Dec. 1, 2000

LOS ANGELES - The UWM women's volleyball team received an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. The Panthers are the 11th seed in the Mideast Region, and will face sixth-seeded Michigan State in a first round match Saturday evening in Los Angeles. Third-seeded UCLA and 14th-seeded Morgan State make up the other half of the regional bracket. Saturday's UWM match begins at 7 p.m. central time. The winners play Sunday.

Listening To The Match: Fans unable to make the trip to Los Angeles can listen to the game across the nation on the website of UWM athletics, uwmpanthers.com. The site will air a feed of the Michigan State Radio Network broadcast.

Last Week: The Panthers have been off since completing the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Tournament Sat., Nov. 18. In the tournament, UWM beat Cleveland State in the quarterfinals before falling to Butler in the semifinals.

Panther Background: UWM has won four straight regular season MCC Championships. The Panthers have also played in the last two NCAA Tournaments. UWM was tied for fifth in the final NCAA Midwest Region poll.

The Coach: Kathy Litzau (Notre Dame `90) is in her eighth season at UWM, recording a 143-101 career record. Litzau has been named MCC Coach of the Year four times - including this year - and last year became the first volleyball coach in school history to earn AVCA District VI Coach of the Year honors. Litzau is 44-4 over the last three-plus seasons in regular season MCC games.

NCAA Tournament Talk: The Panthers had to wait until the final screen to see if their season would continue in the NCAA Tournament. As the team watched the televised pairings announcement, 58 teams and 29 matchups were set before UWM saw its name appear on the screen. UWM was more confident of its fate as the pairings were unveiled last year, having been ranked number one in the region throughout the season.

Why Are They In?: A number of factors appeared to weigh heavily in the committee's mind. UWM shared the regular season MCC title with Loyola, and had won 14 straight matches before losing to Butler in the MCC Tournament. The Panthers also own wins over NCAA participants Cincinnati and Loyola, and three of the Panther losses came to NCAA Tournament teams.

Carrying The Torch For The MCC: Two Midwestern Collegiate Conference teams are in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. The two at-large bids the Panthers have received are the only two at-large bids to an NCAA Tournament teams from the MCC have received, outside of men's basketball. Last year MCC teams went 0-2 in the tournament, with UWM and Loyola each losing in the first round.

Litzau On Getting In The Tournament: "I guess, looking at the whole season, we felt we had proven ourselves as a team. We were extremely consistent all year. Even in our semifinal loss to Butler, it wasn't because we played poorly, but rather because Butler played well. We've been steady all along, and we deserve to be in the tournament."

Recaping The MCC Tournament: UWM took care of business in brisk fashion in the quarterfinals, needing just 81 minutes to dispose of Cleveland State. Junior Laura Dallenbach (Waterloo, Iowa/West) led the Panthers with 19 kills and a .552 hitting percentage. Sophomore Tari Boutin (Burnsville, Minn.) added 11 kills. In the semis against Butler, UWM seemed to have control of the match after winning game one 15-9. Then, after dropping game two, the Panthers again seemed to regain control winning game three, 15-9. But, Butler squeezed out game four, then claimed a back-and-forth game five to move into the championship match. Junior Chrissy Schurla (Chicago, Ill./Evergreen Park) led the Panthers with 21 kills, while three other Panthers were in double figures.

Recapping The Regular Season: Entering the season, perhaps no one was quite sure what to expect from a Panther squad that did not have a senior. After winning nine of their first 12 matches, the Panthers moved into a crucial month of October, with matchups against at least three ranked teams looming. UWM handled the entire month like a team full of veterans, winning at DePaul in four games, beating top-ranked Cincinnati in five games, then beating league rival Loyola in four games to move into position for another conference crown. UWM nearly let that share of the title slip in the final road weekend of the season, but the Panthers fought from behind to beat Wright State and Butler in five games apiece.

MCC Honors: The tremendous regular season netted the Panthers the trifecta of post-season MCC awards. Junior Laura Dallenbach was named the league's player of the year. Freshman Lindsey Spoden was honored as the MCC Newcomer of the Year. Coach Kathy Litzau was named the league's coach of the year for the fourth time.

Strength Of Schedule: UWM consistently faces a difficult schedule, and this season was no different. Take out the tournament loss to Butler, and the combined record of the three other teams that have beaten the Panthers is 75-19, and all three are in the NCAA Tournament. UWM now owns a 7-3 mark against teams ranked in the Midwest Region, and the Panthers own wins against teams in numerous conferences across the country, including Conference USA, the Big East, the Mountain West, the Missouri Valley, and the West Coast Conference.

Checking The Record Books: A number of Panthers continue to move up in the school's record books. Junior Laura Dallenbach (Waterloo, Iowa/West) is now the career leader in digs, and is second in career kills. Freshman Lindsey Spoden (Alexandria, Minn./Jefferson Senior) is fourth on the single-season assists list and third on the career assists list. Junior Chrissy Schurla (Chicago, Ill./Evergreen Park), hitting .286 this season, continues to stay atop the career hitting percentage list.

Home Is Where The Heart Is: The Panthers again made the most of their impressive home court advantage this season, winning all 12 of their home matches. The home court numbers in the Litzau era are impressive. UWM is 69-23 at home under Litzau, including 44-1 over the past three-plus seasons.

Speaking Of Streaking: The Panthers equaled their longest winning streak in the Litzau era by winning 14 straight matches. UWM also won 14 straight during the 1997 season. UWM won 12 straight during both the 1998 and 1999 seasons.

Final Midwest Region Rankings: The final Midwest Region rankings were released Nov. 21: 1. Louisville, 2. South Florida, tie-3. Cincinnati, tie-3. Loyola, tie-5. UWM, tie-5. Houston, 7. Southeast Missouri State, 8. DePaul, 9. Butler, 10. UIC.

The Regional Field: UWM will be joined in Los Angeles by the hosts from UCLA, first round opponent Michigan State, and Morgan State. UCLA is hosting the regional as the third seed.

Scouting The Spartans: Michigan State finished the regular season 17-12, and claimed fifth place in the Big 10, earning an at-large berth to the field of 64. Michigan State opened the season by winning eight of their first ten matches, then finished the season 9-10. In non-conference play, the Spartans fell to UCLA and Nebraska - in the league Michigan State was swept by Wisconsin, Minnesota and Penn State. The Spartans' attack was strong all season long, with MSU hitting .266 for the year. Four players average at least 3.26 kills per game, with Sarah Gustin leading the way with 4.1 kills per game. Defensively, Angela Morley leads the team with nearly 1.3 blocks per game, and seven players average better than two digs per game. The Spartans are making their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance, and have compiled a 7-6 mark in previous appearances.

Litzau On The Panthers' First Round Opponent: "They had some good wins in the Big 10, and they had a lot of up and down matches. The Big 10 is one of the toughest conferences in the nation, so they know how to play in big matches. They hit high and play big at the net, like most Big 10 teams. Our team is more of a finesse team, and defense is one of our strengths. Our style of play might throw them off a little bit."

Litzau On The Keys To Winning: We have to play great defense, because they do hit high - probably over our block many times. We have to serve tough to keep them out of their offense. And we have to be aggressive. We can't fall back. We have to keep going at them."

Litzau On Being The Underdog: I think we've played our best volleyball when we've been the underdog. Especially that stretch from DePaul to Loyola, we were the underdog in most of the matches, and we thrived on that. Then, for the final few weeks of the season, we were the favorites, and we seemed to struggle with that more. I look at this match, we're definitely the underdogs, and I think we've done well in this situation so far."

On The Bruin Beat: UCLA has built a deep tradition in volleyball. The Bruins are making their 19th NCAA Tournament appearance, and UCLA has won three NCAA national titles with a 48-16 NCAA Tournament mark. This season, the Bruins earned an at-large berth to the tournament by finishing third in the Pac-10 with a 14-4 mark. The Bruins non-conference schedule was highlighted by a five-game loss to Nebraska, and wins over NCAA Tournament qualifiers Penn State, Michigan State, and Notre Dame. In league play, UCLA stumbled against non-NCAA tourney team Oregon State, but otherwise was beaten by NCAA qualifiers USC, Washington State, and Arizona. Kristee Porter leads the way offensively for the Bruins, averaging better than five kills per game. Ashley Bowles and Elisabeth Bachman also pitched in with more than three kills per game. The Bruins hit .274 as a team. Defensively, Bachman totaled 149 blocks during the regular season, while six Bruins average at least two digs per game.

Morgan State Minutes: The Lady Bears are making their third NCAA Tournament appearance, and are in the field after winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament. The Bears didn't lose a game during their three matches at the tournament, including a three-game sweep of defending champion Florida A&M in the championship match. Morgan State started the year just 1-13, but won 25 of its last 27 matches to finish 26-15. UWM and Morgan State share one common opponent - Marquette. The Panthers beat Marquette, while Morgan State fell to the Golden Eagles.

Series Information: The Panthers have never faced Michigan State, UCLA, or Morgan State.

UWM Vs. The Big 10: The Panthers did not face a Big 10 team this season. Last year, UWM went 2-2 against the Big 10, splitting with Wisconsin, beating Purdue, and falling to Illinois. All time, UWM is 7-26 against the Big 10, though 22 of those matches came against in-state rival Wisconsin. Kathy Litzau is 2-5 against Big 10 teams.

UWM Vs. The NCAA Field: The Panthers have played five matches against NCAA Tournament team, compiling a 2-3 mark. UWM owns wins over Loyola and Cincinnati, while UWM fell to Loyola, Ball State, and South Florida.

UWM NCAA History: Two years ago, in their first NCAA Tournament appearance, the Panthers fell to the University of Texas, 3-0, in a first round match in Austin, Texas. Last year, UWM fell 3-1 to the University of Illinois in Gainsville, Fla.

California Dreamin': The Panthers have made just one trip to California under Litzau. In 1998, UWM won three of four matches at the Power Bar Invitational in northern California. UWM beat San Francisco, St. Mary's (Ca.), and San Jose State, while falling to Fresno St.

Up Next: The winners of the two Saturday matches face off Sunday afternoon at 5 p.m. central time. The winner of that match advances to the Mideast Regional semfinals at a site to be determined. The NCAA Division I Volleyball Final Four is scheduled for Dec. 14-16 at Richmond, Va.