Women's Volleyball August 31, 2016

Panthers Look To Continue Hot Start Out East

UWM swept Panther Invite last weekend

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee volleyball team looks to keep things rolling after an impressive start to the 2016 season last weekend. Fresh off a sweep of their home tournament, UWM hits the road for the first time for a tournament in Fairfield, Conn. The Panthers will take on Dartmouth Friday afternoon before Saturday contests against host Sacred Heart and George Mason.

• Scouting Notebook
This weekend's Hampton Inn Shelton Invitational will pit the Panthers against three schools it does not have much history with. Friday's match against Dartmouth will be the first meeting between the two programs, as will Saturday's first match against host Sacred Heart. Saturday's finale against George Mason will be just the second time the two teams have met, with Milwaukee winning that one, 3-0, back in 1998 at a tournament hosted by the Patriots.

Friday will mark the first match of the season for Dartmouth. Gilad Doron will be coaching his first match at the helm of the Patriots after spending the last nine seasons at San Francisco. Sacred Heart went 1-2 in its opening weekend after being picked fourth in the Northeast Conference's preseason poll. George Mason dropped all three of its season-opening matches in a tournament they co-host, falling to Howard (3-0), American (3-2) and Georgetown (3-1).

• Strong Start
It was quite a start to the season for Milwaukee this year, sweeping their home Panther Invitational last weekend. The 3-0 start is the second time Milwaukee has done so in the last three years. Not only did UWM complete the sweep, they garnered quite a few honors along the way. Caitlin Schultz was named the tournament's MVP, while Myanna Ruiz and Jenn Dore were named to the all-tournament squad. Additionally, Ruiz was named Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week for her efforts.

• We're Going Streaking
The 2016 season got off to a smashing start for the Panthers. After dropping the first two sets of the season opener, Milwaukee roared back for a 3-2 win and never looked back, sweeping the next two matches. The nine-straight set wins marks the longest stretch for UWM since a strong run back in 2013 that saw them rattle off 14-straight set wins during a nine-match win streak.

• Nice Net Work
Part of Milwaukee's success during its 3-0 start to the season stems from its work at the net. The Panthers posted an impressive 31 total blocks in the first three match, 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.

UWM started strong on the offensive side of the net too, hitting .251 in the first three matches, including a whopping .376 in the sweep of Akron followed by a .298 performance against Western Illinois. That nearly doubled last year's .300+ hitting matches in the first weekend after doing so just once one year ago.

• Panther Invitational Success
While it has gone through some name changes over the years, this year's 18th running of the Pepsi Panther Invitational was another outstanding success. The 16th time in the last 18 years Milwaukee has hosted its own tournament, UWM continued its strong run of defending its home court with the 3-0 sweep. That upped Milwaukee's all-time record in its home tournament to 42-20 and marked the sixth time the Panthers have posted a perfect record during the invite.

• Young Panthers
Susie Johnson has quite a few newcomers on this year's Panther squad with many figuring to play 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, making them by far the youngest team in the conference this year.

• 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 to start this season. 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.

Ruiz is quickly climbing the charts as one of the all-time digs leaders in program history, already ranking fifth all time.

1. Lauren Felsing                                 1,929                                        2006-09
2. Becky Peters                                    1,875                                        2005-08
3. Laura Dallenbach                            1,600                                        1998-01
4. Leanne Felsing                                1,329                                        2004-07
5. Myanna Ruiz 1,268 2013-

• All-Horizon League
Myanna Ruiz and Maddie Williams each were awarded All-Horizon League honors last year. Ruiz was named to the All-League Team after leading Milwaukee with an outstanding 579 digs this season for an average of 4.99 digs/set. Meanwhile, Williams earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team. The newcomer from Normal, Ill. has appeared in all 30 matches last season, making 27 starts. She wass second on the team in kills with 251 and first on the team in blocks with 69, with both of those figures ranking in the top-10 in program history for a freshman.

• Up Next
The Panthers stay on the road next weekend, heading to Kalamazoo, Mich. for the Holiday Inn West Invitational hosted by Western Michigan. Milwaukee will go up against Xavier and Tennessee on Friday before a Saturday contest against the host Broncos.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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