MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Milwaukee volleyball team took down Northern Kentucky at home last Friday night to extend its winning streak to 15 matches, the longest streak since 2011. On Sunday, the streak ended as the Panthers fell on the road at Oakland. Despite the setback, Milwaukee remains in first place with a 5-1 Horizon League record and now get home court advantage with four consecutive matches at the Klotsche Center, where it is 6-0 this year.
 
Scouting the Competition
The Panthers were handed their first loss since September 6 but remain atop the conference standings. Milwaukee's 15 straight victories from September 6 to October 11 was the longest streak in the nation and also longest since the team won 18 consecutive in 2011.
 
After earning a pair of solid victories to open the Horizon League schedule, topping Cleveland State and Oakland but have lost four straight to fall to 6-13 overall. Guided by first-year head coach Lindsey Froehlich, the Jaguars have struggled offensively, ranking ninth in the league in hitting percentage (.138), assists (10.2/set), kills (10.97/set), and digs (14.93/set).
 
Sophomore Rachel Hickey leads the defense with 306 total digs, averaging 4.37 per set. On the offensive end, junior setter Rebecca Schlechte has totaled 484 assists. Four different players have reached the 100-kill plateau led by Maddie Dean's 147 kills.
 
Wright State was predicted to place sixth in the Horizon League but has shown much more than a middle-of-the-pack team. The young Raiders won 16 contests in a row before a sweep by UIC ended the run.  At 16-2 overall and 5-1 in the Horizon League, Wright State is tied with Milwaukee for the top spot.
 
Jenna Story has been stellar for the Raiders, earning four of the seven league Defensive Player of the Week honors. The sophomore leads a defense that ranks as one of the best in the Horizon League, leading in opponent hitting percentage (.136) and digs (19.91/set) while ranking second in blocks per set with 2.58.
 
Lainey Stephenson has been a large part of the Wright State offense, leading with 647 assists. The sophomore earned Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week honors on September 16. Teddie Sauer also earned a weekly award and is second on the team with 186 kills, landing at a .313 clip.
 
Bring the Brooms
Milwaukee has swept 11 opponents already this season, the most since also notching 11 in 2011. Prior to that, the most sweeps in a year was 19 in 2006.
 
The Heilemann Hammer
Carmen Heilemann put up another solid weekend for Milwaukee, totaling 30 kills and hitting over .300. The sophomore was the Panthers' main offensive spark on Sunday, recording a season-high 20 kills while hitting .442. Heilemann currently leads the Panthers with 218 kills, averaging 2.91 per set. Heilemann added two more double-digit kill performances to her resume this year and now has 12 this season and is on pace to put up the best statistical line of her career for the black and gold.
 
Double Trouble
Setters Jenn Dore and Rylie Vaughn have been a nightmare for the opposition in 2019. The two have combined for 15 double-doubles this year and are each averaging over 5.5 assists per set. Vaughn recorded her second 20-20 match of the season becoming the first player to have more than one in a season since Laura Dallenbach recorded six 20-20 matches in 2000. Thanks to Dore and Vaughn, Milwaukee leads the Horizon League and ranks ninth in the nation with 13.52 assists per set.
 
Joining the 1K Club
With 33 digs at the Panther Invitational, Kylie Wilks surpassed 1,000 digs for her career. Wilks has been a huge help for the defense this season, reaching double digit digs in 11 contests this year. The dual-threat senior is on pace to become just the fifth player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs and kills. Wilks ranks 9th in digs and 15th with 913 kills.
 
Rylie Vaughn also joined the 1,000 club this past weekend, recording her 1,000th career assist in a 3-1 win over Northern Kentucky. In just her second year, Vaughn is already close to cracking the top-10 career assist list at Milwaukee.
 
The Great Grabowski
Sophomore Jess Grabowski has been tremendous for the Panthers, leading the team with 382 total digs and ranking second in the Horizon League with an average of 5.09 per set. Thanks to a spectacular showing at the Panther Invitational, Grabowski earned the Nike Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week honor on September 16. Grabowski has recorded double-digit dig totals in every match this year. The Greendale, Wis. native has reached the 20-dig plateau 10 times this year including a season-high 32 against Drake. Grabowski could become the second player this year to reach 1,000 career digs as she has 943 in her two years so far.
 
A Fierce First-Year
Ari Miller has continued her impressive freshman campaign, earning her second Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week honor. Milwaukee has not had a two-time Offensive Player of the Week since Kerri Schuh in 2011. Miller currently ranks third in the league with a .304 attack percentage and is second on the team with 2.87 kills per set. Additionally, Miller leads the team with 58 blocks after totaling 15 this past weekend.
 
September to Remember
The Panthers finished the month of September with a 12-1 record and have already won the most contests since earning 17 wins in 2014.  Milwaukee started the year 18-1, the best start since 1999 when the team started 21-1. That year, the Panthers finished 25-4, won the MCC regular season title, reached the NCAA Tournament.

League Openers No Problem
With a victory over UIC on September 28, Milwaukee is now 12-1 in Horizon League openers during head coach Susie Johnson's tenure. Johnson is 135-64 all-time against league opponents.
 
Home Cooking
In total, the Panthers host 13 home games in 2019 including four straight from October 18 to October 26. Milwaukee is 238-101 overall and 143-46 in league play all-time at home. In Susie Johnson's 22 years with the Panthers, MKE is 209-61 in the Klotsche Center.
 
Panther Invite Success
For the 21st season, Milwaukee hosted the Panther Invitational. With its seventh sweep of the invitational, the Panthers are 46-25 at the home tournament since its inception in 1995.
 
Exuding Experience
Of the 18 players on the 2019 roster, 15 of them have collegiate experience including 12 who played at least 50 sets a season ago. Milwaukee has six seniors and four juniors on the roster to make up the upperclassmen.
 
Sophomore Studs
This year's sophomore class had an impactful freshmen campaign. Rylie Vaughn's 592 assists stand eighth on the freshman record board. Jess Grabowksi's 561 digs was a record for a Panthers freshman as was her 4.92 digs per set. Abby Koenen appeared in all 30 matches, totaling 217 kills and 64 blocks. Kleja Cerniauskaite started 25 matches for the Panthers and recorded 169 kills and 60 blocks. Lauren Spalding had an injury-plagued season but made the most of her appearances, tallying 101 digs and 10 service aces in 14 matches.
 
The Big 2-0-0
Entering her 13th season as head coach for Milwaukee, Susie Johnson had 198 victories. Thanks to an opening weekend sweep, Johnson earned win number 200 and even added another for good measure. Johnson became the third Panthers' volleyball coach to record at least 200 victories, joining Kathy Litzau  ('93 - '06) and Tom Pleyte ('78 - '92). Johnson has been a part of the coaching staff for 22 total years and has helped the Panthers to 13 20-win seasons.
 
I'll Take Milwaukee For 500
With the 3-2 win over Arkansas State in the season opener, the Milwaukee volleyball team earned their 500th program victory, adding to their rich history. Since entering into NCAA Division 1, the Panthers have 13 league titles and 10 NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
Catch All the Action
Thanks to ESPN+, Milwaukee volleyball will be readily available for viewers. The Panthers have nine home games scheduled for streaming on ESPN+. The Horizon League and ESPN have an agreement that includes ESPN hosting the league's digital network on the ESPN+ platform.
 
ESPN+, which will host the Horizon League women's soccer, men's soccer, and volleyball championships this fall, offers fans thousands of live events, on-demand content, and original programming not available on ESPN's linear TV or digital networks. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time.
 
For road games, visit www.MKEPanthers.com for live coverage links.