Women's Volleyball October 26, 2016

Panthers Rematch With Flames, Phoenix This Weekend

Team plays Friday, Sunday to wrap up road swing

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee volleyball team starts a four-game road trip this weekend with trips to Chicago and Green Bay. UWM will take on UIC Friday night at 6 pm before a Sunday afternoon match at in-state rival Green Bay.

Panther Points
• With six matches left in the regular season, it seems more than safe to say the Panthers have rebounded from an uncharacteristically down year in 2015. Milwaukee has already surpassed its win total from all of last year with 12 and is one win shy of matching last year's league total of seven.

• Susie Johnson has quite a few newcomers on this year's Panther squad with many already playing key rolls this season. In fact, Milwaukee sports one of the youngest teams, not only in the Horizon League but in the entire country. With seven true freshman and only five upperclassmen, that makes them by far the youngest team in the conference this year.

• The Panthers were picked tied for fifth in the 2016 Horizon League preseason poll after finishing sixth overall one season ago.

• Susie Johnson is in her 10th year as head coach at Milwaukee. Her teams have claimed either the regular season or league tournament title in six of her nine years thus far.

• The Week Ahead
The Milwaukee volleyball team starts a four-game road trip this weekend with trips to Chicago and Green Bay. UWM will take on UIC Friday night at 6 pm before a Sunday afternoon match at in-state rival Green Bay.

• Scouting Notebook
UIC heads into Friday's match flying high after a big, 3-2 win over Oakland last Saturday. The Flames are just 2-8 in conference play, but also played league-leading Cleveland State mighty tough last weekend before falling. Despite their league record, UIC still ranks near the top of most Horizon League offensive categories. Individually, Kelsie Groot and Alyssa Ehrhardt average over 3.50 kills/set, with Groot leading the entire conference in kills with 341 on the year.

Green Bay will play host to UIC on Saturday before Milwaukee heads to the Kress Center on Sunday. The Phoenix head into the weekend tied for second in the league standings with a 7-3 conference mark and a 15-7 record overall. After starting the league season with five-straight wins, the Phoenix are 2-3 in their last five. Lydia DeWeese is hitting an incredible .364 for the season, including a .335 mark in conference play. DeWeese also averages an impressive 1.55 blocks/set this season and had 11 at UWM earlier this year. Green Bay edged the Panthers, 3-2, in the two teams' first meeting this season on Oct. 2.

• Don't Call It A Comeback
Milwaukee had an uncharacteristic down season in 2015, finishing sixth in the Horizon League and tallying just nine wins overall. Now, just past the midway point of the league season, it's safe to say last year is far in the rearview mirror. With six regular season games left on the schedule, UWM has already surpassed last year's win total with 12, with quite a few notable wins already under their belt. Not only that, but the Panthers are sitting right near the top of the league standings with a 6-4 league mark thus far.

• League Standings
With six games to go, Milwaukee is right in the thick of things at the top of the league standings. The Panthers head into the weekend with a 6-4 league record for fifth place in the standings, just one game behind a three way tie for second. UWM plays all three teams currently sitting one game ahead (Green Bay, Northern Kentucky and Oakland) in the next weeks, so quite a bit can change before the league tournament begins.

• Gimme Five
Panther fans sure are getting their money's worth out of games this season, with already eight matches going the full five sets so far this season. This is something of a trend, as Milwaukee played a total of 10 five setters one year ago, just one shy of the program record of 11 set back in 1998. This year's squad is an even 4-4 in five-set matches thus far.

• A Look At The League Ranks
Right at the halfway point of league play, Milwaukee has certainly made an early impression on the conference rankings. As a team, the Panthers rank first in blocks (2.60/set), second in assists (12.62/set), and third in kills (13.24/set) in league-only play. What is notable about those ranks is that - outside of the play of freshman Jenn Dore as team's primary setter - no one else from the Black & Gold leads the league in any individual category.

• Learning On The Job
UWM is by far the youngest team in the Horizon League this season and has gotten quite a bit of production so far from its youngsters. Five of Milwaukee's newcomers have seen significant time on the court this season, with six seeing the court this past weekend. Setter Jenn Dore leads the league in assists with 10.65 per set. Meanwhile, Bridget Wallenberger ranks in the top 10 in the league in kills (232), hitting percentage (.257) and blocks (88), while Kylie Wilks has also climbed into the charts in total kills with 204.

• Setting The Record Straight
Milwaukee has quite a few freshmen playing significant minutes this season, which has led to some impressive results from the Panther newcomers. So much so that the freshman record book with have to be completely rewritten by the end of the season. With plenty of time to go, Milwaukee already has the following to add to its freshmen top-10 all time: Jenn Dore, 884 assists (5th); Bridget Wallenberger, 232 kills (t-7th); Kylie Wilks, 204 kills (ninth); Wallenberger, 2.86 kills/set (fourth); Wilks, 2.55 kills/set (fifth); Wallenberger, 1.09 blocks/set (fourth).

• Liking League Play
This year is the 10th with Susie Johnson as the head coach of Milwaukee volleyball. In each of those 10 years, the Panthers have won their Horizon League opener. The streak was continued this season when Milwaukee took down Northern Kentucky Sept. 23 in five sets to make it a perfect 10-for-10. UWM also won its next two to improve to 3-0 - the sixth time the team has been perfect through three league matches under Johnson.

• Strong Start
It is no secret Milwaukee traditionally schedules a very challenging non-conference schedule, with this year being no exception. This year's 6-5 record in non-conference play certainly had its memorable moments and could be the start of something special. Three times Milwaukee won at least six non-conference games (2007, '08, '11) heading into Horizon League play under head coach Susie Johnson, with all three of those seasons resulting in a league title.

• Early Honors
The Panthers have garnered quite a few accolades throughout the 2016 campaign. After sweeping its home Panther Invitational to start the season, sophomore Caitlin Schultz was named the tournament MVP, while senior Myanna Ruiz and freshman Jenn Dore were each named to the all-tournament squad, as well. Ruiz went on to be named all-tournament after each of the next three tournaments, while Bridget Wallenberger joined her on that list at Western Michigan's home tournament.

The Horizon League has also taken note of some of the Panther performances thus far, with Ruiz being named defensive player of the week Aug. 29 after the opening tournament, before Dore was named league offensive player of the week Sept. 26 after helping the Panthers to a 2-0 start to league play.

• Opening The Dore
Freshman setter Jenn Dore is off to a nice start to her collegiate career, dishing out 884 assists in her first 21 matches as a Panther. That already ranks as fifth most for a freshman in school history. If her pace holds, she should reach 1,000 assists for the season, something only done two total times in program history by a freshman (Lindsey Spoden (1,264) in 2000 and Kayla Price (1.180) in 2011).

• Young Panthers
Susie Johnson has quite a few newcomers on this year's Panther squad with many already playing key rolls this season. In fact, Milwaukee sports one of the youngest teams, not only in the Horizon League but in the entire country. With seven true freshman and only five upperclassmen, that makes Milwaukee by far the youngest team in the conference this year.

• Nice Net Work
Part of Milwaukee's success during its 12-9 start to the season stems from its work at the net. The Panthers posted a solid 195 total blocks in the first 21 matches, including 11 and 13 in the first two matches alone. That is especially impressive considering the Panthers only tallied double-digit blocks seven times all of the 2015 season, already surpassing that total (11 so far this year) with at least six matches left on the schedule. In fact, UWM has reached double figures in blocks in six of its last eight matches and has done so in all but three matches in league play.

UWM is also doing well on the offensive side of the net, hitting .192 through its first 21 matches. In fact, the Panthers have hit .200 or better in eight matches and .300 or better twice this year - all wins. So far, the statistics show that if Milwaukee hits .175 or better, they should win, sitting 11-1 when hitting that benchmark so far this season.

• Hitting The Century Mark
Myanna Ruiz reached a milestone mark last year when she collected her 1,000th dig during her Milwaukee career. Ruiz achieved the memorable feat Oct. 10th at UIC, becoming the 12th player in program history to reach the remarkable accomplishment.

• She Can Dig It
Myanna Ruiz picked up right where she left off last year. After being named All-Horizon League a year ago with one of the best defensive back row seasons in program history, Ruiz led all players in the Panther Invitational with 48 digs in the three matches, earning her Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week honors and has consistently been the defensive leader for Milwaukee all season.
Ruiz is quickly climbing the charts as one of the all-time digs leaders in program history, already ranking fourth all time.

1. Lauren Felsing                                 1,929                                        2006-09
2. Becky Peters                                    1,875                                        2005-08
3. Laura Dallenbach                            1,600                                        1998-01
4. Myanna Ruiz                                   1,565                                            2013-
5. Leanne Felsing                                1,329                                        2004-07

• Up Next
The Panthers wrap up their road schedule with trips to Ohio and Kentucky next weekend, taking on Wright State Friday evening before a Saturday afternoon contest at Northern Kentucky.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

#8 Jenn Dore: S; 5' 10"; Freshman

#12 Bridget Wallenberger: MB; 6' 2"; Freshman

#14 Kylie Wilks: OH; 5' 8"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

#8 Jenn Dore
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: S

#12 Bridget Wallenberger
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: MB

#14 Kylie Wilks
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: OH