Game 14 | UIC (6-9) at Milwaukee (5-8)
Date	Friday, September 26 | 7 p.m.
Location	Milwaukee, Wis. | Klotsche Center
Live Stats	GameTracker
Media	Watch Live | Twitter Updates

 

Game 15 | Valparaiso (13-1) at Milwaukee (5-8)
Date	Saturday, September 27 | 4 p.m.
Location	Milwaukee, Wis. | Klotsche Center
Live Stats	GameTracker
Media	Watch Live | Twitter Updates

Following three consecutive weekends on the road, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball team finally returns home, just in time for the start of Horizon League play. The Panthers welcome UIC Friday followed by Valparaiso Saturday.

The game against the Flames starts at 7 p.m. and the next day's match against the Crusaders begins at 4 p.m. Both will have a live broadcast on the Horizon League Network as well as GameTracker live statistics.

-MILWAUKEE GAME NOTES

Scouting the Weekend

The two opponents headed to the Klotsche Center this week carry varying degrees of success in 2014.

UIC is coming in with a 6-9 overall mark after winning two out of three matches at the Penn State Alumni Classic, topping East Carolina, 3-2, and Eastern Illinois, 3-1. Stephenee Yancy was named the Horizon League's "Offensive Player of the Week after averaging 18.75 kills per match last week. She put down over 20 kills on two occasions and recorded a .403 attack percentage with six total blocks.  

Valparaiso closed out the Crusader Crossroads of America Classic by claiming its third straight in-season tournament title with a pair of sweeps, as the Crusaders downed both Sacramento State and George Washington in straight sets. Valpo now enters Horizon League play with a 13-1 overall record, extending the best start in program history. The pair of victories also makes it a 12-match winning streak for the Crusaders, the third-longest string of wins all-time at Valpo and the longest win streak since 2008. They play at Green Bay Friday before heading down to Milwaukee.

Schedule With Some Muscle

The Panthers have played a very demanding schedule so far in 2014. In fact, if you add up the records of the teams that have defeated Milwaukee so far this season, you get an overall win-loss record of 47-12, a .797 winning percentage. Minnesota (10-1) was ranked #19 at the time (now #17), while Michigan State (7-4, No. 25) was also ranked. WKU (12-4) continues to receive votes, as was Iowa State (6-3) when the two teams matched up.

Last Week

The Panthers went 1-2 at the Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational once again playing very competitively against some formidable opponents before falling. The team did knock off LIU Brooklyn in straight sets, in a match following its upset of Michigan State. Senior Taylor Golabowski was named to the all-tournament team after 4.78 digs per set.

Triple-Double Territory

Sophomore Myanna Ruiz became the ninth player in program history to record a triple-double Sept. 19, putting up an impressive line of 11 kills, 17 assists and 10 digs in the win over LIU Brooklyn. It marked the first Milwaukee triple-double since Kerri Schuh in 2010.

Closing in on a Grand

Senior Julie Kolinske became the 11th player to record over 1,000 kills in a career. She now sits at 1,008 and is currently averaging 3.95 per set. She will climb up the Top 10 the rest of the way, with a move into the top five (currently 1,213) in her sights.

Price one of a Unique Trio

Just a junior, Kayla Price moved into rare territory over the course of play at the Wynn Invitational when she climbed over the 3,000 career assists mark. That makes her just one of three UWM players all-time to reach that status. Lindsey Spoden (No. 2 at 5,233) and Katie Schroeder (No. 1 at 5,276) remain the only players above her on the career list.

Kolinske Off to a Fast Start

Senior Julie Kolinske was named the Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week Sept. 2. She earned MVP honors at the Pepsi Panther Invitational after hitting .408 and averaging 4.7 kills per set to pace the conference in the opening weekend. The Preseason Horizon League Offensive Player of the Year was at her best in UWM's five-set win over Miami (Ohio), registering career-highs in kills (26) and hitting percentage (.511). That topped her former career-best of 22 kills (set four times) and a .423 hitting percentage (13-26 vs. Cleveland State 10/18/13).

Preseason Honors

Julie Kolinske has been named the Horizon League's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year while Kayla Price was also named to the preseason all-league team. The full preseason honors list was voted on by the league's coaches.

Kolinske was an All-League honoree last season after helping lead the Panthers to the Horizon League title. The outside hitter reached double-figures in kills 20 times, including a pair of 20-plus outings, while accumulating 343 kills on the season to lead the Horizon League. She had 31 kills in Milwaukee's two tournament wins as she was named to the All-Tournament team.

2013 Year in Review

The Panthers once again posted another successful season in 2013, bouncing back to claim both the Horizon League regular-season and tournament championships.

Back to the Big Dance

The Panthers took advantage of their homecourt and avenged their only regular-season league losses by beating Cleveland State and Valparaiso to claim the 2013 Horizon League Tournament title, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in school history.

About that Regular Season

The Panthers claimed their ninth Horizon League regular-season title in the last 11 years with another strong run through the regular season. It marked quite a turnaround from the previous season, when Milwaukee posted an uncharacteristic 4-10 mark and didn't even qualify for the league tournament. This year marks the fifth regular-season league title in seven seasons under Susie Johnson, who is now 96-25 against league competition as a head coach. In all, Milwaukee has now won 13 league regular-season crowns.

The Awards List

Five Panthers were honored by the Horizon League when the postseason awards were announced at the end of the regular season. Rachel Neuberger claimed league player of the year honors and was joined on the all-league team by Julie Kolinske and Kayla Price. Plus, Susie Johnson was named the league coach of the year and Myanna Ruiz captured a spot on the all-freshman team.

Nice Numbers

UWM was statistically dominant in its 14 league matches. Milwaukee led the league in hitting percentage, kills and assists while standing second in both digs and opponent hitting percentage. Plus, the Panthers finished third in blocks in league-only matches. The team tallied a stellar 15.1-11.8 advantage in kills per set and a .275-.167 edge in team hitting percentage. Individually, Julie Kolinske led the league in kills, with Rachel Neuberger right behind her. As a team, Milwaukee hit .300 or better seven times in 14 league matches.

Many People Involved

One of the great strengths of the 2013 Panthers was the depth and wide variety of players that stepped up. Eight different players recorded at least one double-figure kill outing last season and six players had a season total of at least 100 kills. Defensively, six different players had at least one double-figure dig outing and four players had at least 200 digs last season. Plus, on the blocks front, four players had at least 50 blocks. The Milwaukee rotation certainly developed and changed throughout the year. Nicole Latzig and Kaisa Mattson both spent time as the second middle alongside Rachel Neuberger while Maggie Dunbar, Hannah Blanchard, Myanna Ruiz and Sammi Herron all worked at either the outside or right side throughout the year alongside Julie Kolinske.

Summing Up the Non-League

Milwaukee knew it would be facing plenty of challenges during the non-league portion of its schedule. UWM wound up squaring off with five teams that were in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, including national seeds Florida, Kansas and Wisconsin. When the Panthers met the then-#4 Gators in September, they were the highest ranked opponent ever for UWM. In all, Milwaukee played three teams from the Big Ten, going to five sets with both Northwestern and Iowa, and played a pair of Big XII foes in Oklahoma and Kansas. In all, the Panthers played five teams in the top 25 of the RPI.

Back on the Top of the Hill

A year after climbing back to the top of the standings and returning to the NCAA Tournament, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee volleyball team has once again been picked by league coaches to take first place in the upcoming Horizon League regular season. The Panthers tallied six first-place votes and 47 points in the coaches' poll to claim the top spot. Valparaiso (second place overall with 39 points) and Oakland (third, 37) each collected one of the remaining two first-place votes.

Always Being Tested

UWM is facing another challenging non-league schedule in 2014, highlighted by five matches against teams that played in the NCAA Tournament a year ago and 10 total contests versus squads that won at least 20 games last season. The team will play Michigan State, Minnesota, Iowa State, LIU Brooklyn and Marquette - five different teams that earned their way into the NCAA Tournament in 2013.

Up Next

The Panthers continue Horizon League action by facing Green Bay at home Friday. The match is their only one of the week.