Women's Volleyball September 18, 2015

Panthers Take On Northwestern, Lipscomb In Final Non-Conference Tournament

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball team continues its busy month of September with another tournament away from home this weekend, heading to the Chicago area for a pair of weekend matches. UWM will take on perennial power Lipscomb before a contest against Big Ten foe Northwestern.

Panther Points
• Milwaukee has once again earned high praise from fellow league coaches in the preseason poll. The Panthers were picked to finish second in this year's preseason Horizon League poll, earning one first-place vote.

• Senior Kayla Price was named preseason All-Horizon League again this year. This marks the fourth-straight season Price has been honored in the preseason.

• UWM finished second in the Horizon League standings last year in both the regular season and in the league tournament. That marked the 16th time in the last 18 seasons Milwaukee finished in the top-two in the league standings.

• The Week Ahead
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball team heads to its final non-conference tournament of the season with a trip just across the state line to Evanston, Ill. UWM will square off against Lipscomb Saturday and Northwestern Sunday.

• Scouting Notebook
Lipscomb is coming off a 21-9 season a year ago, earning a berth to the NCAA Tournament before falling to Ohio State ... the Bisons have had an up-and-down season so far, starting with five-straight wins before dropping their last five matches for a 5-5 overall mark ... Lipscomb has very balanced attack this season with four players already at or over 85 kills this season ... Northwestern is at home for the first time this season ... the Wildcats were 10-5 at home last season, including 5-0 in non-conference home action ... NU is 6-3 thus far this season and has alternated wins and loses each of its last seven matches ... the Wildcats and Bisons will square off Friday before both teams take on UWM Saturday and Sunday.

• On The Web
Both of its weekend matches will be live streamed by host Northwestern for a fee. Head to MKEPanthers.com for the links, as well as all pre-match information and live stat links.

• Series History
When Milwaukee and Lipscomb square off Saturday it will mark the first-ever meeting between the two programs' histories. Meanwhile, the Panthers and Wildcats are meeting for the third time in the regular season, owning a 2-0 all-time lead, including a five-set thriller in an early season tournament in 2013.

• Preseason Picks
Milwaukee has once again earned high praise from fellow league coaches in the preseason poll. The Panthers were picked to finish second in this year's preseason Horizon League poll, earning one first-place vote.

Individually, senior Kayla Price was named preseason All-Horizon League again this year. This marks the fourth-straight season Price has been honored in the preseason.

• New Faces
Five newcomers join the Black & Gold this season. Taylor Mansfield will start her junior season after transferring from Trinidad State Junior College in southern Colorado. Meanwhile, four freshmen will start their collegiate careers in Celine Jones (Burr Ridge, Ill.), Caitlin Schultz (Port Washington, Wis.), Teagan Taylor (Burlington, Wis.) and Maddie Williams (Normal, Ill.).

• For Starters
The 2015 Panther squad kicked off the season with a bang, claiming a 3-1 win over Western Michigan. UWM has now won five of its last six season openers, including going 11-6 to start the season since 1999.

• All-Tourney Team
With three tournaments under its belt, the Panthers have already boasted some great individual performances to start the season. First, Kayla Price and Myanna Ruiz were both named to the all-tournament team following the season-opening Pepsi Panther Invitational. Then, Price again was named all-tournament after the tournament in North Dakota. Finally, Maggie Dunbar was named to the all-tourney team in Iowa after three solid outings against Iowa, No. 25 Texas A&M and Iowa State.

• Getting It Dun-Bar
Maggie Dunbar made quite the start to her senior season in the Black & Gold. The Bloomington, Ill. native came off the bench and notched a career-high 25 kills in the five-set win over Furman. Dunbar hit a whopping .465 to lead UWM to the comeback win. Just for perspective, that is only two kills shy of fourth place 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.

• A Little History
While the Panthers have hit a bit of a rough patch going up against some mighty tough opponents to start the season, Panther fans should not panic. The 2010 team started the season 3-7 before going 15-1 in league play and winning the league title. Just one year earlier, Milwaukee started 2-9 and was 5-14 before going on a tear, marching to a league tournament title and an NCAA Tournament berth. UWM was also 2-9 to start the 2002 season before also winning the league tournament title and heading to the NCAA Tournament.

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

• 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 4,231 assists. That mark is good for third in program history. Katie Schneider holds the program record with 5,276 from 1996-99.

In fact, Price's season average of 11.47 assists per set last year was not only a career high, it was also good for 15th in the entire nation.

• 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

• Up Next
League play kicks off next week in a big way for Milwaukee, as the Panthers will take on three league foes on the road. It's a rematch of the Horizon League Tournament Championship when UWM takes to Oakland on Thursday before heading to Youngstown State Friday and Cleveland State Saturday.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

#6 Celine Jones: RS; 5' 10"; Freshman

#17 Caitlin Schultz: OH; 6' 4"; Freshman

#4 Teagan Taylor: DS; 5' 6"; Freshman

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

#1 Taylor Mansfield: OH; 5' 11"; Junior

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

#6 Celine Jones
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: RS

#17 Caitlin Schultz
: 6' 4"; Freshman
: OH

#4 Teagan Taylor
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: DS

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

#1 Taylor Mansfield
: 5' 11"; Junior
: OH