MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Milwaukee volleyball team wraps up non-conference play on the road, heading to California for the USC Trojan Challenge. MKE will begin the weekend against USC on Friday before taking on New Mexico State and San Jose State on Saturday.
Fans can watch all three matches free of charge on Pac-12 Plus. Links for video and live stats can be found on MKEPanthers.com.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
USC picked up three straight sweeps at its home invitational to open the year, but has dropped three of five since and sit at 5-3 overall. Two of those losses came against No. 17 Creighton and No. 16 Kentucky. The Trojans are led by third-year head coach Brad Keller and return six letterwinners from a year ago. Senior outside hitter Skylar Fields was named Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference while the team was predicted to finish fifth.
New Mexico State split with UC Santa Barbara last weekend and currently sit at 6-2 overall. Offensively, Katie Birtcil leads with 3.46 kills per set while Ryleigh Whitekettle is hitting .259 with 2.35 kills per frame. The Aggies picked up their third straight WAC Regular Season Championship last fall and were predicted to finish first once again. Birtcil and Lia Mosher were selected as preseason All-WAC First Team honorees.
Coming off a third-place finish a year ago, San Jose State was predicted to finish third in the Mountain West once again. The Spartans fifth-year senior duo of Haylee Nelson and Sarah Smegov were chosen as two of the eight players named All-Mountain West. Nelson has put away 89 kills this year while Smegov leads the back row with 116 digs.
SERIES HISTORY
It is a rare trip West for the Panthers who will have their first all-time meeting with both USC and New Mexico State.
The Panthers have seen San Jose on two separate occasions, winning both matchups. MKE first topped the Spartans in 1997 and most recently earned a 3-1 triumph against San Jose State on August 26, 2011.
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 17 victories away from surpassing
Kathy Litzau for the most NCAA Division I wins in program history (272).
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.
CLOSING IN ON 1K
Ari Miller added 19 kills last week, pushing her career total to 980. The middle blocker is closing in on becoming the 15th Panther in program history to reach 1,000 kills.
Additionally, Miller currently ranks sixth in career kills per set (3.16) and first in attack percentage (.336).
Miller also currently ranks sixth in program history in career kills per set (3.12) and first in attack percentage (.332).
NOT QUITE CALI KIDS
The Panthers are entering unfamiliar territory heading to California. It marks MKE's first trip to The Golden State since 2000 for the NCAA Tournament. That year, the Panthers fell to Michigan State 3-1 at UCLA in round one of the postseason tourney.
Prior to that, the Panthers did head to California for a early-season tournament. MKE fell to Fresno State 3-1 but swept San Francisco, St. Mary's, and San Jose State.
MAKING IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Natalie Schmitz has wasted no time contributing in her first year for the black and gold. The freshman ranks third on the team with 70 kills (2.26 per set) and a .213 attack percentage.
Fellow freshman
Josie Johnson has helped control the offense at the setter position. Johnson has dished up 127 assists and has added 37 digs and five aces, which ranks second on the team.
NO SLOUCH IN NON-CONFERENCE
Head Coach
Susie Johnson has put together one of the toughest non-conference schedules in program history and that continues in California. The Panthers already have two ranked matches under their belts and on Friday, MKE will face its third team that is 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.
GOOD GRACIOUS, GEURTS
Bri Geurts has impressed so far this season, averaging 1.81 kills per set with a team-best attack percentage of .333. Additionally, Geurts is third on the team with 23 blocks. At the Purdue Tournament, the sophomore totaled 27 kills and 14 blocks in the three matches. Against Utah, Geurts exploded for 11 kills and a career-high seven blocks.
ALL-TOURNEY HONORS
Ari Miller was named to the Purdue Reamer Club Xtra Special All-Tournament team after hitting .315 with 39 kills (3.0 per set) and 15 blocks this past weekend. The junior recorded at least 12 kills in all three matches, opening with 14 kills and a .364 attack percentage against (RV) Utah. That afternoon, she helped the Panthers to a win over Bradley, totaling 12 kills and six blocks. On Saturday, Miller put away 13 kills against No. 11 Purdue.
HOME SWEET HOME
Milwaukee has seen plenty of success on its home floor, totaling a 266-112 (.706) record at the Klotsche Center since 1990. Last year, the Panthers finished 9-0 against league opponents at home, their 11th time going undefeated against the league in MKE. In total, the Panthers are 163-47 against league opponents at the Klotsche Center since 1990.
WIN NO. 1
The grueling non-conference schedule continued in West Lafayette, Ind. during the second weekend of play but the Panthers battled to their first victory of the 2022 season.
Madi Malone put away 13 kills and
Ari Miller added 12 as the Panthers topped Bradley 3-1 on September 2. The offense was clicking, hitting at least .300 in three of the four frames including at 16-kill output in the crucial fourth set.
DYNAMIC DUO
The setter tandem of
Josie Johnson and
Kaley Blake impressed in West Lafayette, Ind. as the two totaled 123 assists, 40 digs, and four aces. Johnson recorded her first double-double in a Panthers uniform on September 2 against Utah, totaling 22 assists and 15 digs. Blake also notched a double-double against the Utes, her second of the season, with 25 assists and 14 digs. The two have helped the Panthers record the second highest attack percentage in the Horizon League through six matches.
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.
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.
MILLER MAGIC
Ari Miller continued to add to her already-impressive resume last year as she was named AVCA Honorable Mention All-America, Horizon League Player of the Year, and Offensive Player of the Year. Miller now has three First Team All-League mentions to her name, just one of 30 Horizon League players to ever do so. With one more nod, she could join Sammy Condon (Oakland) and Haley Libs (Northern Kentucky) as the only four-time First Team selections.
Miller joined an elite group of just 11 other Panthers in program history with her AVCA Honorable Mention All-American accolade. It's the most recent All-American honor for the Panthers since Rachel Neuberger and Kerri Schuh was named in 2011.
MAKING THE RETURN
In addition to
Ari Miller,
Madi Malone returns for her second season after lighting it up in 2021. Malone became the Panthers' third Freshman of the Year winner after putting together an impressive season with 371 kills and 283 digs while hitting .252, all of which ranks in the top 10 all-time for Milwaukee freshman.
NEW FACES
Head Coach
Susie Johnson lost six players to graduation from one year ago but brought plenty of new faces ready make an impact. Transfers
Czhen Beneby (Virginia) and
Lakyn Graves (Omaha) have seen action at the college level while five new freshmen will get their first shot at this level.
Kara Erdmann,
Josie Johnson,
Maddie Moan,
Natalie Schmitz, and
Rachel Scott will all look for playing time this fall.
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.
CLEANING UP WEEKLY AWARDS
Milwaukee dominated the weekly honors last season, collecting nine Horizon League Player of the Week awards.
Ari Miller led the charge with four while
Madi Malone earned her first two awards. Currently, Miller is tied for sixth in league history with six career Player of the Week awards. Becky Peters (2005-08) and Kerri Schuh (2007-11) each finished their career with seven to lead 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 $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
The Panthers get into the Horizon League schedule on Tuesday at Purdue Fort Wayne before hosting Youngstown State (Sep. 23) and Robert Morris (Sep. 24) over the weekend. All matches can be viewed on ESPN+.
