MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Milwaukee volleyball team pushed its winning streak to nine matches with four victories last week. The Panthers earned a pair of sweeps and went 3-0 in Brookings, S.D. to claim the Jackrabbit Invitational title, their fourth tournament title of the season. With nine straight wins, Milwaukee tied its longest winning streak since 2013. Heading into conference play this week, the Panthers sit atop the Horizon League standings.
Scouting the Competition
The Panthers look for their 10th consecutive win for the first time since 2011. Milwaukee will host Valparaiso on Tuesday to close out its non-conference schedule, the second time facing the Crusaders in four days. The Panthers will then dive into Horizon League play, travelling to UIC and Green Bay this weekend.
Valparaiso opened the Jackrabbit Invitational with a 3-0 win over South Dakota State but fell in its final two matches to drop to 5-8 on the year. With just two seniors on the roster in Alana Brown and Brooke Westphal, the Crusaders are a young squad but have a strong contributing junior class. Peyton McCarthy and Jaclyn Bulmahn each have over 100 kills for Valparaiso while Rylee Cookerly leads the team with 229 digs.
UIC has had a strong start to the season, opening the year 11-3 including a 4-0 sweep at the Idaho Volleyball Classic. Of the Flames' 15 players, 14 return from the 2018 season when UIC finished 18-13 overall and 10-6 in conference. As a team, the Flames are hitting .214 and averaging 13.7 kills per set. Paola Santiago leads with 147 kills while Michelle Glover (124) and Alexandria Hicks (110) also have over 100. UIC runs a two-setter system with Lauren Musante and Marija Borcic quarterbacking the offense.
Defending Horizon League Champion Green Bay is 8-4 to start the year, including an impressive win over Ohio State. Most recently, the Phoenix fell to No. 8 Marquette and Northern Iowa before sweeping Saint Louis at the Marquette Invitational. Green Bay has one of the league's top offensive threats in Taylor Wolf who is averaging 4.4 kills per set (189 total) at a .275 clip. Wolf is also an important part of the Phoenix defense, ranking second on the team with 114 digs. Breanna Hesse leads Green Bay with 190 digs in the back row. The Phoenix were selected to repeat as Horizon League Champions according to this year's preseason poll.
Stellar Season Start
The Panthers have already surpassed last year's win total as they have won 12 of the first 13 contests this season. With the 12-1 start, Milwaukee is of to its best start since 2007 when the team started 14-1. That year, the Panthers finished 26-3 and won the Horizon League regular season title.
It's Miller Time!
Ari and
Jenna Miller were huge offensive assets for Milwaukee this past weekend. Both earned a spot on the Jackrabbit Invitational team as they combined for 69 kills. Ari was named Tournament MVP as she hit .391, averaging 4.45 per set while Jenna totaled 20 kills with a .390 attack percentage.
Home Cooking
In total, the Panthers host 13 home games in 2019 including four straight from October 18 to October 26. Milwaukee is 236-101 overall and 141-46 in league play all-time at home. In
Susie Johnson's 22 years with the Panthers, MKE is 207-61 in the Klotsche Center.
Ferocious Freshmen
Ari Miller has been a force in her first year for Milwaukee and leads the Panthers with 146 kills. The Jackson, Wis. native is landing kills at a .306 clip and has reached double digits in nine contests this year. In a 3-2 comeback win over South Dakota State on September 20, Miller put away a career-high 21 kills.
Mati Jakscht has been a vital part of the Panthers' defense, totaling 122 digs, which is tied for third most on the team. Jakscht has posted at least 10 digs in five different matches. Additionally, Jakscht has found a niche serving, ranking fourth on the team with 11 service aces.
Grinding Grabowski
Sophomore
Jess Grabowski has been tremendous for the Panthers, leading the team with 247 total digs. Thanks to a spectacular showing at the Panther Invitational, Grabowski earned the Nike Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week honor. Grabowski has recorded double-digit dig totals in each of Milwaukee's 13 contests this year.
Joining the 1K Club
With 33 digs at the Panther Invitational,
Kylie Wilks surpassed 1,000 digs for her career. 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 is just outside the top 10 in digs and ranks 15th with 867 kills.
The Heilemann Hammer
Carmen Heilemann has been solid all season for Milwaukee and has totaled 131 kills and a .293 attack percentage. The junior recorded a season-high 19 kills in a 3-2 win over Drake and has reached double digit kills in seven matches this season. Heilemann 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. In a 3-1 win over Butler, each recorded a double-double, the second time that has happened this season. The two have combined for eight double-doubles this year and are averaging over 5.0 assists per set. Thanks to their outstanding play September 13-4, Dore and Vaughn were named to the Panther Invitational All-Tournament team.
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.
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.
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.
