MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Following an impressive tournament title at the Shamrock Invitational, the Milwaukee volleyball team looks to carry that momentum west for the South Dakota Classic. The Panthers open with Bradley on Friday morning and then take on host South Dakota before wrapping up with Central Arkansas on Saturday morning.
 
South Dakota announced earlier this fall that masks are required inside all buildings on campus including athletic facilities regardless of vaccination status.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Bradley has a pair of tournaments under its belt, going 1-2 at the home CEFCU Invitational and 1-1 at the Golden Grizzlies Invitational. Most recently, the Braves knocked off Eastern Michigan 3-0 on September 4.
 
Led by senior outside hitter Hannah Thompson, who was named preseason All-MVC, Bradley was selected fourth in the MVC preseason poll. Thompson leads the Braves with 64 kills and has added 81 digs to become the program's all-time career digs leader.
 
Following a cancellation of its first tournament due to COVID-19 protocols, South Dakota faced stiff competition at the Cardinal Classic in Louisville and dropped matches to Northern Kentucky, No. 12 Louisville, and Missouri.
 
The Coyotes have had solid success recently, reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2020 one year after finishing 31-3. Led by former MKE standout and two-time AVCA All-American Leanne (Felsing) Williamson, South Dakota returns plenty of experience with 10 upperclassmen including fifth-year outside hitter Sami Slaughter, senior defensive specialist Lolo Weideman, and senior setter Madison Jurgens.
 
Central Arkansas also had a cancellation in its first tournament of the season due to contract tracing within the program. Instead, the Sugar Bears opened the year at their home invitational and earned a win over Little Rock before falling to Missouri State and Memphis.
 
Senior Lexi Miller had an impressive opening weekend, putting away 46 kills (4.18 per set) while hitting .316. Outside hitter Alexis Stumbough also was solid, ranking second on the team with 39 kills and 35 digs. 
 
SERIES HISTORY
Bradley holds the all-time advantage 7-4 over Milwaukee but the Panthers have won three of the last five matches against the Braves. The two teams last met in 2018 with Bradley winning a 3-0 decision.
 
Milwaukee and South Dakota have met just twice in the Division I era with the Panthers winning 3-0 in 2009 and the Coyotes returning the favor in 2018.
 
Saturday's matchup against Central Arkansas is the first for the two programs.
 
SHAMROCK INVITATIONAL CHAMPS
The Panthers impressed over the weekend, 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 418 total digs this season, Milwaukee leads the Horizon League.
 
LEADING THE LEAGUE
The offense has been clicking for Milwaukee and has put the Panthers on top of the Horizon League in multiple categories.
 
After two weekends of play, MKE leads the league in hitting percentage (.215), kills per set (14.0), assists per set (13.16), attacks per set (39.1).
 
Individually, junior Ari Miller leads with 92 total kills while Jess Grabowski owns the top spot for total digs with 125.
 
SETTING UP FOR SUCCESS
The setter tandem of Rylie Vaughn and Kaley Blake was solid for Milwaukee last weekend as the two combined for 159 assists (12.23/set) and 74 digs (5.69/set).
 
Vaughn recorded three consecutive double-doubles including 27 assists and 16 digs against Cincinnati and 28 assists and 15 digs against Notre Dame. Blake led against Bowling Green with 31 assists and 16 digs for her first double-double of the season.
 
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 1,499 digs, just 430 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 576 kills in 52 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.