MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Milwaukee volleyball team opened up the week with a win on Tuesday over IUPUI and look to continue that trend on the road, as the Panthers travel west. MKE will take on Robert Morris on October 21 at 5:00 pm CT before taking on Youngstown State on October 22 at 3:00 pm CT.
 
Saturday's match at Youngstown State will be carried on ESPN+ this week while both matches will have live stats available. All links can be found on MKEPanthers.com.
 
The Panthers currently sit in fourth place in the league standings with the top six heading to the Horizon League Championships which begin on November 18.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Robert Morris has dropped five straight matches and currently sits at 1-9 in Horizon League play. The lone win came over Purdue Fort Wayne on September 30.
 
The Colonials had a solid non-conference schedule at 7-5 but have struggled in league action and rank last in most offensive categories. Abby Ryan has been a solid source for RMU, leading with 205 kills and ranking fourth with 142 digs.
 
Youngstown State checks in at 9-12 overall and 3-7 in Horizon League play after picking up a win against Oakland on Tuesday.  Despite the seven losses, the Penguins have put up a fight in nearly every contest, having been swept just one time.
 
YSU has been carried by Paula Gursching who is putting up a strong case for Horizon League Offensive Player of the Year. The sophomore leads the league and is seventh in the nation in kills per set (5.0) while ranking second in NCAA Division I in points with 468. Josi Borum has also been solid for the Penguins and leads the nation with eight triple doubles.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Panthers have won all four matchups (all sweeps) against Robert Morris, dating back to 2014. Since welcoming the Colonials to the Horizon League in 2021, MKE has topped RMU three times. Earlier this season, Milwaukee held Robert Morris to a .038 attack percentage through the first two sets in a 3-0 win.
 
Milwaukee has dominated the all-time series against Youngstown State, owning a 38-9 all-time record.  The Panthers have won seven straight over the Penguins dating back to 2018. YSU won the first four matchups between the two teams in 1992-93 and since then, MKE is 38-5 against the Penguins.
 
BACK ON TRACK
Milwaukee bounced back from a 3-0 setback to Green Bay with a 3-1 win over IUPUI on Tuesday. The Jaguars claimed set one but the Panthers' offense caught fire as Milwaukee hit .362 with 65 kills in the victory. Three players reached double digit kills for Milwaukee with Ari Miller's 17 leading the way.
 
BLOCK PARTY
In the win over Oakland on October 8 Bri Geurts racked up a career-high nine blocks. As a team, Milwaukee recorded 10 blocks, its ninth match this season with double figure stuffs. It marks the most matches with at least 10 blocks since 2016 when Milwaukee had 15 double-figure outputs.
 
The Panthers currently rank third in the league with 2.26 blocks per set in league play.
 
MILLER ON A MISSION
Ari Miller has been a leader for the Panthers all season but since Horizon League play began, her numbers have continued to improve.
 
In 10 league matches, Miller paces the Panthers in attack percentage (.391), kills (3.68), blocks (1.12), and points (4.54) per set. Those numbers also put her in the league's top five of each category.
 
Miller has tallied at least 10 kills in 15 matches this season and has recorded at least six blocks on six occasions. 
 
The junior currently ranks 97th in the nation in attack percentage and 107th in total points with 269.
 
YEAR 50
This year marks the 50th season of Milwaukee volleyball. Susie Johnson has been on the bench for more than half that time, spending 10 seasons as an assistant coach and embarking on her 16th at the helm this year. Johnson is just 11 victories away from surpassing Kathy Litzau for the most NCAA Division I wins in program history (271).
 
As a program since inception in 1973, the Panthers have claimed 14 league championships and have been to 10 NCAA Tournaments. Milwaukee volleyball also has 21 Bud K. Haidet Hall of Famers, 12 All-Americans, 11 league players of the year, and much more in its history.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
Dating back to March 15, 2021, Milwaukee has won 16 consecutive Horizon League contests on its home floor. The Panthers won their final two home league contests in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, finished 9-0 against league opponents last year, and are 5-0 so far this season.
 
It marks the longest undefeated streak at home against Horizon League opponents since 2008 when Milwaukee recorded its fifth straight perfect home league schedule. From 2004-08, MKE won 36 consecutive home matchups against league opponents.
 
Since 1990, MKE is 271-112 (.707) overall at the Klotsche Center and 167-47 against league opponents on its home floor.
 
MAKING IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Natalie Schmitz has wasted no time contributing in her first year for the black and gold. The freshman ranks second on the team with 196 kills (2.58 per set) and is third with a .222 attack percentage.
 
Fellow freshman Josie Johnson has helped control the offense at the setter position. Johnson has dished up 338 assists and has added 116 digs and eight aces, which ranks third on the team.
 
Kara Erdmann currently ranks fifth on the team with 106 digs.
 
Czhen Beneby has also made an impact, totaling 113 kills and 60 blocks in her first season with the black and gold.
 
A GRAND MILESTONE
On September 17 against San Jose State, junior Ari Miller put away 13 kills which put her over 1,000 for her career. Miller became the 15th player in program history to reach the milestone.
 
Additionally, Miller currently ranks sixth in career kills per set (3.16) and first in attack percentage (.337).
 
PRESEASON POLL
The Panthers picked up four first-place votes and 93 total poll points as they were predicted to finish second in this year's Horizon League preseason poll. MKE was edged by Northern Kentucky, who earned six first-place votes and 96 poll points. Wright State was picked third (78 points) followed by Green Bay (69) to round out the top four.
 
NO SLOUCH IN NON-CONFERENCE
Head Coach Susie Johnson put together one of the toughest non-conference schedules in program history and that continues in California. The Panthers had two ranked matches and three more against teams receiving votes in the top-25 poll.
 
The last time the Panthers saw at least two ranked opponents in a single season was 2014 when MKE took on No. 19 Minnesota and No. 25 Michigan State.
 
PANTHER DEBUTS
All 13 active Panthers saw the floor during the opening weekend of play with six new faces making their debut for the black and gold. Natalie Schmitz put away 20 kills, averaging 1.82 per set while Czhen Beneby totaled 14 kills and seven blocks. Rachel Scott recorded five kills, four digs, and three blocks in nine sets played. Josie Johnson saw action in all 11 sets and racked up 36 assists and 13 digs. Maddie Moan (one block) and Kara Erdmann (eight digs) also made their debut for MKE.
 
HORIZON LEAGUE CHAMPS
With a 16-2 mark in Horizon League play last year, Milwaukee clinched the title of regular season champions. It marked the 14th regular season title and first since 2013 for the Panthers.
 
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 $9.99 a month (or $99.99 per year) and cancel at any time.
 
For road games, visit MKEPanthers.com for live coverage links.
 
UP NEXT
Milwaukee returns to the Klotsche Center for three straight matches beginning with Northern Kentucky on Friday, October 28.