saturday afternoon at the Beeghly Center.

The Panthers (6-1, 10-7), who hit .314 in the match while limiting Youngstown State to a .063 hitting percentage, have won six of their last seven contests.

Fruit also added 11 digs while hitting .412 in the match. Rachel Kuebbing added eight kills while Melissa David and Sarah Moore had five apiece.

Melanie Pounders had 10 kills for the Penguins (0-7, 8-12), who lost to UWM for the seventh-straight time.

"It was the Karen Fruit show again. She really came to play," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "She really contributed in every area of the game and definitely led us to the win."

The Panthers controlled most of game one. UWM built a quick 9-2 edge and pushed the lead to 14-5 following a kill by Fruit. YSU rallied, pulling within 16-12 on an Angie Pasquinelli ace. But the Panthers bounced back, restoring a 20-13 lead on a kill by Jamie Gabrielson. UWM pulled away from there, pushing the advantage to 26-17 on three-straight Penguin errors and to 28-17 on back-to-back kills by Fruit. A kill by Kuebbing closed out the frame.

Game two was the only time where the Panthers were pushed. They led 16-12 following a kill by Fruit and edged the lead to 20-15 on a kill by Moore. But YSU rallied to tie the game at 23 on a UWM error and again tied the game at 24. The Penguins could never get the lead, though, and a kill by Fruit and a block by Moore and Kuebbing helped the Panthers regain control.

UWM dominated game three from the outset, scoring 14 of the first 18 points of the frame. A kill by Fruit made it 17-6 and another Fruit kill pushed the lead to 22-8. Litzau emptied the bench from there, with the Panthers cruising to the easy win.

The Penguins had taken league-leading Butler to five games in Youngstown only two weeks earlier, but the Panthers never let YSU get on-track.

"Our serving was really good with seven aces and just six errors," Litzau said. "We made it difficult for them to pass and really set up their offense."

UWM finally returns home next weekend, hosting UW-Green Bay Friday night and Northern Colorado Saturday night. The two matches start a stretch that will see the Panthers play seven of their final nine matches of the regular season at home.