Women's Volleyball September 02, 2015

Volleyball Heads To North Dakota For Weekend Tournament

Panthers again to play three matches in two days

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball team makes its first big road trip of the season, heading to Fargo, N.D. Milwaukee will play three matches in two days as part of the Baymont Inn & Suites Classic starting Friday.

• The Weekend Schedule
Much like the Panther Invitational this past weekend, this weekend's Baymont Inn & Suites Classic will be a pairing of four teams, with two matches Friday and four on Saturday. Here's the complete breakdown of the schedule:

Friday, Sept. 4
4 pm - Milwaukee v Utah Valley
7 pm - Towson v NDSU

Saturday, Sept. 5
10 am - Towson v Milwaukee
1 pm - Utah Valley v NDSU
4 pm - Utah Valley v Towson
7 pm - Milwaukee v NDSU

• On The Web
All six matches this weekend will be livestreamed through GoBison.com for a fee. There will also be live stats for all matches throughout the tournament.

• About The Opponents
Utah Valley is fresh off a 14-18 season and a fourth-place finish in the WAC. Picked to finish fifth in this year's preseason poll, UVU went 1-2 in its season-opening tournament at Pepperdine and is 1-3 heading into Fargo. The Wolverines return four starters from last season, including junior outside hitter Macky Fifita (nee Treanor), cousin of three-time USA Gold Medalist Misty May Treanor.

Towson enters 2015 after an impressive 27-5 mark last year, finishing its season with a heartbreaking loss in the CAA Championship. 13 of the 20 roster spots this season are underclassmen, but the Tigers are off to a hot start early. Following a 3-2 loss to Tennessee to start the season, Towson has not dropped a set in its last four matches with wins over Manhattan, St. Francis (PA), Delaware State and Coppin State.

The host Bison have rattled off three-straight wins of their own, taking down Saint Louis, Winthrop and North Texas during the opening weekend to stand at 3-1 overall. NDSU returns 14 players from last year's team, including all six starters and the libero. North Dakota State has proven to be a tough team to beat year in and year out, making three of the last seven NCAA Tournaments.

• Series History
When Milwaukee takes the court in its first two matches of the Baymont Inn & Suites Classic this weekend. The Panthers have never before taken on Utah Valley or Towson in program history. UWM has some history against the host Bison, with NDSU holding the all-time edge at 4-2.

• 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 freshman 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
Milwaukee had a pair of players named to the all-tournament team following the season-opening Pepsi Panther Invitational. Senior Kayla Price and junior Myanna Ruiz were both selected to the six-member all-tourney team after great performances in the three matches over the weekend.

• 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 sqauds 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 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 roadtrip 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 3,845 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
Milwaukee continues its early season road swing with another four-team tournament. Playing in the Hawkeye Challenge, the Panthers will start against host Iowa Friday at 11 a.m. UWM will also square off against Texas A&M Friday evening before a Saturday contest against Iowa State.

Print Friendly Version

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