MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Following yet another schedule adjustment, the Milwaukee volleyball team is finally back in action on Monday and Tuesday as it hosts unbeaten UIC. The Panthers have been off since February 8-9 as their series against IUPUI was canceled and a midweek DePaul contest was postponed. First serve on February 22 is scheduled for 6:00 pm followed by a 12:00 pm matchup on February 23.
With no fans permitted across the league for the Horizon League season, fans have plenty of options to follow along with each match. All matches will feature live stats and a broadcast which is available on MKEPanthers.com. Additionally, fans can download the
virtual gameday program on the website.
SCOUTING THE FLAMES
UIC is out to an unbeaten 6-0 start to the year, dropping just two sets on the season. The Flames had last weekend off after earning a pair of 3-0 sweeps over Youngstown State on February 8-9.
Behind Paola Santiago, the Flames boast one of the best offenses in the nation, ranking 10th in hitting percentage (.306), seventh in kills per set (14.95), and fifth in assists per set. Santiago has earned two Horizon League Player of the Week honors and is averaging 3.8 kills per set with a .317 hitting percentage.
Additionally, Becca Oldendorf and Martina Delucchi has provided solid pieces offensively. Oldendorf leads the league with a .414 attack percentage while Delucchi has 47 kills and 70 digs this season.
UIC picked up one first place vote and 62 total poll points as it was predicted to finish sixth in the Horizon League.
The Flames have 13 new additions to this year's squad including 12 true freshmen.
SERIES HISTORY
The Panthers have dominated the overall series 42-20 but UIC has held the advantage as of late, winning six of the last eight matchups. Milwaukee earned a pair of 3-0 sweeps against the Flames a year ago. The Panthers are 22-6 all-time at home against UIC.
BREAK OUT THE BROOMS
The Panthers picked up a pair of wins over Green Bay earlier this week to earn their second straight season sweep of the Phoenix. Milwaukee has now won five in a row over Green Bay, its longest winning streak against Phoenix since winning nine in a row from 2008-12.
UNSTOPPABLE ARI
Ari Miller put together an impressive series against the Phoenix, totaling 32 kills while hitting .475 in th two wins. On Monday, Miller didn't miss, finishing with a line of 15-0-29 (.517). She followed with a 17-3-32 (.438) line on Tuesday and also added six total blocks, four digs, and two aces. Miller currently ranks fourth in the Horizon League in hitting percentage (.350) and third in total kills (65).
DOMINATING THE MIDDLE
In addition to
Ari Miller's impressive stat line,
Jenna Miller added to the dominance in the middle against Green Bay. The senior sparked the offense on Monday and finished with nine kills in 14 swings with just one error (.571). She followed with seven more kills and a .385 attack percentage in Tuesday's win.
OFFENSE HEATING UP
Heading into the series against Green Bay, the Panthers were struggling offensively with just a .109 attack percentage and at least 20 errors in all four contests. Milwaukee began to find its rhythm, hitting .311 with 15.0 kills per set as a team in two victories over the Phoenix.
MAKING HER MARK
In Tuesday's five-set win over Green Bay,
Rylie Vaughn posted 28 assists and a career-high 23 digs. The 20-20 match marked the third of her career after posting two a season ago. Only 10 players in program history have recorded a 20-20 match while only Laura Dallenbach (9), Karen Fruit (5), and Ericka Malterer (4) have more than Vaughn (3).
HAMMERIN' HEILEMANN
Carmen Heilemann was back to her old self in the Cleveland State series. The senior put away 31 kills (4.43/set) while hitting .434 against Cleveland State. Heilemann led Milwaukee to a 3-1 win over the Vikings thanks to 16 kills and a .560 attack percentage and followed with 15 more against CSU on Tuesday.
CLIMBING THE CAREER RECORDS
Rylie Vaughn opened the season with 1,319 career assists putting her 10th all-time in Milwaukee program history. At her current pace, the junior has a chance to become the ninth player in school history to record at least 2,000 career assists.
With 58 digs this year,
Jess Grabowski now has 1,221 career digs which puts her eighth all-time in school history. Grabowski currently ranks seventh in the Horizon League with 4.23 digs per set.
PRESEASON POLL
The Horizon League released the spring 2021 preseason poll on January 21 afternoon and Milwaukee was predicted to finish third, voted by the league coaches.
The Panthers earned 94 total poll points. Wright State just edged defending Horizon League Tournament Champion Northern Kentucky in the poll. The Raiders earned five first-place votes and 112 total points compared to 111 total points and three first-place votes for the Norse.
The third-place preseason ranking is the highest for the Panthers since Milwaukee was predicted to place second in the 2015 Preseason Poll.
HOME SWEET HOME
With a 12-1 record at the Klotsche Center a year ago, the Panthers recorded their 23rd winning record at home since joining NCAA Division I in 1990. Milwaukee has compiled a 252-104 record (.708) at the Klotsche Center with 10 double-digit win seasons.
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 $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time.
For road games, visit MKEPanthers.com for live coverage.
