MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Milwaukee volleyball team looks to stay hot in Horizon League play following a 3-0 start last week. The Panthers will head to Indiana to face IUPUI on Tuesday before a trip to Wright State and Northern Kentucky this weekend.
 
Tuesday's match against the Jaguars and Friday's contest against the Raiders can be seen on ESPN+ while all three will feature live stats. Links for video and live stats can be found on MKEPanthers.com.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
IUPUI most recently pushed Purdue Fort Wayne to five sets but fell 3-2 and sits at 6-8 overall and 0-2 in Horizon League action. The Jaguars are 10th in the league with a .159 attack percentage but have been solid defensively, holding opponents to a .176 hitting percentage. Sophomore outside hitter Briana Brown leads the charge, averaging 3.2 kills per set.
 
Despite new leadership, Wright State has picked up right where they left off, rolling out to a 10-3 overall record and 2-0 mark in the Horizon League. The Raiders have picked up wins over Cleveland State and Oakland in the early part of the league schedule. Defense has been key for Wright State, as the Raiders are top in the Horizon League in digs per set (17.20) and second in blocks (2.37 per set). Jenna Story is averaging 5.43 digs per frame to lead the league. Offensively, Lainey Stephenson quarterbacks to squad with 518 assists while Sam Ott (160 kills) and Callie Martin (142) pace the way.
 
Preseason favorite Northern Kentucky put together a tough non-conference slate, going 2-9, but the Norse have opened Horizon League play with a pair of sweeps against Oakland and Cleveland State. NKU returns an experienced roster with 10 upperclassmen led by graduate Anna Brinkmann and seniors Reilly Briggs and Abby Kanakry. All three have recorded at least 100 kills while Kanakry paces with a .293 attack percentage.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Panthers are 8-3 all-time against IUPUI and have won four straight dating back to 2019. The last Jaguars' victory against MKE was in 2018, a five-setter at the Klotsche Center.
 
Milwaukee owns a 44-19 all-time record against Wright State, but the Raiders have had the Panthers' number as of late, taking four of the last five contests between the two teams. The Panthers' last victory against Wright State in Dayton was in 2018.
 
Northern Kentucky has had the edge against Milwaukee recently, winning five of the last six matchups to push the all-time series to 8-7. MKE did win at home against the Norse last season but have not won in Highland Heights since 2015.
 
HOT HORIZON LEAGUE START
Milwaukee is off to a 3-0 start in league play for the third time in the last four years. Last season, the Panthers rattled off 12 straight victories before their first loss in the Horizon League. That season, Northern Kentucky ended the streak in Kentucky.
 
The Panthers have been clicking in the first three matches and lead the league in hitting percentage (.346) and blocks per set (3.10).
 
Ari Miller is averaging 4.20 kills per set in league play, hitting .465, both of which put her second among league opponents. The junior leads the league with 1.80 blocks per set and 5.95 points per frame.
 
NO PROBLEM FOR THE NEWCOMERS
The Panthers newcomers have stepped up as well through these first three matches of Horizon League play.
 
Natalie Schmitz has racked up 30 kills while hitting .343. She's second on the team with 33.5 points.
 
Czhen Beneby has totaled nine blocks, five digs, and 16 kills while hitting and efficient .375 in the wins.
 
Josie Johnson has totaled 41 assists and 16 digs while helping facilitate the Panthers' offense to the league-leading .346 attack percentage.
 
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.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
Milwaukee has seen plenty of success on its home floor, totaling a 268-112 (.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 165-47 against league opponents at the Klotsche Center since 1990.
 
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.
 
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 (.336).
 
ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Bri Geurts was named to the USC Trojan Challenge All-Tournament team over the weekend thanks to a pair of solid outings against New Mexico State and San Jose State.
 
Geurts put away 11 kills and added four digs and two blocks against the Aggies and followed with a 10-kill performance against the Spartans, hitting .368.
 
This season, Geurts is averaging 1.8 kills per frame with a .293 attack percentage. She is also tied for second on the team with 40 total blocks.
 
At the Purdue Reamer Club Xtra Special from September 2-3, Ari Miller earned All-Tourney honors after hitting .315 with 39 kills (3.0 per set) and 15 blocks. 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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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 return home to host Cleveland State on October 7 followed by Oakland on October 8.