Women's Volleyball November 10, 2016

Panthers Host Oakland, Valpo To Close Out Regular Season

Senior day is Saturday

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee volleyball is back at home this weekend to wrap up the 2016 regular season with a pair of matches from the Klotsche Center. UWM will take on Oakland Friday at 6 pm, with $1 admission for all UWM faculty/staff and their families as well as the Hunger Task Force. The Panthers then close out the regular season with a 4 pm match Saturday against Valparaiso.

Panther Points
• The Panthers have already clinched a spot in this year's Horizon League Tournament after last weekend's results. Milwaukee can finish no higher than fifth, but quite a bit will still be decided this weekend

• 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 is back at home this weekend to wrap up the 2016 regular season with a pair of matches from the Klotsche Center. UWM will take on Oakland Friday at 6 pm, with $1 admission for all UWM faculty/staff and their families as well as the Hunger Task Force. The Panthers then close out the regular season with a 4 pm match Saturday against Valparaiso.

• Scouting Notebook
Oakland closes out its regular season Friday night at Milwaukee with plenty still on the line. The Golden Grizzlies are currently tied for third place in the league standings with Northern Kentucky and could finish anywhere from second to fourth. OU fell at Valparaiso on Wednesday to drop them to 10-5 in league play and 18-11 overall. The loss is the second-straight for Oakland after a sweep by league-leading Cleveland State last Saturday. OU leads the league in service aces with 1.69/set overall this season and is just ahead of Milwaukee in blocks/set with 2.32.

Valparaiso heads into Saturday's finale with quite a bit to play for, as well. The Crusaders have won six of their last nine and have nearly clinched a spot in the league tournament. They are currently sitting in sixth, but could move up to the fifth spot depending on other league results. VU started off unexpectedly slowly after a rash of injuries, but have gotten things going of late with a big push from their large senior class. Due to the shifting in its lineup, Valpo has employed a unique offense this season and have relied on a defense that is the clear leader in digs in the conference at 17.20/set overall.

• Injury Bug
Milwaukee has been hit hard by the injury bug this season, especially of late. Caitlin Schultz missed a good portion of the early going with a preseason injury before Mykie Olsen went down a few weeks ago and has missed a good part of the league slate with a leg injury. Now, Maddie Williams suffered an injury while filling in for a banged up Jess Kalous, and Teagan Taylor missed the last road trip, as well.

• 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 11.48 per set. Meanwhile, Bridget Wallenberger ranks in the top 10 in the league in kills (273), hitting percentage (.288) and blocks (102), while Kylie Wilks has also climbed into the charts in total kills with 250.

• League Standings
With just two games to go, Milwaukee knows it will once again be heading to the Horizon League Tournament - it's just a matter of where the Panthers will be seeded that is yet to be determined. UWM sits fifth heading into the weekend, with a surging Valparaiso hot on their heels. Milwaukee can finish either fifth or sixth, with the two, three and four spots very much up in the air heading into the final weekend, as well. Cleveland State has already clinched the league's regular season title and will host the conference tournament starting Nov. 18.

• 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
With two matches left in league play, Milwaukee has certainly made its presence known in the conference rankings. As a team, the Panthers rank second in blocks (2.45/set), third in assists (12.55/set), and third in kills (13.18/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.

• 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.

• 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 will 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, 1,038 assists (3rd); Bridget Wallenberger, 273 kills (5th); Kylie Wilks, 250 kills (7th); Wallenberger, 2.87 kills/set (3rd); Wilks, 2.66 kills/set (5th); Wallenberger, 1.07 blocks/set (5th).

• 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.

• Opening The Dore
Freshman setter Jenn Dore is off to a nice start to her collegiate career, dishing out 1,038 assists in her first 25 matches as a Panther. That already ranks as third most for a freshman in school history. By surpassing the 1,000 assists milestone last weekend, she became just the third Panther to do so in their first collegiate season. With at least three matches left on the schedule, the school record - 1,264 held by current associate head coach Lindsey Vanden Berg - might be hard to reach, but second place is certainly a possibility at 1,180.

• Nice Net Work
Part of Milwaukee's success thus far stems from its work at the net. The Panthers posted 223 total blocks so far, 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 (12 so far this year) with at least three matches left on the schedule.

UWM is also doing well on the offensive side of the net, hitting .193 through its first 25 matches. In fact, the Panthers have hit .200 or better in 10 matches and .300 or better twice this year - with nine of those matches resulting in wins. So far, the statistics show that if Milwaukee hits .175 or better, they should win, sitting 12-2 when hitting that benchmark so far this season.

• 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.

• 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, recently moving into third all time.

1. Lauren Felsing                                 1,929                                        2006-09
2. Becky Peters                                    1,875                                        2005-08
3. Myanna Ruiz                                  1,634                                             2013-
4. Laura Dallenbach                            1,600                                        1998-01
5. Leanne Felsing                                1,329                                        2004-07

• Up Next
The Panthers will head to Cleveland, Ohio for the 2016 Horizon League Tournament starting Nov. 18, hosted by regular-season champs Cleveland State.

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Players Mentioned

#9 Jess Kalous: MB; 6' 2"; Junior

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

#9 Jess Kalous
: 6' 2"; Junior
: MB

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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