Nov. 20, 1999

Chicago - Led by Chrissy Schurla's 20 kills and Katie Schneider's 58 assists, the UWM women's volleyball team defeated Butler in four games in the MCC Tournament semifinals on Saturday at Loyola University.

The win places UWM (25-2) in the conference finals against the winner of Saturday night's UIC-Loyola match. The championship match will be played on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. in Chicago, with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

"Our team is confident and excited," said UWM coach Kathy Litzau. "We're level-headed and don't lose our cool. That should help us in the match on Sunday. This team has goals and is eager to perform."

The Panthers won game one, 15-6. The teams exchanged points until the Panthers rattled off eight straight points to win. UWM's hitting percentage in the game was a blistering .372.

Butler (15-5) came back to win the second game, 15-8. UWM's recorded a hitting percentage of .033 in the game.

"We were really tight on the court. We had to relax," said Litzau. "There was a lot of pressure coming into the match."

UWM won the third game, 15-8. The Panthers trailed in the game, 8-5, but scored 10 straight points to win.

The Panthers sealed the win with a 15-6 score in game four. The game was tied, 5-5, but UWM ended the game with a 10-1 run.

"I'm really proud of the team because they focused and got it together," said Litzau. "Butler pushed us hard and made our players dig down."

Laura Dallenbach added to the Panther cause with 16 kills and 24 digs. Ericka Malterer added 17 kills and eight digs.