MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Milwaukee volleyball returns home to the Klotsche Center for its final two home matches of the season. The Panthers welcome Oakland on Monday for Senior Night and wrap up the home schedule with a Tuesday afternoon contest against the Golden Grizzlies.
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 GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Oakland has dropped four in a row since the beginning of March, falling to 5-7 this season. The Golden Grizzlies lost to UIC to open the month and most recently were swept by Purdue Fort Wayne.
Head Coach Rob Beam's squad is led by a senior duo of Lindsay Wightman and Jamie Walling, the only two fourth-year players on the team. Wightman ranks second in the league with 5.98 digs per set and had a stretch of 24 straight matches with double-digit digs snapped on Tuesday. She currently ranks third all-time in program history with 1,558 digs.
Walling is the Golden Grizzlies' offensive leader with 146 kills and a .265 attack percentage. Earlier this season, she became the ninth player in school history to surpass 1,000 career kills. This year, Walling has totaled at least 10 kills in eight matches including a season-high 20 on February 22 at Green Bay.
Defensively, Oakland is averaging 18.72 digs per set, which ranks second in the Horizon League and 14th in the nation. Three players in Wightman, Haley Brown (2.36), and AnnaBelle Tomei (2.39) currently average more than two digs per set.
In the Horizon League preseason poll, Oakland was predicted to finish fifth with 66 poll points.
SERIES HISTORY
Oakland has had Milwaukee's number recently, winning three in a row over the Panthers. Overall, the Golden Grizzlies own a 9-7 all-time advantage over Milwaukee. The Panthers did win three in a row over Oakland from 2017-18.
KOENEN CAREER-HIGH
Abby Koenen totaled 27 kills in two matches against Northern Kentucky including a career-high 17 on Monday. The junior finished the match with a career-high 56 swings. Additionally, Koenen added nine digs in each contest against the Norse.
This season, Koenen ranks second on the team with 105 kills and sixth with a career-high 51 digs.
STEPPING UP THE D
Mati Jakscht played a big role for Milwaukee's defense in the Northern Kentucky series and totaled 28 digs in two matches. On Monday, Jakscht tallied a career-high 17 digs and followed with her 15th career match of double-digit digs with 10 on Tuesday.
STREAK STOPPERS
Milwaukee handed UIC its first loss on February 22, halting the Flames' streak of six straight victories. The Panthers had their best defensive match of the season, totaling 95 digs and 10 total blocks. The 95 digs marked the most in a four-set match since October 12, 2012 when MKE had 101 digs in a win over Wright State.
HAMMERIN' HEILEMANN
Carmen Heilemann's streak of six straight matches with at least 12 kills came to an end in the Northern Kentucky series as the senior recorded seven on Monday and six on Tuesday. Still, Heilemann ranks third on the team with 104 kills. In her career, Heilemann has totaled at least 10 kills in 39 matches.
GRABOWSKI COMEBACK
After sitting out the final seven sets of the Green Bay series, Grabowski returned to the lineup and dominated on defense. The junior recorded a season-high 26 digs and also added five assists and three service aces in the victory over UIC on February 22. For the week against the Flames, Grabowski averaged 5.13 digs per set. This season, Grabowski ranks fourth in the Horizon League with an average of 4.69 digs per frame.
MAKING IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Kaley Blake continues to impress in her first season for the Panthers. Against the Norse, Blake averaged 5.71 assists and 2.29 digs per set. On Monday, the freshman totaled 23 assists and 10 digs, marking her fourth straight match with at least 20 assist and 10 digs. This season, Blake is dishing out assists at 4.78 sets per frame which ranks second on the team. She also ranks fourth on the team in digs (73) and is tied for second in aces (6).
Emma Loveall put away 10 kills in Monday's match at Northern Kentucky, marking a new career-high. The freshman totaled 15 kills in the series, the third most for the Panthers. This year, Loveall ranks fourth on the team with 56 kills and fifth with 56 digs.
BREAK OUT THE BROOMS
The Panthers picked up a pair of wins over Green Bay earlier this year 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 (.325) and ninth in total kills (85).
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 the five-set win over Green Bay on March 9,
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).
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 136 digs this year,
Jess Grabowski now has 1,299 career digs which puts her sixth all-time in school history.
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.
