MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee Volleyball heads on the road this weekend to visit the Wright State Raiders for a weekend pair at the CJ McLin Gymnasium on Friday evening at 5:00 p.m. (CT) and Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. (CT).
  
Friday's game will be available on ESPN+, while live stats of both matches this weekend will also be available at the links on MKEPanthers.com.

WEEK AT A GLANCE & GAME LINKS
Friday, Oct. 17 | Milwaukee at Wright State | CJ McLin Gymnasium | Dayton, Ohio | 5:00 p.m. | ESPN+ / Live Stats
Saturday, Oct. 18 | Milwaukee at Wright State | CJ McLin Gymnasium | Dayton, Ohio | 1:00 p.m. | Live Stats

FIRST SERVE
» After a pair of matches at home this past weekend against Northern Kentucky, the Milwaukee volleyball team travels for its longest road trip of the season with the first two of five coming in Dayton, Ohio against league-favorite Wright State on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.
» The Panthers fell to the visiting Norse in four sets on Friday and then in three on Saturday, dropping their Horizon League record to 3-4 to start the season. Following the pair at the CJ McLin Gymnasium this weekend, the Horizon League schedule will reach the halfway point with nine matches complete.
» Wright State is 12-6 overall on the season with a 6-1 record in Horizon League matches, the team's lone loss coming to Northern Kentucky on Sept. 30. Since the loss, the Raiders have won four straight matches with identical 3-1 wins over Cleveland State on the road, and 3-0 and 3-2 wins against Youngstown State at home this past weekend.
» Milwaukee and Wright State have alternated wins over their past five meetings, including a 3-2 Milwaukee win on Oct. 18, and a 3-2 Wright State win a day later last season.
» In last season's five-set loss to Wright State, Kara Erdmann set the Milwaukee single-match digs record, ending the contest with 47 digs. Erdmann was later announced as the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year and was a First Team All-League selection.
» In matches hosted by Wright State in the all-time series, Milwaukee has won 19 against 13 and are 46-23 in 69 contests against the Raiders. The Panthers are 43-20 when they meet Wright State in regular season Horizon League matchups.
» Some players to watch for Wright State this weekend are setter Lauren Yacobucci, who is third in the Horizon League in Assists per Set at 9.32, while Katie Sowko has the second-most aces in the league entering play this week with 25 on the season. In terms of hitting, the Panther defense will need to focus on Mya Ayro, who is third in the league in total kills with 272, and is second in the Horizon League in kills per set at 3.83.

LOOKING AT WRIGHT STATE
Wright State enters the weekend on a four-match winning streak and will look to keep the momentum going against the Panthers. Travers Green's squad was once again picked as the league favorite, as the Raiders currently sit atop the league standings with identical 6-1 records with Northern Kentucky. IU Indy, Green Bay, and Oakland trail the conference leaders by one match, entering play this weekend with 5-2 marks.

The Raiders are towards the top half of league marks in many categories, as they are second in the league in team assists with 848 and second in team kills with 911. Lauren Yacobucci continues to be one of the top distributors in the league with 662 assists on the year, while one of her favorite targets has been Mya Ayro, with 272 kills on the season.

Beyond Yacobucci and Ayro, Katie Sowko has also been a favorite of Yacobucci's with 712 attacking attempts this season. The Raiders are also fourth in the league in service aces per set led by Sowko with 25.

It's no surprise that Reilly Zegunis is once again leading the team in blocking after 87 a season ago and 102 as a freshman, this year she has 60 to pace the team just ahead of Taylor Bransfield, who enters play this week with 57. The one area worth improvement within the league for Wright State is its passing game as the team is seventh in the Horizon at 14.63 digs per set and 1,039 overall, led by Taygan Corstange with 257, Sowko with 184, and Yacobucci with 164.

UP NEXT
Following the upcoming weekend at Wright State, the Panthers will make a quick return visit to the Buckeye State the following weekend as the team will square off with Youngstown State at the Beeghly Center on Oct. 24-25. Milwaukee returns to Wisconsin to take on Green Bay at the Kress Center on Oct. 28, before a four-match homestand with Purdue Fort Wayne (Oct. 31-Nov. 1), and Robert Morris (Oct. 7-8).

ALL-TIME IN DIGS
1. Lauren Felsing (2006-09): 1,929
2. Becky Peters (2005-08): 1,875
3. Jess Grabowski (2018-21): 1,859
4. Kaley Blake (2020-23): 1,760
5. Myanna Ruiz (2013-16): 1,700
6. Laura Dallenbach (1998-01): 1,600
7. Kara Erdmann (2022-present): 1,450
8. Leanne Felsing (2004-07): 1,329

ALL-TIME IN ASSISTS
1. Katie Schneider (1996-99): 5,276
...
8. Kari Naber (1994-97): 2,308
9. Leane Felsing (2004-07): 2,264
10. Josie Johnson (2022-present): 2,114

In the team's match against Arizona State, Josie Johnson became the 10th player in program history to reach 2,000 career assists.

WHO'S LEADING TODAY?
Milwaukee loves to spread the ball around and have had five different players lead them in kills this season including a team-best 11 matches with the team-high by Natalie Schmitz. Josie Noble has led the team seven times, Bella Lipski three, Ella Schuetz two, and Annie Eschenbach one.

The Panther defense has also had six different players lead the team in blocks at various points throughout the season including a team-best 12 times by Josie Noble. Bella Lipski has led the team in blocking 10 times this season, followed by Annie Eschenbach three times, Emily Hansen twice, and Natalie Schmitz and Sam Vanda once each.

Kara Erdmann has led Milwaukee in digs 19 times this year, while Josie Johnson and Ella Schuetz each finished a match with the team lead on one occasion. Johnson has also led Milwaukee in assists 12 times, while Milicia Tomic has led the Panthers eight times this season.

NOBLE'S SERVING IT UP
Over her last six matches, Josie Noble has greatly improved her serve game and nine service aces during that stretch after only having three aces her previous 12 matches. Noble's serve game has been a strength for the Panthers, as she leads the team with 15 in 2025.

ERDMANN IN THE 30s
With 307 total digs and 4.65 digs per set, Kara Erdmann is currently ranked 30th and 32nd in all of Division I volleyball through matches completed on Oct. 13. Last season, Erdmann finished the year second in the nation at both 5.85 digs per set and 719 total digs in 2024.

NOT SO BLOCK PARTY
The Panthers are 0-10 this season in matches where they are outblocked by opponents, the team is also 3-5 with more blocks than their opponents and 0-2 when blocks are equal.

NOBLE UP FRONT
With 62 blocks on the season, Josie Noble leads Milwaukee with her efforts and is looking to become the first freshman to lead the Panthers in blocks since Ari Miller had 99 blocks her freshman season in 2019.

The freshman record at Milwaukee for blocks in a season is Natalie Schmitting, who had 123 blocks in 2007. There have been five first-year players in program history to record at least 100 digs in their rookie campaigns.

At 0.98 blocks per set entering play this week, Noble is on pace to finish sixth on the freshman list in blocks per set during a season.

WITHIN THE HORIZON
Below are Milwaukee's top performers in each statistical category, as provided by the Horizon League…
Hitting Percentage: Bella Lipski (8th, .262 Pct.)
Kills: Natalie Schmitz (15th, 2.74 Kills/Set)
Service Aces: Josie Noble (16th, 0.24 Aces/Set)
Blocks: Josie Noble (5th, 0.98 Blocks/Set)
Digs: Kara Erdmann (3rd, 4.65 Digs/Set)
Points: Natalie Schmitz (17th, 2.94 Points/Set)

REACHING THE MARK
Senior Natalie Schmitz became the latest Panther to join the 1,000 kill club with her sixth kill earlier this season against Iowa State. In doing so, Schmitz became the first Panther to reach 1,000 since Madi Malone did so during her junior season in 2023. Former teammate and all-time kills leader Ari Miller reached 1,000 career kills a season prior in 2022 and finished her career with 1,563.

BELLA'S BREAKOUT
Junior Bella Lipski put together some big time marks at the 2025 Panther Invitational with back-to-back 11-kill performances against Central Michigan and South Alabama. The Milwaukee native entered the season with a match-high of four kills but has since surpassed that mark 14 times this year, with a career-best 12 kills at IU Indy on Oct. 4. Defensively she already has 54 blocks on the season, already a new career high.

SUSIE APPROACHING 200
After reaching 300 total coaching wins with Milwaukee in 2024, head coach Susie Johnson boasts a 199-94 record in Horizon League matches and is one away from reaching 200 for her league career. Chuck Voss, current head coach at Cleveland State entered the season with 220 wins in league play.

PANTHERS vs. RANKED
Milwaukee played two teams this season that garnered attention from the American Volleyball Coaches Association. The Panthers are played Preseason No. 8 Wisconsin on Sept. 9 before taking on Marquette on Sept. 14, the Golden Eagles are receiving votes in the poll. The schedule also featured preseason No. 13 Arizona State in Tempe on Sept. 21.

The Panthers are 2-39 in all-time meetings against top-25 programs, which includes the losses earlier this season to Wisconsin and Arizona State.

ON THE HORIZON
Next season, Northern Illinois will join the Horizon League as its 12th full-time member. Not far from Milwaukee, the Panthers and Huskies have met 20 times on the volleyball court with NIU leading the series by a 12-8 margin. However, the Panthers have won three of the last four matchups, including a five-set win over Northern Illinois on Sept. 1, 2024.