Nov. 5, 2004

Box Score |  Quotes |  Notes

MILWAUKEE - Karen Fruit had 23 kills to lead four Panthers in double figures as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee took over sole possession of first place in the Horizon League with a 30-28, 30-21, 23-30, 30-21 win over Butler Friday night at the Klotsche Center.

The Panthers (16-7, 10-1 Horizon) have now eight-straight matches. They dominated in all three games they won, trailing only once in the first two games and pulling away in game four to seal the win.

Rachel Kuebbing added 17 kills, Leanne Felsing 15 and Sarah Moore 14 for UWM. Fruit tallied 18 digs and Felsing 14 as both players recorded double-doubles. Setter Melissa Lange directed the Panthers to a stellar .290 hitting percentage, collecting 65 assists while adding 11 digs.

Areal Bienemy led the Bulldogs with 18 kills, but Butler (15-9. 9-2) could never seem to get on track. The Bulldogs used 12 different players and hit just .162 for the match.

"This is our home floor, we had the same records in the league and they beat us in five games at their gym, so this was obviously a big victory," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "It is important for the regular season standings and important for the build-up to the league tournament."

The Panthers tallied 80 digs as a team and rarely seemed to let a ball fall on their side of the net without a challenge, bolstered by a noisy season-high crowd of 521 at the Klotsche Center.

"It was incredible hustle," Litzau said. "I just loved how we fought all the time. It was so nice, especially in the last game, that nothing hit the ground without someone diving after it."

The Panthers came out on fire in the first game, scoring the first four points and jumping to a 15-10 lead on a kill by Moore. Butler scored the next three points, but UWM came back with five of the next seven for a 20-15 edge. The Panthers maintained that advantage, leading 27-22 following a kill by Kuebbing, 28-23 after a kill by Felsing and 29-24 on another kill by Felsing. Butler put some pressure on the Panthers, pulling within 29-28 following four-straight points, but a kill by Fruit closed out the frame.

UWM started just as fast in game two, scoring the first five points of the frame. This time, Butler fought back to grab a 10-9 edge, its only lead in the first two games. The Panthers then pulled away steadily from a 13-all tie, building a 21-16 edge on back-to-back kills by Fruit. After Butler pulled within 23-19, UWM scored seven of the final nine points of the frame to win going away.

Butler recovered somewhat in game three, taking advantage of 12 UWM errors to claim the win. It was 13-12 Butler after a Felsing kill pulled the Panthers within one. But the Bulldogs scored the next seven points - four on UWM errors - to seize a 20-12 lead and win the frame.

The Panthers didn't let it get away in game four, though. UWM turned an 8-all tie into a 17-8 lead following an impressive 9-0 run and the Panthers were never challenged the rest of the way. Two late kills by Fruit wrapped up the match for the Panthers.

UWM returns to action Saturday afternoon, hosting Wright State at 4 p.m.