Volleyball Returns Home For Pair Of League Matches

Panthers host UIC, Valpo this weekend

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee volleyball team returns home for its final three matches, two of which will take place this weekend. The Panthers will host UIC Friday at 7 p.m. before a Saturday 4 p.m. matchup against Valparaiso from the Klotsche Center.

Panther Points
• Despite having a bit of an up-and-down season thus far, the Panthers are still right in the thick of things are far as the Horizon League standings go. The top-six make the league tournament each year. Milwaukee enters the weekend sitting seventh overall, but can still dramatically change their league standing with three matches left - all against conference opponents.

• The Panthers wrapped up the road portion of their season last weekend with more mixed results. UWM battled back for a five-set win in their first-ever trip to Northern Kentucky - their fifth five-set win this season. Then, the Panthers fell to a high-flying Wright State team playing in its final home match of the year.

• Kayla Price has been working on a pair of milestones all season. The fifth-year senior just notched her 1,000th dig of her Panther career Oct. 23 against Youngstown State. Also, with 123 career matches played, Price is just one away from tying and two from breaking the most matches played by a Panther.

• The Week Ahead
Milwaukee returns home for three important matches to close out the season - two of which take place this weekend. The Panthers will take on UIC Friday evening before a Saturday afternoon contest against Valparaiso.

• Scouting Notebook
The Flames enter Friday's match one spot ahead of the Panthers in the conference standings ... UIC is 5-7 in conference play and 12-15 overall ... Stephenee Yancy leads the Horizon League in both kills (4.59/set) and hitting percentage (.364), and is one of the best in blocks (0.88/set) ... setter Nicole Johnson has a league-high 1122 assists on the season ... the Flames have suffered three-straight three-set losses entering Friday, most recently falling to Big East foe DePaul on Tuesday ... Valparaiso has a league-best 22 wins on the season, carrying a 22-6 overall record and an 8-4 league mark, currently good enough for third place ... the Crusaders have won five of their last six, including back-to-back road wins over UIC and Oakland ... preseason all-league selection Emily Campbell leads the Valpo attack, averaging 4.29 kills per set - second most in the league ... Kelsey Barrington is averaging just under 10 assists per set, while libero Morganne Longoria leads the way defensively with 4.41 digs per set.

• Series History
Despite losses to both teams earlier this season, Milwaukee still holds series leads over both of its weekend opponents. The Panthers are 42-18 all time against the Flames and 20-17 head-to-head with Valpo.

• She Can Dig It
Myanna Ruiz moved from outside to libero this season and has made a seamless transition. In fact, the junior's average of 4.99 digs per set would be just shy of a single-season school record - with Lauren Felsing's mark of 5.04 back in 2008 currently the top mark. Additionally, her digs-per-set average also ranks 28th in the nation.

Ruiz also is on pace to finish in the top-10 in total digs for a season. With at least three matches left on the schedule, she currently has 494 digs on the season. Felsing is also the record-holder in that category with 645, also in 2008.

• Hitting The Century Mark
A pair of Panthers have reached milestone marks in their collegiate careers this season as both senior Kayla Price and junior Myanna Ruiz reached 1,000 digs for their Milwaukee careers. Ruiz was first to crack the list, accomplishing the feat Oct. 10th at UIC. Then, Price reached the century mark Oct. 23 in a home match against Youngstown State. The two become the 12th and 13th players in program history to achieve the remarkable accomplishment.

• The Price Is Right
Kayla Price enters her senior season as one of the top setters in Milwaukee history. A starter from her first season on campus, the fifth-year senior has racked up a whopping 4,826 assists. That mark is good for third in program history. Katie Schneider holds the program record with 5,276 from 1996-99.

• Gimme Five
Milwaukee has played in some thrilling matches this season, including eight that have gone the full five sets. The Panthers are 5-3 thus far this season when playing five, claiming wins over Furman, Oakland, Wright State, Youngstown State and Northern Kentucky.

• Making A Career Of It
With three matches left in the regular season, fifth-year senior Kayla Price is on pace to break the all time matches played record in Milwaukee history. Price enters the weekend with 123 matches under her belt, just one behind Julie Schloemer's record of 124 set from 1992-95.

• Flying High
The Panthers were statistically dominant in their five-set win at Oakland this season. In fact, four Panthers set career highs during the win. Kaisa Mattson had a career-high 21 kills, surpassing her old mark of 14. Myanna Ruiz (36), Maggie Dunbar (17) and Mykie Olsen (14) all tallied career bests in digs, while Kayla Price was just shy of PRs in both digs (18 - one away) and assists (58 - four away).

• Getting It Dun-Bar
Maggie Dunbar has put together quite a few memorable performances this season. The senior started the year coming off the bench to notch a then-career-high 25 kills in the five-set win over Furman. Dunbar hit a whopping .465 to lead UWM to the comeback win. Then, Dunbar upped her career-high to 28 against Cleveland State Oct. 24. That total equals the most in the Horizon League this season. Just for perspective, that tied for the second-most kills in program history for a five-set match.

• Tough Tests
As always, UWM will face plenty of tests during the 2015 season. The Panthers will face six NCAA Tournament squads from a year ago and teams from the Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and Big East. In all, Milwaukee will play 12 contests against teams that won 20 or more matches a year ago.

• On The Road Again
After opening the season with three-straight home matches as part of the Pepsi Panther Invitational, Milwaukee didn't play another home game the whole month of September. UWM faced 12-straight road matches, including playing away from home every weekend during the first month of school. Tournaments in North Dakota, Iowa and Illinois started the big road swing before a three-game road trip to Oakland, Youngstown State and Cleveland State to start conference play ended the month-long stretch.

• It's Good To Be Home
When it comes to home court advantage, Milwaukee has proven to make the Klotsche Center one of the toughest places to play. The Panthers posted a 9-3 mark a season ago to up their home record to 75-24 under head coach Susie Johnson, good for a winning percentage of .758. Here's Milwaukee's year-by-year home record under Johnson:

2014: 9-3
2013: 8-1
2012: 5-7
2011: 12-2
2010: 10-4
2009: 8-4
2008: 10-2
2007: 13-1

• All-Tourney Team
The Panthers played in four non-conference tournaments this year and boasted some great individual performances to start the season. Kayla Price and Myanna Ruiz were both named to the all-tournament team following the season-opening Pepsi Panther Invitational. Then, Price was at it again after the tournament in North Dakota. Maggie Dunbar was named to the all-tourney team in Iowa before freshman Maddie Williams got the nod after a strong showing at the Wildcat Invitational at Northwestern.

• Up Next
The Panthers have just one remaining match on its regular season schedule - a home date with Green Bay. UWM and GB will square off Saturday at 4 p.m. from the Klotsche Center. That match will also serve as senior day with five Panthers playing their final time in front of their home fans.

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Players Mentioned

#12 Maggie Dunbar: RS; 6' 2"; Senior

#13 Kaisa Mattson: MB; 6' 2"; Junior

#11 Mykie Olsen: DS; 5' 6"; Sophomore

#5 Kayla Price: S; 5' 9"; Senior

#2 Myanna Ruiz: L; 5' 8"; Junior

#15 Maddie Williams: MB; 5' 11"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#12 Maggie Dunbar
: 6' 2"; Senior
: RS

#13 Kaisa Mattson
: 6' 2"; Junior
: MB

#11 Mykie Olsen
: 5' 6"; Sophomore
: DS

#5 Kayla Price
: 5' 9"; Senior
: S

#2 Myanna Ruiz
: 5' 8"; Junior
: L

#15 Maddie Williams
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: MB