MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Milwaukee volleyball team begins the 2021 campaign on its home court, hosting Illinois, UC Santa Barbara, and Valparaiso in the Panther Invitational this weekend. The Panthers' first match is scheduled for Friday, August 27 with first serve at 7:00 pm against the Illini.
 
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. Fans can purchase tickets on the Panthers' website. 
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Illinois finished the season 7-11 a year ago but return plenty of firepower including its top four hitters, each of which totaled over 100 kills in 2020-21. 
 
Senior Taylor Kuper and redshirt junior Diana Brown also return for fifth-year head coach Chris Tamas. Kuper led the Illini with 4.41 digs per set while Brown recorded a team-high 542 assists to go with 190 digs last season.
 
UC Santa Barbara returns to the court following the cancellation of its 2020 season due to COVID-19. The Gauchos were tabbed to finished third in the Big West Conference behind Hawaii and Cal Poly.
 
Eighth-year head coach Nicole Lantagne's squad is young with nine freshman and six sophomores, but still has some key pieces for the 2021 season. Tallulah Froley put away 305 kills with a .304 attack percentage while Rowan Ennis was consistent in the middle with an average of 1.75 kills per set at a .317 clip.
 
Defense was the story for Valparaiso in 2020-21 as they finished fourth in NCAA Division I with 20.37 digs per set. That stout defense should be strong once again led by fifth-year libero Rylee Cookerly. Cookerly finished ninth in the nation with 5.78 digs per set while Bella Ravotto, Victoria Bulmahn, and Jillie Grant each recorded at least 230 digs last season.
 
Grant (232 kills) and Peyton McCarthy (189) paced an offense that averaged over 13 kills per frame. In total, the Beacons return 10 players from last season.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Illinois has won all four matches of the all-time series with Milwaukee with the last contest coming in 2008. The Panthers took one set in 1999 but the Illini earned a sweep in the other three contests.
 
Saturday marks the first all-time matchup for Milwaukee with UC Santa Barbara.
 
Milwaukee owns a 26-18 all-time advantage over Valparaiso including winning four in a row over the brown and gold. The Panthers are 15-8 at the Klotsche against Valpo.
 
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.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
Milwaukee has seen plenty of success at the Klotsche Center, totaling a 257-107 (.706) record on its home court since 1990. The Panthers have totaled 24 winning seasons at the Klotsche Center including 10 double-digit victory campaigns at home.
 
At their home tournament, the Panthers have recorded a 46-25 record and have gone undefeated in the invite on seven different occasions.
 
CLIMBING THE CAREER RECORDS
Several Panthers have seen their names climb the record books over the last few years and the top spot could be in reach.
 
Jess Grabowski currently sits fifth in program history with 1,374 digs, just 555 away from Lauren Felsing's mark of 1,929 from 2006-09. Grabowski owns the Panthers' career best digs per set number of 5.0.
 
Senior Rylie Vaughn opened the season with 1,607 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.
 
In just two seasons, Ari Miller has put her mark on the record book with 2.88 kills per set and an attack percentage of .298, both of which rank top 10 in program history. Miller has 484 kills in 46 matches at Milwaukee.
 
RETURNING FIREPOWER
The Panthers graduated two seniors and have all sorts of experience returning for 2021. The 12 returners all saw at least some action last season including five who appeared in all 49 sets. 
 
Carmen Heilemann, a 2019 All-League honoree, returns for her fifth year while two-time First Team All-League member Ari Miller begins her junior season. Jess Grabowski gears up for her fourth season with the Panthers while the setter team of Rylie Vaughn  and Kaley Blake will run the offense once again.
 
NEW FACES
Head Coach Susie Johnson added a trio of newcomers to this year's squad. Tatum Catalano, Bri Geurts, and Madi Malone will all look to provide immediate impact. Catalano was a varsity player all four years and earned a pair of First Team All-Conference honors. Geurts was a three-year captain at De Pere and had a decorated career for the Redbirds. Malone helped lead Newark to three consecutive State Tournament appearances including a title in 2018.
 
WELCOME TO MKE
Nikki Dailey, a Milwaukee native, joins the Panthers as an assistant coach for the 2021 season following time at Virginia, Tennessee, and East Tennessee State. Dailey was a four-year letter winner at Iowa and ranks sixth all-time with 3,161 assists.
 
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.
 
Follow along this season with the Panthers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as well as the web at MKEPanthers.com.