Nov. 17, 2000

MILWAUKEE - The UWM women's volleyball team swept the top three Midwestern Collegiate Conference individual awards, announced Friday by the league office.

Junior Laura Dallenbach has been named the MCC Player of the Year, freshman Lindsey Spoden was honored as the league's newcomer of the year, and, coach Kathy Litzau was named the MCC Coach of the Year.

Dallenbach leads the Panthers in kills, digs, and service aces this season. Her dig total also leads the league. She recorded a career-high 30 kills against regionally-ranked DePaul, and posted double-doubles in four consecutive conference matches.

Spoden leads the MCC with better than 12 assists per game. Her 1,055 assists during the regular season place her fourth on the Panthers' all-time single-season list. She collected a season-high 82 assists against DePaul and 79 assists in a win over regionally-ranked Cincinnati. Spoden was also named to the all-MCC second team.

Litzau led a young Panther team to their fourth straight MCC regular season title. All of those teams have won at least 20 games, and the last two have made it to the NCAA Tournament. This season, the Panthers have won 13 straight matches, including impressive wins over DePaul and Cincinnati.

Three other UWM players were honored. Junior Chrissy Schurla was named to the all-MCC first team, while sophomore transfer Tari Boutin and freshman Sarah Potts were named to the league's all-newcomer team.

UWM opens MCC Tournament play Saturday morning at 11 against Cleveland State. If they win, the Panthers will play Saturday evening against either Butler or UW-Green Bay. The championship match is scheduled for 1 p.m. CST Sunday. The league tournament winner receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.