MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Despite falling twice last week, the Milwaukee volleyball team still remains in the hunt for the Horizon League title, sitting just half a game out of first place behind Wright State (11-3), and Green Bay (11-3). The Panthers host Green Bay and UIC, two of the top four teams in the league, in the final weekend of the regular season.
 
Last Week
The Panthers struggled to get rolling offensively this past week, dropping a pair of 3-1 decisions to Oakland and Northern Kentucky. On Friday, Milwaukee held an edge in kills, assists, and digs, but only hit .162 in its first home loss of the year. On Sunday, the Panthers rallied to win the first set 25-23, but Northern Kentucky limited its errors to take the next three.
 
Scouting the Competition
After a 1-3 start to its Horizon League schedule, UIC rattled off seven consecutive victories and now sit in fourth place in the standings. The Flames are tall up front, leading the league with 263 total blocks thanks in part to Michelle Glover, who leads the team and ranks 39th in the country with 1.29 blocks per set. Glover also leads UIC with 246 kills, hitting .303 on the year.
 
Marija Borcic and Lauren Musante facilitate the offense with over 1,100 combined assists. Defensively, Velina Minkova leads the Flames and ranks sixth in the Horizon League with 4.11 digs per set (432 total).
 
UIC and Milwaukee met in the Horizon League opener and the Panthers took care of business, hitting .273 in a 3-0 sweep. Glover shined for the Flames, however, as she had seven kills in eight swings to go along with seven blocks.
 
Green Bay also had a slower start to league play, but has come on strong as of late, winning nine of its last 10 matches to sit t 11-3, tied for the best record in the Horizon League. The Phoenix had no trouble in their last two matches, sweeping Youngstown State and IUPUI.
 
Taylor Wolf has been Green Bay's go-to all season and leads the league with 4.93 kills per set, which also ranks 22nd in the nation. Ashley Sledge and Shannon Coughlin have been solid complements to Wolf, both with over 200 kills.
 
Setter Maddie Yoss has also been stellar for the Phoenix, leading the league with 10.66 assists per set while ranking third on the team with 269 digs.
 
Home Sweet Home
The Panthers wrap up the regular season at home, where they are 10-1 this season. Milwaukee has had some success offensively on its home court, hitting at least .300 in four different matches. The 10 victories mark the ninth time Milwaukee has reached double digit wins on its home court. The 10 wins are also the most since Milwaukee recorded 12 in 2011.
 
Shining Senior
Shari Volpis has shined for the Panthers lately, recording back-to-back double digit kill performances. The senior put away a career-high 18 kills against Oakland and followed with 14 more at Northern Kentucky.
 
Prepping for Postseason
Milwaukee has already earned a spot in the Horizon League Tournament but now results in the final two matches of the season can impact seeding. The Panthers could be as high as the No. 1 seed heading into the championship but also as low as the No. 4 seed. The final two matches are against postseason teams as Green Bay (t-1st) and UIC (4th) also have their eyes set on seeding.
 
All Day, Every Day
Kylie Wilks and Jenn Dore have played in every single match of their careers (116) which ranks 10th all-time for the Panthers. If both play in the final two matches, they will be tied for the eighth most sets played in school history.
 
The Heilemann Hammer
Carmen Heilemann has been one of the most consistent pieces of the Milwaukee rotation this season and has now reached double digit kills in 10 consecutive contests. Heilemann currently ranks fifth in the Horizon League with 2.98 kills per set and sixth with a .289 attack percentage. With two more regular season matches to play this year, Heilemann already has recorded the best statistical line of her career.
 
On the Cusp
Kylie Wilks is fast approaching the 1,000 career kill mark with 991. The senior already ranks seventh all-time with 1,225 digs and could become just the fifth player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs and kills. If Wilks continues her average of 1.88 kills per set this season, she could reach the mark by the end of the regular season.
 
Hitting the 20 Mark
For the first time since 2011 and fifth time overall under head coach Susie Johnson, the Panthers reached the 20-win plateau. In each of the previous four seasons that Johnson's squad has reached 20 wins, Milwaukee has won either the Horizon League regular season or tournament titles. This season was the fastest the Panthers reached 20 victories since 2007 when the team was also 20-2 through 22 matches.
 
Bring the Brooms
Milwaukee has recorded 13 sweeps this season, the most since tallying 19 sweeps in 2006.
 
Another 1K Club Member
In just her second year for the black and gold, Jess Grabowski reached 1,000 career digs, becoming the 16th player to reach the grand mark. The Greendale, Wis. native recorded her 1,000th dig in her 53rd career match, the fastest in Panthers history.
 
Grabowski has recorded double-digit dig totals in 26 of 28 matches this year, reaching the 20-dig plateau 13 times including a career-high 35 against Wright State on October 19. The sophomore currently ranks second in the Horizon League with 520 digs this year. Grabowski also became the first player to capture two defensive awards in the same season since Morgan Potter in 2011.
 
Additionally, Rylie Vaughn joined the 1K club, recording her 1,000th career assist in a 3-1 win over Northern Kentucky. In just her second year, Vaughn has already cracked the top-10 career assist list at Milwaukee with 1,231 assists.
 
History in the Making
The Panthers have been impressive all season and have the numbers to show for it. Milwaukee is currently hitting .240 as a team which stands as the third best team hitting percentage  in school history. The 13.50 assists per game is the most since averaging 14.93 in 2007.
 
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.