MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee volleyball team, fresh off its three-set win at Wright State, heads back to Ohio this weekend to pay a visit to the Youngstown State Penguins for a pair of Horizon League matches.
 
Friday's contest at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center will begin at 3:00 p.m. (CT) and be available on ESPN+. Saturday will feature a morning showdown at 10:00 a.m. (CT). Both matches will have live stats available on MKEPanthers.com.

WEEK AT A GLANCE & GAME LINKS
Friday, Oct. 24 | Milwaukee at Youngstown State | Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center | Youngstown, Ohio | 3:00 p.m. (CT) | ESPN+ / Live Stats
Saturday, Oct. 25 | Milwaukee at Youngstown State | Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center | Youngstown, Ohio | 10:00 a.m. (CT) | Live Stats

FIRST SERVE
» Entering off their biggest win of the season in a three-set sweep over Wright State, the Panthers will head back to Ohio this weekend to take on Youngstown State for a pair of matches at the Beeghly Center.
» The Panthers split a weekend series at Wright State this past weekend, falling in the opener while beating the Raiders on Saturday afternoon. Both matches were decided in three sets.
» Milwaukee was led by Josie Noble, who finished the weekend with 19 kills and had a .515 hitting percentage, Noble also had four blocks against the Raiders. Natalie Schmitz also had 19 kills, while Bella Lipski was also in double figures with 13 and led the Panthers with five blocks.
» Milica Tomic had 33 assists and Josie Johnson added 29 on the team's 73 kills this past weekend. Kara Erdmann paced the defense with 23 digs, while Ella Schuetz had 13, and both Johnson and Kati Goba had 11 apiece. Goba had all three of the team's aces, which came on Saturday.
» Milwaukee has a staggering 42-10 record in 52 all-time meetings against Youngstown State, including wins in four consecutive meetings and wins in 15 of their last 17 dating back the past 10-plus seasons.
» When the Panthers play in Y-Town, they boast a 17-7 record but are just 6-5 in their last 11 visits. Before the most recent run, Milwaukee had won in their previous 11 visits to Northeast Ohio.
» This year's Youngstown State team is not what the team has been over the last decade, just a win away from their second ten-win season since 2015. The Penguins won 14 matches in 2022 but have not been able to eclipse the nine-win mark over the past two campaigns.
» Youngstown State enters the weekend tied with Milwaukee the coveted sixth place midway through the conference schedule. YSU will play at Robert Morris on Tuesday, and still has weekend series against Oakland, Cleveland State, and Purdue Fort Wayne to wrap up the regular season.
» Following the trip to Youngstown, Milwaukee will visit Green Bay before hosting Robert Morris and Purdue Fort Wayne for back-to-back weekends. The season for MKE will wrap up at Cleveland State on the final weekend of the regular season.

LOOKING AT YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Youngstown State enters play this week after a pair of wins this past weekend at IU Indy, winning on Friday evening in five sets while picking up a four-set victory on Saturday afternoon against the Jaguars in The Jungle. The Penguins return home to the friendly confines of the Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center to host Milwaukee this weekend, in search of their first win over the Panthers in five tries.

Milwaukee has controlled the all-time series with Youngstown State with wins in 42 of 52 Division I matches, the Panthers are 17-7 in games played in Northeast Ohio. Last season, MKE won both from YSU at the Klotsche Center with a pair of 3-0 wins in head coach Riley Jarrett's first two meetings against the Black & Gold.

This year's squad for YSU is greatly improved from a season ago, already matching the team's nine overall wins from 2024, while boasting four conference wins this year after winning just three a season ago. Abbie Householder has been the key cog in the team's success averaging 4.42 points per set, second-most in the Horizon League. Gabriela Machin (3.51 Pts/Set), and Layne Graffice (2.98 Pts/Set) are also among the league leaders.

Householder has a team-best 316 kills this year, with Machin adding 247 and Graffice contributing with 174. Finding the trio of top hitters has been setter Kameron Blizniak, who stepped right into the setters role as a true freshman this fall. Blizniak is also second on the team with 19 service aces, trailing Householder's team-best 20.

Passing has been a strength for YSU this season as the team is second in the Horizon League with 1,112 digs this year, an average of 15.44 per set. Freshman Brie Habeeb has also stepped into a key starting role for the Penguins, leading the team with 288 digs, while Householder is second on the team with 224. At the net, Taya Nordmann has transferred in from SIUE and has made a major impact with a team-best 69 blocks, with Machin second on the team with 50 through the team's first 20 matches.

UP NEXT
The five-match road trip will conclude on Tuesday evening, when the Panther pay a visit to in-state foe Green Bay at 6:00 p.m. at the Kress Center. Milwaukee will return home to the Klotsche Center on Oct. 31 and Nov 1 to host the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE…
With Milwaukee's win over Wright State on Oct. 18, the Panthers handed the Raiders their first three-set loss in Horizon League play since the 2019 season, when UIC defeated WSU on Oct. 11. Among active Horizon League teams, the last to sweep Wright State was Green Bay on Nov. 4, 2018.

The three-set win for Milwaukee was its first over Wright State since the Panthers did so on Sept. 24, 2016, and was the first time the Black & Gold swept WSU on its home court since Nov. 15, 2014.

FLIPPING THE SCRIPT
Over the last three seasons, Milwaukee and Wright State have gone 3-3 against one another with the Panther and Raiders reversing identical scores against one another. This year Milwaukee bounced back to win 3-0 in their second meeting after falling 3-0 the previous night, while in 2024 the team's exchanged 3-2 wins, and in 2023 the team's swapped 3-1 decisions.

THE REVENGE SWEEP
Among current Horizon League members, Milwaukee has avenged a 3-0 loss with a 3-0 win against the same opponent just twice in its history. The Panthers accomplished the feat on Oct. 18 with a sweep over Wright State after being swept the evening prior.

The only other instance it has happened against the same Horizon League opponent also came against Wright State during the inaugural Horizon League season (following its transition from the Midwestern Collegiate Conference). The Panthers were swept by Wright State on Sept. 27 in Dayton but bounced back to win 3-0 over the Raiders at home on Oct. 26 of the same season.

JOHNSON REACHES 200 HORIZON LEAGUE WINS
After reaching 300 total coaching wins with Milwaukee in 2024, head coach Susie Johnson reached another milestone in the team's three-set win over Wright State on Oct. 18 as she recorded her 200th Horizon League win as head coach of the Panthers. Chuck Voss, current head coach at Cleveland State enters this week with 222 wins in league play.

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): 1,473
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): 2,143

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 eight times, Bella Lipski four, 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 13 times by Josie Noble. Bella Lipski has led the team in blocking 12 times this season, followed by Annie Eschenbach four times, Emily Hansen twice, and Natalie Schmitz and Sam Vanda once each.

Kara Erdmann has led Milwaukee in digs 21 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 10 times this season.

NOBLE'S SERVING IT UP
Over her last eight 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 is second on the team with 15 in 2025.

ERDMANN IN THE 30s
With 330 total digs and 4.58 digs per set, Kara Erdmann is currently ranked 32nd and 37th in all of Division I volleyball through matches completed on Oct. 16. 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 0-11 this season in matches where they are outblocked by opponents, the team is also 3-5 with more blocks than their opponents and 1-2 when blocks are equal.

NOBLE UP FRONT
With 66 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 0.96 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: Josie Noble (6th, .288 Pct.)
Kills: Natalie Schmitz (15th, 2.77 Kills/Set)
Service Aces: Kati Goba (20th, 0.23 Aces/Set)
Blocks: Josie Noble (7th, 0.96 Blocks/Set)
Digs: Kara Erdmann (4th, 4.58 Digs/Set)
Points: Natalie Schmitz (17th, 2.97 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.

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.