Sept. 11, 2004

MILWAUKEE - Karen Fruit had 18 kills and Leanne Felsing added 12 as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed a 19-30, 30-24, 30-22, 30-19 win over IUPUI Saturday afternoon in the Powerade Panther Invitational.

UWM took control of the match following a sluggish start in game one. The Panthers held IUPUI to negative hitting in two of the final three games and steadily pulled away in each frame for the win.

Rachel Kuebbing added nine kills while three players reached double figures in digs for the Panthers (4-1). Michelle Sobocinski had eight kills to lead IUPUI (2-5).

The Panthers struggled in the early going because of a disadvantage at the service line. They gave up 10 points on serves in the first game (five aces and five errors) and were outscored 28-13 (12-7 on aces; 16-6 on errors) on serves for the match.

"The fact that we showed up on our home court and got aced 12 times is atrocious, but the positive spin is we fought back and got the win," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "With a young team, we need to be better at preparing for every opponent and I think we overlooked IUPUI. They are a good team and have nice players and they were able to get some things done."

The Panthers started slow in game one and never recovered. They trailed 10-3 early on and IUPUI extended the advantage to 21-10 following three-straight UWM errors. The Panthers rallied to within 23-17 following a block by Rachel Kuebbing and Cheryl Hegemann, but the Jaguars closed out the game with seven of the final nine points.

UWM rallied in game two, breaking a 10-all tie with five of the next six points to build a 15-11 lead. IUPUI tied the game at 24 following a UWM error, but the Panthers then scored the final six points of the game, sparked by the strong serving of Felsing.

The Panthers seemed to gain control of the match by winning game three handily. UWM jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead following a kill by Hegemann and extended the lead to 12-5 after a kill by Fruit. IUPUI did pull within four points on three occasions later, but the Panthers pulled ahead 26-18 on a Jaguar error. UWM then closed out the game on a kill by Felsing.

UWM then wrapped up the win with a dominating performance in game four. The Panthers bolted to a 10-6 lead and extended it to 15-9 on a kill by Sarah Moore. The lead hit 22-14 after a pair of aces by Fruit and a kill by Felsing and then closed out the match on a pair of SLU errors.

The tournament continues later today with two more matches. IUPUI faces Saint Louis at 4:30 while the Panthers will face the College of Charleston for the tournament title at 7 p.m.