Women's Volleyball August 30, 2017

Volleyball Hits Road For Rambler Challenge

First of two Chicago tournaments of the year

MILWAUKEE – After a big win over Northern Illinois on Monday, the Milwaukee volleyball team hits the road for the first time this season, heading to the Rambler Challenge, starting Friday.

The Panthers again will play two matches on Friday, starting at 11 am against Fairfield. After a sizeable break in action, UWM will return to the court at 8 pm for a contest against Samford. The team closes things out Saturday against former Horizon League rival Loyola at 5 pm. That match will be streamed live on ESPN3.

• Scouting Notebook
Fairfield comes into the weekend with a 2-1 record after wins over Boston College and UAB during its opening tournament. Senior outside Skylar Day is the clear offensive leader for the Stags, registering 59 kills during the opening weekend with nearly 100 more attempts than any other player on the roster. Day was joined by Taylor Rudeen as the MAAC Players of the Week to start the season. Milwaukee owns the only win in series history with the Stags - a 3-1 victory at the Duke Tournament in 2012.

Samford started their season with a sweep of Southeastern Louisiana before a pair of tight losses against Ohio and Murray State. Junior outside Krista Boesing was named to the all-tournament team after tallying 49 kills during the opening weekend. Friday's contest will be the first between the Panthers and Bulldogs in program history.

The host Ramblers went out west for their first action of 2017 and came back with three losses against stiff competition. Despite the results, junior outside Gabi Maciagowski and freshman middle Elle Van Grinsven were both named to the all-tournament squad. Milwaukee and Loyola have plenty of history from the Rambler's time in the Horizon League. All-time, the Panthers hold a 34-30 lead over their former conference rivals.

• The Big 2-0-0
Milwaukee head coach Susie Johnson reached the 200-win milestone Monday 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 180 victories while on the bench with UWM.

• 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.

• 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.

• Topping The Charts
While it is still very early, 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 .267 hitting percentage as a team is the clear best in the league thus far, while this year's group also ranks second in kills (13.25/match), assists (12.56/match) and service aces (1.63/match).

• All-Horizon League
Milwaukee's youth movement last year garnered plenty of postseason awards, including a trio handed out by the Horizon League. Bridget Wallenberger was named Horizon League Freshman of the Year last season, while also being named to the all-league and all-freshman squads. Fellow newcomers Jenn Dore and Kylie Wilks each also earned spots on the league's all-freshman squad last year.

• Setting The Record Straight
With so many freshmen seeing significant minutes last season, the Milwaukee freshman record book was seemingly rewritten during the 2016 season. Last year alone saw the following added to its freshmen top-10 all-time lists: Jenn Dore, 1,142 assists (3rd); Bridget Wallenberger, 308 kills (3rd); Kylie Wilks, 271 kills (6th); Wallenberger, 2.91 kills/set (3rd); Wilks, 2.58 kills/set (5th); Wallenberger, 1.08 blocks/set (t-4th).

• Opening The Dore
Being a true freshman playing setter is no easy task, but Milwaukee's Jenn Dore handled the pressure just fine last year. Starting at the position from day one, Dore racked up a whopping 1,142 assists last year while helping the young Panthers to the Horizon League Tournament. That mark ranks third all-time for a freshman in school history and was just shy of 10th for any season in program history.

• 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.

• It's Good To Be Home
When it comes to home court advantage, Milwaukee has proven to make the Klotsche Center one of the toughest places to play. The Panthers posted a 9-2 mark last year to up their home record to 91-30 under head coach Susie Johnson, good for a winning percentage of .752. Here's Milwaukee's year-by-year home record under Johnson:

2016: 9-2
2015: 7-4
2014: 9-3
2013: 8-1
2012: 5-7
2011: 12-2
2010: 10-4
2009: 8-4
2008: 10-2
2007: 13-1

• Block Party
Milwaukee tallied 259.0 total blocks one season ago - its highest output since the storied 2011 team that racked up 272.0. In fact, both Jess Kalous and Bridget Wallenberger eclipsed 100 blocks for the season in 2016 - the first time two Panthers did so in the same year also since the 2011 campaign that saw that players (Kerri Schuh, Rachel Neuberger & Makenzie Millis) accomplish that feat.

• Gimme Five
The Panthers have certainly given the fans their money's worth over the last two-plus seasons with quite a number of matches going the full five sets. Last year, UWM found itself in nine matches that went five sets - one year after playing 10 such matches in 2015. Both flirted with the school record of 11 set back in 1998. UWM has already played in a pair of five-setters this year through just four matches.

• Up Next
Milwaukee heads right back to the Chicago area next weekend for the DePaul Invitational. The Panthers will start things off Friday against Northwestern before a pair of matches Saturday.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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