MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Milwaukee volleyball team heads to one final non-conference tournament this weekend before diving into Horizon League action in late September. The Panthers take on the Bulldog Brawl in Indianapolis beginning with host Butler on Friday at 9:00 am.
 
Milwaukee will then face Western Michigan that afternoon before wrapping up the weekend against UCLA at noon on Saturday.
 
Butler announced that masks are required inside all buildings on campus including athletic facilities regardless of vaccination status, except while eating or drinking.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Through three non-conference tournaments, Butler has recorded a 5-4 record with most recent wins against Nevada and California. The Bulldogs are led by preseason All-BIG EAST member Melody Davidson who has totaled 120 kills, a .320 attack percentage, and 34 blocks in nine matches, all team-bests.
 
Freshman outside hitter Mariah Grunze has also added a solid piece for Butler as she has totaled 96 kills, 88 digs, and seven service aces in her first collegiate season.
 
Western Michigan has put together a solid start to the season, leaving all three of its non-conference tournaments with a 2-1 record to sit at 6-3 overall. The Broncos have posted solid wins across the board including a sweep of Wright State and a five-set win over Indiana.
 
The Broncos boast a strong defense that averages over 16 digs per set led by the sophomore duo of Mairead Boyle and Andelyn Simkins. Boyle leads the team with 132 digs while Simkins has totaled 108.
 
Predicted second in the Pac-12, UCLA has opened the season 5-1 and checks in at No. 19 in the AVCA Coaches' Poll. Graduate student Mac May and seniors Zoe Fleck and élan McCall were named to the Preseason All-Pac-12 Team.
 
May has been dominant on the offensive end, averaging 4.67 kills per set while hitting .282. Fleck, who was named Pac-12 Libero of the Year last season, has 87 digs in 22 sets played. McCall has done a little bit of everything with 20 kills, 51 digs, and six aces.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee has dominated the all-time series against Butler, owning a 30-13 advantage including four straight victories against the Bulldogs. The Panthers are 13-9 on the road against Butler.
 
The Panthers swept Western Michigan in 2019 but the Broncos have won seven of the 11 overall matchups. MKE has won four of the last five contests against WMU.
 
Saturday's matchup against UCLA is the first for the two programs.
 
ANOTHER WINNING WEEKEND
The Panthers took down Bradley and Central Arkansas at the South Dakota Classic to secure their second consecutive winning weekend. Milwaukee has now won four of its last six matches including victories over Cincinnati and Notre Dame.
 
Ari Miller and Rylie Vaughn were named to the South Dakota Classic All-Tournament team. Miller totaled 30 kills and 14 digs while Vaughn recorded a team-high 72 assists to go with 21 digs.
 
OFFENSE HEATING UP
The Panthers flexed offensively in South Dakota, hitting .307 across their three matches. Milwaukee opened with 58 kills and a .339 attack percentage in a 3-1 win over Bradley and wrapped up with a 42-7-78 (.449) line in the sweep of Central Arkansas.
 
It marked the first time Milwaukee reached the .400 plateau since October 26, 2013, in a 3-0 win over Oklahoma. The Panthers finished that match with 48 kills and a .409 attack percentage.
 
The Panthers nearly reached the program record of .474 in a three-set match, which was set on September 5, 2009, in a win over Alcorn State. 
 
LEADING THE LEAGUE
With another impressive weekend, the Panthers continue to lead the league in assists per set (13.14) and kills per set (13.84) while ranking second in attack percentage (.239).
 
Individually, Ari Miller owns the top spot with 122 kills while Madi Malone (116) and Carmen Heilemann (87) rank second and fourth, respectively.
 
FRESHMAN PHENOMS
The Panthers trio of freshman have made an impact across the board and this past weekend was no different. At the South Dakota Classic, the three combined for 46 kills, 33 digs, and 14 blocks.
 
Madi Malone averaged 2.83 kills per set while hitting .329 and added 2.17 digs per set. Bri Geurts saw action in all three matches and hit .304 with 10 kills, seven digs, and eight blocks. Tatum Catalano made the most of her appearance against Central Arkansas and put away two kills to go with three total blocks.
 
Malone is second on the team with 116 kills, a .291 attack percentage, and 94 digs. Geurts ranks second on the Panthers with 26 total blocks.
 
SETTING UP FOR SUCCESS
The setter tandem of Rylie Vaughn and Kaley Blake put together another strong weekend and continue to provide a solid one-two punch for the Panthers.
 
Vaughn averaged 6.0 assists and 1.75 digs per set while Blake averaged 4.92 assists and 2.08 digs per frame.
 
For the season, the two have combined for 11.54 assists and 4.35 digs per set to go along with 15 service aces.
 
SHAMROCK INVITATIONAL CHAMPS
The Panthers impressed in early September, earning a pair of wins to claim the title of Shamrock Invitational Champions. Milwaukee took down Cincinnati 3-1 and knocked off host Notre Dame, who was receiving votes at the time. Madi Malone and Jess Grabowski were named to the All-Tournament Team for their efforts.
 
COMING OUT PARTY
Freshman Madi Malone took over at the Shamrock Invitational and dominated with 61 kills, a .329 attack percentage, and 41 digs. The outside hitter found her groove against the Bearcats, leading MKE to a win with 24 kills and a .404 attack percentage. She recorded her first of three double-doubles that Friday, adding 10 digs. The next match, she totaled 18 kills and a career-high 17 digs and finished the weekend with 19 kills and 14 digs in the win against Notre Dame.
 
Her 24 kills marks the first time a Milwaukee freshman reached 20 since teammate Ari Miller totaled 21 in 2019.
 
For her efforts, Malone was named Horizon League Player of the Week for the first time in her career.
 
DOMINATING ON DEFENSE
The Panthers' defense stood tall in South Bend, averaging 19.23 digs per set led by Jess Grabowski's 5.46 per frame. The senior libero totaled 71 digs, recording three consecutive 20-dig performances.
 
In addition to Grabowski, Milwaukee had three others finish above 3.0 digs per set including Sarah Schrader (3.46), Madi Malone (3.15), and Rylie Vaughn (3.15).
 
With 573 total digs this season, Milwaukee ranks third in the Horizon League.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
Last weekend, Milwaukee began its stretch of 11 consecutive matches on the road, nine of which are at non-conference tournaments. The last time the Panthers had weekend road tournaments was in 2019 when MKE went 8-1, winning three of the early-season events.
 
The Panthers will host just one road game in September as they take on Northern Kentucky on Thursday, September 30.
 
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 1,545 digs, just 384 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 606 kills in 55 matches at Milwaukee.
 
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.