Women's Volleyball October 25, 2017

Volleyball Hosts Green Bay To Start Key Weekend

Panthers have won three of last four

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee volleyball team has a split weekend. The Panthers will first play host to in-state rival Green Bay Saturday at 4 pm from the Klotsche Center before traveling to UIC Sunday for a 4 pm match from the Flames Athletic Center.

• Scouting Notebook
Green Bay enters the weekend fourth in the conference standings at 6-4 in league play and 10-11 overall ... after starting the conference slate 4-0, the Phoenix have dropped four of their last six ... GB lost a five-set nail biter at Oakland last Saturday ... the Phoenix travel to the Panthers' other weekend opponent - UIC - Friday before coming to Milwaukee Saturday ... senior Lydia DeWeese is still one of the league's top hitters at a .348 clip overall, though that number has dropped just slightly to .324 in league play ... Maddie Yoss is neck-and-neck statistically with Milwaukee's Jenn Dore as the top setter in the conference with 11.58 assists/set ... as a team, GB leads the Horizon League with nearly 14 kills/set ... Green Bay has won the last five in the series, but Milwaukee still holds a 52-18 edge all-time.

The Flames had a hot start under new head coach Justin Ingram, beginning conference play at 4-2, before cooling off with a three-game losing skid ... UIC enters the weekend at 5-5 in Horizon League action and are 14-9 overall ... the Flames will play host to Green Bay on Friday before Milwaukee makes the trip down on Sunday ... this weekend starts a four-game home stand for UIC ... running a 6-2 offense, the Flames have a balanced attack, led by senior Kyisha Hunt with nearly four kills/set ... the Panthers have split the season series with UIC each of the last two seasons and will look to do the same after a very tight 3-2 loss back on Oct. 1 ... UWM still holds the all-time series lead at 44-20.

• Opening The Dore
After an impressive freshman campaign at the setter position, Jenn Dore is at it again this year. The sophomore already has 1,028 assists through the first 23 matches this year - tops in the conference thus far and fourth overall in the entire NCAA. The sophomore has really been hot lately and earned Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week honors after tying her career high of 63 assists in a win at Oakland before a double-double of 54 assists and 11 digs at Cleveland State. While Milwaukee has played deeper into matches than some, Dore has also proven to be awfully efficient at 11.55 assists/set - 13th best in the country.

• Checking The Standings
Despite having the fifth-most wins overall, Milwaukee sits in seventh place in the league standings just past the official midway point of conference play. At 4-6, the Panthers will have some work to, but still control their own destiny for qualifying for this year's conference tournament.

• 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 348 digs on the season and is seventh in the league in digs/set at 4.20 since conference play started. The senior has been especially hot of late, with double-digit digs in each of the last 10 matches, headlined by a new career-high 24 digs in a win over Wright State on Oct. 15. 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 recent three-game win streak. Wilks had 11 kills and a career-high 19 digs Oct. 14 against Youngstown State before a match-high 21 kills and 17 digs one day later in a win over Wright State. She followed that up with another 18 kills and 19 digs in a win at league-leading Oakland. That marked her sixth-straight double-double and eighth total on the season with at least six 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).

• 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.

• 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
The Panthers close out their 2017 home schedule next weekend. Milwaukee will play host to Northern Kentucky Friday evening at 6pm before welcoming league newcomer and current league-leader IUPUI to the Klotsche Center at 4pm.

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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