MILWAUKEE, Wis. - After splitting the series with Cleveland State on February 1-2, the Milwaukee volleyball returns home to the Klotsche Center for a two-game series against in-state rival Green Bay. The two will meet at 6:00 pm on Monday, February 8 followed by a 12:00 pm contest on Tuesday, February 9.
 
With no fans permitted across the league for the Horizon League season, fans have plenty of options to follow along with each match. All 16 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 PHOENIX
After dropping a pair against Cleveland State to open the season, Green Bay bounced back to sweep IUPUI at home on February 1-2 to improve to 2-2 overall.
 
The Phoenix combined for 55 errors in two matches against the Vikings and cut down to 26 in sweeps over the Jaguars.
 
Redshirt sophomore Alexandra Zakutney and senior Kristen Paulus have led the way offensively for Green Bay, totaling 27 and 22 kills, respectively.
 
Annelise Sparks has recorded double digit digs in two matches and leads Green Bay with 49 digs in addition to a team-high seven aces.
 
Third-year head coach Abbey Sutherland has a solid mix from top to bottom on her roster with three seniors, three juniors, three sophomores, and eight freshmen.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee leads the all-time series 47-21 overall and picked up three victories over Green Bay a season ago. The Phoenix won eight straight over the Panthers from 2015 to 2018 before MKE's wins in 2020.
 
SEARCHING FOR FOUR
A win on Monday would be Milwaukee's fourth straight over Green Bay which hasn't happened since 2013-14 when the Panthers claimed four in a row. Prior to that, MKE won nine in a row over Green Bay from 2008-12.
 
HAMMERIN' HEILEMANN
Carmen Heilemann was back to her old self during last week's 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 a team-high 55 digs this year, Jess Grabowski now has 1,218 career digs which puts her eighth all-time in school history. Grabowski currently leads the Panthers and ranks eighth in the Horizon League with 4.23 digs per set.
 
MAKING IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Just four matches into her collegiate career, Kaley Blake has already made a major impact. Blake has totaled at least 12 assists in each match including a career-high 20 in a 3-1 win over Cleveland State on Monday. Additionally, Blake has 19 digs which ranks fifth on the team.
 
Emma Loveall also has jumped right into the mix, totaling 12 kills and 24 digs in three matches. In her collegiate debut, Loveall totaled 12 digs. In Monday's win over Cleveland State, the Iowa native finished with seven kills, two aces, two blocks, and four digs.
 
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.
 
ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE
Along with the three who earned all-league honors, the Panthers have plenty to be excited about. Kleja Cerniauskaite ranked third on the team with 292 kills and returns for her junior season while Jenna Miller, who led the team with a .290 attack percentage is ready to lead in her senior campaign. As a whole, the Panthers return 67.9 percent of their kills from 2019 and 68.1 percent of their digs.
 
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.