MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Milwaukee volleyball team claimed the title of regular season Horizon League Champions and earned the right to host the 2021 Horizon League Volleyball Tournament. The tournament begins on Friday, November 19. The Panthers will face the lowest-remaining seed from the quarterfinals on Saturday, November 20 at 5:00 pm CT.
Tickets are available for the championship on MKEPanthers.com. The cost is $7 for an adult single-session pass and $5 for a youth/non-Horizon League student single-session pass. Children under five and Horizon League students will be admitted free of charge.
There is ample free street parking just north of Edgewood Avenue in the neighborhoods for the championship. The Pavilion Parking Garage is also available for fan parking. The event rate for the garage is $2. Any other times, the rate is $1/hour.
The Milwaukee Athletic Department recently announced that fans will be allowed at all home events this year. In accordance with current Milwaukee Public Health and CDC recommendations, fans will be required to wear a face covering indoors, regardless of vaccination status.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Milwaukee will face the lowest remaining seed between the four teams in the quarterfinals which could be UIC, Green Bay, or Oakland.
After falling to Milwaukee 3-1 on October 12, UIC had a strong finish to the end of the Horizon League schedule, winning nine of 10 to climb the standings and earn the No. 4 spot for the tournament.
Green Bay has also found its stride late, picking up four consecutive wins to sneak past Oakland for the No. 5 seed. Each of the Phoenix's last three matches have gone five sets.
Alexandra Zakutney, Shannon Coughlin, and Tiffany Paalman each average over 2.0 kills per set for Green Bay, who is fifth in the league in attack percentage, kills, and assists.
Oakland has struggled as of late, falling in five straight to end the regular season but still earned the No. 6 seed for the tournament with a 9-9 record.
Jamie Walling and Patti Cesarini each average over 2.5 kills per set while Lindsay Wightman is having an incredible season on defense. The senior is averaging 5.36 digs per set, which ranks second in the league.
SERIES HISTORY
Following a 3-1 win over UIC on October 12, the Panthers own a 44-21 all-time advantage over the Flames. MKE has won four of the last five contest against UIC.
It has been all Milwaukee in the matchup against Green Bay with the Panthers winning six straight over the Phoenix, dating back to 2019. The two met in the Horizon League Tournament that season and MKE earned a 3-1 win. The Panthers are 50-21 all-time against Green Bay.
With a four-match winning streak over Oakland, Milwaukee has improved to 11-9 all-time against the Golden Grizzlies. Oakland did earn a 3-2 win over the Panthers the last time they met in the Horizon League Tournament (2016).
HORIZON LEAGUE CHAMPS
With the 3-0 win over Youngstown State in the regular season finale, Milwaukee clinched the title of regular season Horizon League Champions. It marked the 14th regular season title and first since 2013. That year, MKE knocked off Valparaiso in the title match to win the tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament.
HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Since joining the league in 1994, Milwaukee has taken home the tournament trophy eight times with the last coming in 2013. The Panthers' have been to the title match a total of 12 times. MKE last reached the title game in 2019 but fell to Northern Kentucky 3-0.
Under head coach
Susie Johnson, Milwaukee is 13-7 in the Horizon League Tournament with four titles (2008, 2009, 2011, 2013).
HOME SWEET HOME
Thanks to the overall No 1 seed, Milwaukee has the luxury of hosting the Horizon League Tournament. That is good news for the Panthers, who own a 9-3 record at the Klotsche Center this season and are 163-47 against league opponents since 1990. MKE has 24 winning seasons at the Klotsche Center in the last 32 seasons.
The success has shown in the numbers as well. In the nine Horizon League wins at home, MKE is averaging 14.6 kills, 13.8 assists, 16.2 digs, 1.7 blocks, and 2.3 aces per set while hitting .304 and holding opponents to a .127 attack percentage.
NATIONAL NUMBERS
Not only do the Panthers own some of the best numbers in the Horizon League, but Milwaukee has moved up in the national rankings as well. Below is where the Panthers stand in the league and NCAA (out of 332 teams).
- 1st/1st in total assists (1,483)
- 1st/4th in assists per set (13.48)
- 1st/1st in total kills (1,572)
- 1st/8th in kills per set (14.29)
- 1st/17th in hitting percentage (.274)
CLEANING UP WEEKLY AWARDS
Carmen Heilemann earned her second Player of the Week honor in three weeks on November 10 as Milwaukee continues to rack up the awards. In 11 weeks of volleyball, the Panthers have had eight players of the week with
Ari Miller earning four, Heilemann two, and
Madi Malone one. Northern Kentucky, Oakland, and UIC each have three apiece, which is the next closest.
TALLY ANOTHER 20-20
Rylie Vaughn put up an impressive line against Oakland, totaling 39 assists and 20 digs, her third 20-20 match this season. The senior has six 20-20 matches in her career which ranks second all-time for the Panthers, trailing just Laura Dallenbach, who has nine to her name.
Vaughn has been on fire since league play began and leads the league in assists per set (11.57), is third in aces per set (0.43), and is also averaging 3.43 digs per frame. She ranks 31st in the nation with 1,018 total assists this season.
HEILEMANN HAMMER
It has been a career-year for
Carmen Heilemann and last week, she all but cemented her resume for an all-league honor. In the two sweeps, Heilemann put away 31 kills (averaging 5.17 per set) at a .482 clip. She added eight digs, three blocks, and a service ace and is in the running for another weekly award.
The fifth-year senior has dominated this year, setting new career highs in kills (368), attack percentage (.353), aces (30), and digs (121). She is also just two blocks away from yet another career-best mark.
In Horizon League play, Heilemann finished third in hitting percentage (.381), second in kills per set (4.0), first in aces per set (0.48), and first in points per set (4.74).
BREAK OUT THE BROOMS
Milwaukee closed the regular season with four consecutive sweeps and brought its season total to 13, the most since totaling 14 in 2019. The school record for three-set wins is 19 which was set in 1992.
In the final four matches, Milwaukee averaged 15.75 kills, 14.50 assists, and 17.33 digs. The Panthers hit .341 while holding opponents to a .143 attack percentage and 8.75 kills per set.
NO HOLDING BACK
From October 14 to October 22, not only did the Panthers notch four consecutive sweeps, but they did so in impressive fashion. Milwaukee has knocked off its opponent in 65 minutes or less in each of those four contests.
In three of the four matches, Milwaukee has held the opponent to under 10 points in at least one set.
The last time the Panthers held an opponent under 10 points in a set that was not the fifth was against UIC on November 15, 2019. MKE took a 25-9 win in the first set against the Flames.
CLICKING ON ALL CYLINDERS
Offense has been a big reason for the Panthers' success this season and their national rankings can back that up.
Milwaukee leads the nation in total kills (1,572) and assists (1,482). The Panthers are also 28th in attack percentage at .274. That number would go down as the best in program history, topping 1999's mark of .272.
Through 28 matches, MKE has recorded 13 contests with an attack percentage of at least .300, going 13-0 in those matches.
PRESEASON POLL
The Horizon League released the 2021 preseason poll on Wednesday afternoon and Milwaukee was predicted to finish fourth, voted by the league coaches.
The Panthers earned 94 total poll points. Two-time defending champions Wright State picked up nine of 11 first-place votes and 119 total points as they were predicted to finish on top. UIC, who finished 14-3 overall a season ago, edged Northern Kentucky by one poll point with 98 total. Both the Flames and Norse received one first-place vote.
CATCH ALL THE ACTION
Thanks to ESPN+, Milwaukee volleyball will be readily available for viewers. 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, 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 $6.99 a month (or $69.99 per year) and cancel at any time.
For road games, visit MKEPanthers.com for live coverage links.
