MILWAUKEE, Wis. - With the final weekend of non-conference play wrapped up, the Milwaukee volleyball team opens Horizon League action on the road this week, taking on Purdue Fort Wayne and IUPUI in Indiana.
 
The Panthers and Mastodons will face off at 6:00 pm CT on Friday, September 24 while Milwaukee and IUPUI will meet at The Jungle on Sunday, September 26 at 1:00 pm CT.
 
At Purdue Fort Wayne, all fans must be masked regardless of vaccination status in accordance with the university guidelines. Following Indiana University policy, all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, must wear a mask when indoors on campus.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Purdue Fort Wayne had a tough non-conference run, finishing 2-11 outside of league play. The Mastodons did pick up wins over Western Michigan and Liberty.
 
Reigning Horizon League Player of the Year Katie Crowe has continued to lead PFW as she ranks fifth in the league with 3.42 kills per set. The grad student has five double-doubles to her name this season. Rachael Crucis, who just reached 1,000 career digs, leads the defensive with 183 digs, averaging 3.81 per set. 
 
IUPUI has wins over Bellarmine and Western Illinois but has since lost six straight and sit at 2-9 overall. The Jaguars have struggled offensively and currently rank last in the Horizon League in hitting percentage (.110) and 10th in kills per set (10.51).
 
Freshman Briana Brown has been a bright spot for the Jaguars as she has racked up 116 kills to lead the team as well as 87 digs, which ranks second. 
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Panthers own a 4-1 all-time advantage over Purdue Fort Wayne after sweeping the Mastodons last season. PFW won a matchup in 2010, but outside of that, Milwaukee has won 12 of 14 sets in the four victories.
 
The Panthers are 6-3 all-time against IUPUI and have won three of the last four contests. MKE and IUPUI last met in 2019 with the Panthers earning 3-0 and 3-1 victories.
 
STARTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT
Since 2006 (15 seasons), Milwaukee has opened the Horizon League schedule on the road seven times and has won every single one of those contests. The Panthers have never lost under Susie Johnson when opening league play away from the Klotsche Center. In Johnson's 14 seasons at the helm, Milwaukee is 12-2 overall in Horizon League openers.
 
ANOTHER WINNING WEEKEND
Thanks to victories over Butler and Western Michigan, Milwaukee wrapped up another winning weekend, their third straight trip going 2-1 in tournaments. The Panthers also flashed brilliance against No. 19 UCLA in the third match of the weekend as they came out to hit .478 in the first set for a 25-15 victory.
 
Ari Miller and Carmen Heilemann were named to the Bulldog Brawl All-Tournament Team. Miller was nearly unstoppable with 54 kills and a .451 attack percentage. Heilemann totaled 37 kills while hitting .364.
 
CAREER-HIGHS ALL AROUND
The 3-2 win over Western Michigan was an impressive team effort thanks to a handful of individuals with career-bests. Ari Miller put away 30 kills, topping her previous career-best of 21 from 2019. Rylie Vaughn dished out 51 assists, well over her old career-high of 35. Carmen Heilemann also set a new career-best, recording 12 digs, her first time in double figures.
 
Miller's 30 kills marked the second most for a Panther in five sets behind only Jamie Gabrielsen's 31 from 2007. She was one off of Ericka Malterer's match record of 32 which was set in 1998.
 
Vaughn's 51 assists are the most for a Panther since Jen Dore's 54 on October 29, 2017.
 
ANOTHER ONE
Ari Miller was named Horizon League Player of the Week for the second time this season, the Panthers third award in four weeks.  The junior averaged 4.5 kills per set (54 total) while hitting .451 and added seven blocks and four digs.
 
In addition to the career-high 30 kills against WMU, Miller put away 10 at Butler and added 14 against UCLA.
 
Miller currently leads the Horizon League in total kills (176), total points (200.5), and attack percentage (.367). Her 176 kills also puts her 25th in NCAA Division I.
 
CONTINUING TO CLICK
The Panthers added two more matches with at least a .300 attack percentage this past weekend. When hitting .300 or better, Milwaukee is 4-0.
 
MKE leads the Horizon League in hitting percentage (.242), kills per set (13.71), and assists per set (13.00).
 
The Panthers are third in the nation in total assists (637) and fifth in total kills (672). 
 
FRESHMAN PHENOMS
Head coach Susie Johnson added three new faces to this year's roster and the trio has been impressive so far this season.
 
Madi Malone is second on the team in kills (149) and third in attack percentage (.251) and digs (120).
 
Brianna Geurts has been tough at the net and is second on the team with 33 total blocks. Geurts has added 39 kills and 18 digs.
 
When on the court, Tatum Catalano has made the most of her opportunities. Catalano has totaled three kills and five blocks in four sets played.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
Following the home tournament, Milwaukee began a 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.
 
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 1,584 digs, just 345 away from Lauren Felsing's mark of 1,929 from 2006-09. Grabowski owns the Panthers' career best digs per set number of 4.89.
 
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 660 kills in 58 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.