MILWAUKEE, Wis. - After its bye weekend, the Milwaukee volleyball team returns to action on Monday and Tuesday, hitting the road to face defending Horizon League Tournament Champion, Northern Kentucky. The series will kick off from Regents Hall with a 5:00 pm contest on Monday, March 8.
With no fans permitted across the league for the Horizon League season, fans have plenty of options to follow along with each match. All 14 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 NORSE
Northern Kentucky most recently completed a series sweep of Youngstown State to win its third straight match and move to 6-3 overall.
Juniors Anna Brinkman and Miranda Wucherer have been a large part of the Norse's success, each earning a Horizon League Player of the Week Honor.
Brinkman is averaging 3.35 kills and 3.0 digs per set while Wucherer has recorded three triple-doubles this season.
Ashton Terrill anchors the defense, ranking fourth in the league with 148 digs (4.63 per frame).
Northern Kentucky has been aggressive on the serve, ranking second in the league with 1.81 aces per set behind only Wright State. Four different Norse players rank in the top eight in service aces per set.
In the Horizon League preseason poll, NKU earned three first-place votes and 111 total points as they were picked second behind Wright State's 112 points.
SERIES HISTORY
The two teams split the season series last year, each winning on its home court, but the Norse got the better of MKE in the postseason. NKU swept Milwaukee 3-0 in the Horizon League Tournament Championship a season ago. Overall, MKE has a 6-5 advantage over the Norse dating back to 2015.
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 continues to rack up the kills, now totaling at least 12 in six consecutive matches. In the split with UIC, the senior put away 27 kills 3.38/set) and hit .294. Heilemann put away 15 kills, hitting .357 in Monday's win over the Flames and followed with 12 more on Tuesday. With 91 kills this season, Heilemann leads the team and ranks seventh in the Horizon League.
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. For the week, Grabowski averaged 5.13 digs per set. This season, Grabowski ranks fifth in the Horizon League with an average of 4.50 digs per frame.
MAKING IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Kaley Blake had another solid week for Milwaukee, recorded her second and third straight double-double of the year. The freshman is averaging 20.7 assists and 12.0 digs in the last three matches. This season, Blake is dishing out assists at 4.55 sets per frame which ranks second on the team. She also ranks third on the team in digs (57) and aces (5).
Emma Loveall seems to be improving each time she steps on the court and the series against UIC was no different. The freshman hit .250 with five kills in the Panthers win on Monday and followed with eight more kills at a .300 clip on Tuesday. This year, Loveall ranks fourth on the team with 41 kills and fifth with 51 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 99 digs this year,
Jess Grabowski now has 1,262 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.
