Women's Volleyball September 20, 2017

Volleyball Returns Home To Kick Off Conference Play

Panthers start with matchup against defending champs

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee volleyball kicks off Horizon League play in a big way this weekend, playing host to defending champs Cleveland State before a rematch of last year's tournament quarterfinal against Oakland.

It all starts Friday at 6 pm from the Klotsche Center with a showdown against the Vikings - winners of the last two league titles. The first 250 students in attendance will receive a free Panther fidget spinner.

Then, on Saturday, it's a rematch of last year's Horizon League Tournament quarterfinal five-set thriller against Oakland, scheduled for 4 pm.

• Scouting Notebook
Cleveland State enters the weekend 7-4 overall ... the Vikings were riding a five-match win streak before a 3-0 loss at Pitt last weekend ... CSU was picked to defend its league title in this year's preseason coaches' poll ... senior Alexis Middlebrooks has picked up the load offensively for CSU this season, averaging a team-high 3.19 kills/set ... Friday's match will be a showdown of the top-two hitting teams in conference thus far, with Cleveland State (.264) leading the way, and Milwaukee (.221) in second ... Milwaukee holds the all-time series lead over the Vikings, 43-15, while CSU has won the last three, all in five sets.

Oakland finished their non-conference season with a 5-7 record ... the Golden Grizzlies went 1-2 in their home tournament last weekend, closing out with a tight 3-2 loss to Towson ... OU leads the league in blocks with 2.43/set, with Milwaukee sitting in second at 2.22/set ... individually, redshirt junior Krysteena Davis leads the conference with 64 total blocks this year ... senior Darien Bandel leads the league in kills with 4.04/set, already tallying over 500 attempts ... Milwaukee and Oakland split the regular season series last year, each winning on their home court, before OU won, 3-2, in the league tournament.

• 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 185 victories coming 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. 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. Finally, 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.

• 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 is the only player in Division I to register five solo blocks in a match this season.

• 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 14 matches, the senior middle is hitting an impressive .365 - good for 84th 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
While it is still 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 .221 hitting percentage as a team is second overall in the league thus far, while this year's group also ranks second in blocks (2.22/set) and third in service aces (1.43/set).

• 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
After an impressive freshman campaign at the setter position, Jenn Dore is at it again this year. The sophomore already has 546 assists through the first 14 games this year - tops in the conference thus far - and averages 11.14 assists/set. On top of that, Dore set a new career best in the four-setter over Army with a whopping 60 assists in the win.

• 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.

• Up Next
The Panthers split up next weekend, with one home and one road match. Things start Friday at Green Bay with a 6 pm contest. Milwaukee then returns home Sunday for a 2 pm match against UIC.

Print Friendly Version

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