Oct. 24, 2000

MILWAUKEE - UWM (16-3) continues a five-match homestand as league rivals Illinois-Chicago and Loyola visit the Klotsche Center this weekend. The Ramblers currently lead the MCC, and are the only league team to have beaten the Panthers this season.

Last Week: The Panthers won three matches, including two against ranked Midwest Region opponents. Wednesday, UWM went on the road to beat fifth-ranked DePaul, 12-15, 15-13, 15-12, 19-17. Friday, the Panthers swept UWGB despite trailing in all three games. Saturday, UWM won a thrilling five-set match against top-ranked Cincinnati, 17-15, 5-15, 15-13, 15-17, 15-12.

Panther Background: UWM is looking for a fourth straight regular season Midwestern Collegiate Conference title. The Panthers are also seeking their third straight NCAA Tournament bid. The Panthers have been ranked seventh in each of the first three Midwest Region polls.

The Coach: Kathy Litzau (Notre Dame `90) is in her eighth season at UWM, recording a 136-100 career record. Litzau has been named MCC Coach of the Year three times, and last year became the first volleyball coach in school history to earn AVCA District VI Coach of the Year honors. Litzau is 39-4 over the last three-plus seasons in MCC games.

Recaping The Wins Over Ranked Opponents: If, at the end of the year, UWM is seeking an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament, their results this past week will loom large. The Panthers scored wins over the number one and number five teams in the Midwest Region, including a road win over DePaul. UWM got a number of stellar performances in those two wins. Junior Laura Dallenbach (Waterloo, Iowa/West) improved her chances for post-season honors in the region by tallying 57 kills and 51 digs. Junior Chrissy Schurla (Chicago, Ill./Evergreen Park) racked up 39 kills, 18 digs, 12 block assists and one block solo in the two victories.

Strength Of Schedule: UWM consistently faces a difficult schedule, and this season is no different. The combined record of the three teams that have beaten the Panthers is 44-15. All three teams are also ranked in their respective regions, and all three teams are in first place in their conference or division. After the two wins this week, UWM now owns a 3-2 mark against teams ranked in the Midwest Region. Also, UWM owns wins over the first place team in Conference USA (Cincinnati in the American Division), the second place team in Conference USA (DePaul in the American Division), and the second place team in the Missouri Valley Conference (Illinois State).

Litzau On Last Week's Three Wins: "As we headed into the week, it was a chance to highlight how far we've come. We've kept consistent. However, we had to raise our level of play, and we did. We said early on that we wanted to get better as a team as the season went along. We've done that. We're not the same team we were two months ago."

Checking The Record Books: This past week saw a number of performances that put a dent in the Panther record books. And, two Panther veterans continue to move up some of the all-time record lists. Dallenbach's 30-kill performance on Wednesday against DePaul put her fourth on the single game record list. Her 27 kills against Cincinnati are the sixth-most in a single match. Dallenbach is also third all-time in career kills, and third all-time in career digs. She will likely move into the number one position for career digs by season's end. Meanwhile, Schurla has moved into fourth place in career kills. She is already the career leader in hitting percentage, and her current .292 percentage for the season would be third on that all-time list. Finally, freshman Lindsey Spoden's (Alexandria, Minn./Jefferson Senior) 82 assists against DePaul are the third-most all-time, while her 79 assists against Cincinnati are the fifth-most all-time. Spoden's season total of 836 assists places her seventh on the all-time Panther list for a single season, with the number four spot (999) within reach in the next three matches.

Schurla Honored By MCC: After a strong and consistent performance last week, Schurla was honored as the MCC Player of the Week. Against DePaul, she tallied 18 kills and 10 blocks. Then Friday against UWGB, the junior added 15 kills and a strong .419 hitting percentage. Finally, Saturday, Schurla totaled 21 kills and a stellar .514 hitting percentage, with just two errors on 37 total attacks. The hitting numbers Saturday are even more impressive when you consider Cincinnati recorded a school-record 22 blocks in the match. Schurla's strong week pushed her to third in the league in hitting percentage and to ninth in the league in kills per game.

Home Is Where The Heart Is: The Panthers continue to take advantage of their impressive home court advantage. The home court numbers in the Litzau era are impressive. UWM is 65-23 at home under Litzau, including 40-1 over the past three-plus seasons. Last year, UWM was 11-1 at home. This year, the Panthers are 8-0 at home.

Rankings Information: While the next Midwest Region rankings, due out Nov. 1, will look a lot different, the current rankings still reflect the top pool of teams in the region. Here are the rankings (as of Oct. 18). 1. Cincinnati, 2. Houston, 3. South Florida, 4. Louisville, 5. DePaul, 6. Loyola Chicago, 7. UW-Milwaukee, 8. SE Missouri State, 9. Butler, 10. Tulane.

Flame Facts: UIC blasted out of the gates this season with their best start in school history. But, league play has slowed the Flames, who have lost six of their last 10 matches after a 10-2 start. UWM beat UIC in Chicago Sept. 30. Junior Vicki Lublow had a strong performance Saturday in a win over Cleveland State, recording a school-record 33 digs and adding 20 kills. UWM holds a slim 14-13 series edge over the Flames, and the Panthers have won eight straight in the series.

Rambler Ramblings: Loyola enters the week as the leader in the MCC, and the Ramblers own a three-game win over UWM in late September. The Ramblers were sixth in the latest Midwest Region poll. Loyola is also the last team to beat UWM at the Klotsche Center, downing the Panthers last year during the regular season. The Ramblers are led on offense by Kelly Price's 241 kills, and boast three others with at least 147 kills. After starting the season 4-6 against a difficult schedule, the Ramblers have won eight of their last nine. Loyola leads the series with UWM 22-11, and the Ramblers have won three of the last four contests between the two teams.

Litzau On The Weekend Ahead: "This is another very big week. We had to play very well to beat UIC at their place, so we certainly aren't looking past them on Friday. Saturday, Loyola presents us with another chance to move up in the conference and the region. Cincinnati was a good practice run for the Loyola match, because they are very similar. Their block is very big, and at their place, they blocked the lights out of us. The same thing happened Saturday, and I think that was a good match for us, because we showed we can push through that."

Up Next: The Panthers wrap up this five-game homestand against Valparaiso Oct. 31. UWM then heads to the road to play at Wright State and Butler, Nov. 3 and 4.