Women's Volleyball October 18, 2017

Panther Volleyball Looks To Continue Winning Streak On The Road

Milwaukee to play Oakland, Cleveland State over the weekend

MILWAUKEE – After sweeping their home stand over the weekend, the Milwaukee volleyball team returns to the road for a pair of important contests, starting Friday. UWM will first take on Oakland at 5 pm Central Friday before a trip to Cleveland State Saturday at 3 pm Central.

• Scouting Notebook
After starting league play 0-2, Oakland has rattled off six straight wins to claim a share of the league lead at the midway point. In fact, OU's last loss was at the hands of UWM, in the Sept. 23 match in Milwaukee. Since then, the Golden Grizzlies seem to have found a rhythm, winning four of their last six in straight sets, with none of those six going the full five. Sophomore setter Jordan Lentz was named Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week last week and senior Darien Bandel still leads the conference in kills 321 and attempts 855. A win for Milwaukee on Friday would even the all-time series up at 6-6.

The Vikings have had a more challenging season this year. After claiming both the regular season and tournament titles each of the past two season and dropping a combined five league matches over that span, CSU is off to a 5-3 start in league play and is currently in a tie for third place at the midway point. CSU is coming off its best league showing of the year, sweeping Northern Kentucky and Green Bay just last weekend. Alexis Middlebrooks - who missed the match at Milwaukee earlier this year with an injury - still is one of the league leaders in kills (3.25/set) and hitting (.349 percent). Despite the loss earlier this year, UWM still leads the all-time series, 43-16.

• She Can Dig it
Senior Mykie Olsen has made a smooth switch over to libero this season after her first three years as a defensive specialist. The East Troy native has a team-high 311 digs on the season and is sixth in the league in digs/set at 4.23 since conference play started. The senior has been especially hot of late, with double-digit digs in each of the last eight matches, headlined by a new career-high 24 digs in a win over Wright State on Sunday. That was just one day after 19 digs in a three-set sweep of Youngstown State.

• Doubling Down
Sophomore Kylie Wilks has been on fire of late for Milwaukee. Despite being undersized, the Union Grove native was a huge reason for Milwaukee's home stand sweep last weekend. Wilks had 11 kills and a career-high 19 digs Saturday before a match-high 21 kills and 17 digs in Sunday's win. That marked her fourth and fifth-straight double-doubles of the season with at least eight matches left on the schedule. After tallying eight double-doubles last year as a true freshman, Wilks seems well on her way of surpassing that total this season.

• What-A-Wallenberger
Bridget Wallenberger had quite the day against UIC Oct. 1. The reigning Horizon League Freshman of the Year tied her career-high with 24 kills while hitting an impressive .420. In fact, through four league matches, Wallenberger leads the league in hitting at a .390 clip, ranks third in kills at 4.00/set, is sixth in blocks (1.13/set) and 10th in service aces at roughly one per match.

• The Big 2-0-0
Milwaukee head coach Susie Johnson reached the 200-win milestone in just the first week of the 2017 season with her team's 3-0 sweep of Northern Illinois. Now in her 11th year as head coach of the Black and Gold and 13th season serving as head coach in her career, Johnson isn't far from the 200-win plateau with the Panthers, with already 186 victories coming while on the bench with UWM.
• The Wright Side Of Things
Milwaukee put together an awfully impressive showing Oct. 15 in its win over Wright State. Not only did the Panthers claim an important win in conference play, but they also set a number of season highs in kills (74), assists (67) and digs (80).

• Checking The Standings
Despite having the fourth-most wins overall, Milwaukee sits in seventh place in the league standings at the official midway point of conference play. At 3-5, the Panthers will have some work to, but still control their own destiny for qualifying for this year's conference tournament.

• Tops In The Nation
Milwaukee had a mighty impressive showing on the defensive side of things against NC State Sept. 16. As a team, UWM racked up 17 total blocks - the most in a match for Milwaukee since 2012.

A big part of that was the monstrous performance from sophomore Bridget Wallenberger. The middle tallied a career-best 10 blocks herself, with five of those of the solo variety. In fact, she was the only player in Division I to register five solo blocks in a match this season until last weekend when Meredith Stutz of Miami (Ohio) matched that feat in a five-set win over Kent State.

• Early Honors
It didn't take long for Milwaukee to earn its first awards of the season. Middles Jess Kalous and Bridget Wallenberger were both named to the Panther Invitational All-Tournament team after strong showings in UWM's home tournament. The duo combined for 69 kills and 22 blocks on the weekend to garner the recognition. Then, one week later, Jenn Dore was named to the four-person all-tournament team after Milwaukee swept through the Rambler Challenge. Dore racked up 113 assists and helped Milwaukee hit nearly .300 for the weekend. Mykie Olsen was the Panthers' representative after going 2-1 at the DePaul Invitational. Olsen in 45 digs on the weekend, including a career-best 20 in a big win over Army. Finally, Dore was again recognized after the Michigan Challenge hosted by then 21st-ranked Michigan.

• Opening The Dore
After an impressive freshman campaign at the setter position, Jenn Dore is at it again this year. The sophomore already has 911 assists through the first 21 matches this year - tops in the conference thus far - and averages 11.39 assists/set. That total ranks her 15th in the entire NCAA. On top of that, Dore set a new career best in the five-setter over Wright State with a whopping 63 assists in the win.

• Awfully Efficient
Senior Jess Kalous has had an impressive start to the season, quickly establishing herself as one of the most efficient hitters in the entire NCAA this season. Through Milwaukee's first 18 matches, the senior middle is hitting an impressive .349 - good for 99th best in the entire nation. In fact, Kalous already has three matches this season where she has hit .650 or better, and another three at .500 or better.

• Young Panthers
Milwaukee once again has a young squad, with nine of this year's 14-player roster made up of underclassmen. That comes one year after UWM sported the youngest team in the Horizon League with seven true freshmen, with three of those seven starting nearly every match last year.

• Well That Was Fast
Jess Kalous wasted little time in etching her name in the Panther record book this season. The senior middle had an outstanding showing against Idaho State Aug. 25, headlined by her .652 (16-23) hitting percentage. That marked a program record for a five-set match, besting Natalie Schmitting's previous record of .600 (13-20) set back on Nov. 15, 2008 - a 3-2 win over Loyola in the regular-season finale.

• League Leaders
Nearing the midway point of the conference season, the Panthers have quickly shown some of their strengths this season while sitting at or near the top of the league standings in quite a number of categories. Milwaukee's .216 hitting percentage as a team is fourth overall in the league thus far, while this year's group also ranks third in blocks (2.17/set) and third in service aces (1.31/set).

• Catch All The Action
Milwaukee volleyball will once again be readily available for the viewing pleasure of UWM fans this season, with 10 home games streamed live on ESPN3. The Horizon League and ESPN have an agreement that includes ESPN hosting the league's digital network on the ESPN3 platform. ESPN3 is available to nearly 116.3 million homes.

• Up Next
UWM returns to the friendly confines of the Klotsche Center next Saturday for a home match against in-state rival Green Bay before a Sunday matinee at UIC.

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Players Mentioned

#8 Jenn Dore: S; 5' 11"; Sophomore

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

#8 Jenn Dore
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: S

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

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

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

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