Dec. 12, 2000

MILWAUKEE - Juniors Laura Dallenbach and Chrissy Schurla have been named to the American Volleyball Coaches' Association all-Midwest Region team, while Lindsey Spoden was named the region's freshman of the year.

Dallenbach (Waterloo, Iowa/West) led the Panthers in kills and digs, and was named the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Player of the Year. During the season, she moved into first place on UWM's all-time digs list, and into second place on UWM's all-time kills list. She was named the most valuable player at the Panther Invitational, named to the all-tournament team at the State Farm/Illini Classic and at the South Florida Invitational, and named the MCC Player of the Week twice.

Schurla (Chicago, Ill./Evergreen Park) was second on the team in kills, blocks and digs, and led the team in hitting percentage. She was named the MCC Player of the Week after leading the Panthers to wins over regionally-ranked opponents DePaul and Cincinnati. Schurla recorded 18 kills and 10 blocks in the win over DePaul, and 21 kills in the win over Cincinnati. Schurla was also an all-MCC first team performer.

Spoden (Alexandria, Minn./Jefferson Senior) was named the MCC Newcomer of the Year, and a second-team all-MCC performer. Her 1,267 assists are the fourth-most ever by a Panther in a single season, and she is already third on the school's all-time career assists list. Spoden collected a season-high 82 assists in the win over DePaul, then collected 79 more in the win over Cincinnati.

The three helped the Panthers (23-5) to a fourth straight regular season Midwestern Collegiate Conference championship, and a third straight berth in the NCAA Tournament. UWM's season ended with a 3-1 loss to Michigan State in the tournament's first round.