MILWAUKEE – Postseason play begins for the Milwaukee volleyball team on Friday evening at 5:00 p.m. (CT) as the Panthers open the Horizon League Championship in the quarterfinal round. Milwaukee finished the regular season in a tie for third at 11-7 and enters the tournament as the No. 5 seed, taking on No. 4 IU Indy at Truist Arena in Highland Heights, Ky.

With a win on Friday, the Panthers would advance to face either top-seeded Northern Kentucky or No. 2 Wright State, depending on the result of the earlier quarterfinal between No. 3 Youngstown State and No. 6 Green Bay.

All matches of the 2025 Horizon League Volleyball Championship will stream live on ESPN+ through the Horizon League. Live stats for all five matches throughout the weekend will be provided by host Northern Kentucky. Links for all Milwaukee matches this weekend will be available at MKEPanthers.com.

WEEK AT A GLANCE & GAME LINKS
Friday, Nov. 21 | Horizon League Quarterfinals | No. 5 Milwaukee vs. No. 4 IU Indy | Truist Arena | Highland Heights, Ky. 5:00 p.m. (CT) | ESPN+ / Live Stats | Tickets | Follow Along (on X)

Saturday, Nov. 22 | Horizon League Semifinals | No. 5 Milwaukee vs. No. 1 Northern Kentucky OR No. 2 Wright State | Truist Arena | Highland Heights, Ky. | Time TBD | ESPN+ / Live Stats | Tickets | Follow Along (on X)

Sunday, Nov. 23 | Horizon League Championship | No. 5 Milwaukee vs. No. 1 Northern Kentucky OR No. 2 Wright State OR No. 3 Youngstown State OR No. 6 Green Bay | Truist Arena | Highland Heights, Ky. | ESPN+ / Live Stats | Tickets | Follow Along (on X)

FIRST SERVE
» Finishing the regular season with an 11-7 record and a tie for third in the conference standings, the Milwaukee volleyball team enters the Horizon League Volleyball Championship as one of the hottest teams in the league on a seven-match winning streak.
» The Panthers enter postseason play as the fifth seed and will take on fourth-seeded IU Indy on Friday evening at 5:00 p.m. (CT), the Jaguars also finished with an 11-7 record in the league standings and have lost their last three heading into Friday's match.
» The Horizon League Championship will be hosted at Truist Arena in Highland Heights, Ky., where top-seeded Northern Kentucky won the league regular season crown with a 17-1 conference record.
» The rest of the field shakes out with preseason favorite Wright State finishing in second with a 13-5 league mark, while Youngstown State finished in the three-way tie with Milwaukee and IU Indy but by way of tiebreakers took the third seed. The playoff field rounds out with Green Bay in the sixth position with a 10-8 record.
» Friday's schedule will begin with Youngstown State and Green Bay at 2:00 p.m., if Youngstown State wins the Penguins will play Wright State, but if the Phoenix pull off the upset, they will play host Northern Kentucky. YSU dropped both matches to GB during the conference-opening weekend by identical 3-1 scores.
» Later in the day, Milwaukee and IU Indy will square off, this season the Jaguars won both matches from the Panthers at home by 3-1 and 3-0 margins.
» This will be Milwaukee's 28th appearance in the last 32 years (since 1994) of the Horizon League Championship.
» Against teams in this season's postseason field, the Panthers are 1-0 against Northern Kentucky in postseason matchups (10-13 all-time), 2-0 vs. Wright State (47-24), 1-0 vs. Youngstown State (42-12), and 5-1 vs. Green Bay (54-25), while never facing IU Indy in postseason competition (13-6 all-time).
» The Horizon League released its series of awards this week, with four Panthers earning a spot on the league's All-Academic Team, including Kara Erdmann, Kati Goba, Bella Lipski, and Natalie Schmitz. On Thursday the regular season awards were announced with Erdmann selected to the All-Horizon League First Team, while newcomer Josie Noble was picked as a Second Team honors in addition to All-Freshman team accolades.

REGULAR SEASON IN REVIEW
What began as a challenging non-conference slate for a young Milwaukee squad ultimately turned into a strong Horizon League finish. The Panthers found their stride midway through the schedule and closed the regular season in a tie for third place alongside Youngstown State and IU Indy, with all three teams posting an 11-7 record.

Milwaukee played a difficult out-of-conference schedule, which included road matchups against nationally ranked Wisconsin and Arizona State, as well as a contest against Marquette, who was receiving votes at the time. Once league play opened at the end of September, the Panthers jumpstarted their season with three straight wins, taking down Oakland twice and Green Bay.

Milwaukee then dropped its next five matches, all against teams positioned above them in the standings, though the Panthers pushed both IU Indy and Northern Kentucky by taking sets from each. After being swept by Wright State on Oct. 17, Milwaukee responded the next afternoon by sweeping the Raiders. The momentum didn't fully carry over into the following weekend, as the Panthers were swept twice at Youngstown State.

A visit to Green Bay reignited Milwaukee's push, knocking off its in-state rival in four sets at the Kress Center before rolling to consecutive weekend sweeps of Purdue Fort Wayne, Robert Morris, and Cleveland State to close the regular season.

Two Panthers earned Horizon League Player of the Week honors this season, both in November. Josie Noble received the award on Nov. 3 following standout performances against Green Bay and Purdue Fort Wayne, while Kara Erdmann was recognized most recently after leading the Horizon League in digs per set during last weekend's sweep at Cleveland State.

LOOKING AT IU INDY
The only guaranteed opponent for Milwaukee this weekend is fourth-seeded IU Indy, with all other potential matchups dependent on results elsewhere in the bracket.

This season, the Jaguars climbed from the No. 6 seed last year to No. 4, finishing in a three-way tie for third with Milwaukee and Youngstown State. IU Indy opened the season strong, sweeping all three matches at the Charleston Southern Tournament with wins over the hosts, The Citadel, and Loyola Maryland. The Jaguars also picked up non-league victories over Miami (Ohio) and Butler, while taking a set off nationally ranked Purdue.

IU Indy dropped its first two Horizon League matches to Wright State before rattling off five straight wins, a stretch that included a pair of victories over Milwaukee in early October. The Jaguars also swept Oakland, Purdue Fort Wayne, and Cleveland State, while splitting their weekend at Green Bay. In last weekend's season finale, IU Indy pushed Northern Kentucky to the brink before falling in a tight five-set match.

Now in his second season, head coach Andrew Kroger has guided the Jaguars to 32 wins, mentoring a veteran core that has shown clear development under his leadership. Among the most improved are setter Grace Purichia and middle blocker Morgan Ostrowski. Purichia has recorded more than 1,100 assists in each of the past two seasons, including a career-best 1,256 as a junior in 2025, while Ostrowski has surpassed 275 kills in each of the last two years after not reaching 200 earlier in her career.

Freshman left-hander Jilliam Tippmann has also made an immediate impact, ranking fifth in the Horizon League with 3.63 kills per set. As a team, the Jaguars lead the league in kills (13.82 per set) and are second in hitting percentage (.242).

Defensively, however, the Jaguars rank ninth in blocks (1.80 per set) and seventh in digs (15.38 per set), marking the statistical area where they have struggled most.

UP NEXT
Following this weekend's Horizon League Championship in Highland Heights, Ky., the tournament winner will advance to the 2025 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship. The 64-team field will be announced on ESPN on Sunday, Nov. 30 at 5:00 p.m. (CT).

First- and second-round play is scheduled for December 4–6, followed by regional semifinals and finals from December 11–14. The national semifinals and championship match will be held December 18 and 21 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.

Milwaukee has earned eight automatic NCAA Championship bids in program history (1998, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013) and has received two at-large selections (1999 and 2000).

POSTSEASON HISTORY
Milwaukee enters this year's Horizon League Championship as the No. 5 seed, marking the fourth time in program history, and the first since 2022, that the Panthers have claimed that position. The Panthers have never advanced to the semifinal round when seeded fifth or sixth, meaning they will look to make history this weekend.
Since Milwaukee joined the Horizon League in 1994, the No. 5 seed has reached the semifinals only six times, most recently when Youngstown State upset Green Bay in 2013.

Milwaukee has never faced IU Indy in postseason play. The Jaguars joined the Horizon League in 2017 and have qualified for the conference tournament only three times: 2017, 2024, and 2025.

Against the remainder of this year's field, Milwaukee is 0-1 all-time against top-seeded Northern Kentucky in postseason play, falling to the Norse in the 2019 championship match. The Panthers have met second-seeded Wright State twice in the postseason, defeating the Raiders in the semifinal round in both 1998 and 2002.

Despite both programs' long league tenures, Milwaukee and Youngstown State have met just once in tournament play, a quarterfinal win for the Panthers on their way to the 2006 league title. The most common postseason opponent in this year's bracket is Green Bay, who Milwaukee has faced six times and owns a 5-1 record against. The teams last met in the 2019 semifinals, where Milwaukee defeated the Phoenix 3-1 to advance to the championship match against Northern Kentucky.

HORIZON LEAGUE ALL-LEAGUE HONORS
Thursday saw the annual release of the Horizon League postseason awards with a pair of Panthers featured on the All-League Teams.

Senior libero Kara Erdmann was named to the All-League First Team, earning honors for the second consecutive season on the league's top team. She becomes the 20th player in the program's Division I history to earn multiple All-League First Team honors.

Joining Erdmann on the All-League teams was freshman Josie Noble, who was named to the second team as a middle blocker. Noble became the first freshman to earn All-League accolades since 2019, when Ari Miller was named to the league's top team. In addition to All-League honors, Noble was also selected as a member of the All-Freshman team, marking the second-straight season Milwaukee has had at least one All-Freshman selection, joining current teammate Milica Tomic, who was selected in 2024.

HORIZON LEAGUE ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Earlier this week, the Horizon League announced the 2025 All-Academic Team with four Panthers leading the way in the league. Earning academic recognition were Kara Erdmann, Kati Goba, Bella Lipski, and Natalie Schmitz. It marks the third consecutive season that Milwaukee has led the Horizon League in All-Academic Team selections.

ALL-TIME IN DIGS
1. Lauren Felsing (2006-09): 1,929
...
4. Myanna Ruiz (2013-16): 1,700
5. Kara Erdmann (2022-present): 1,673
6. Laura Dallenbach (1998-01): 1,600

ALL-TIME IN ASSISTS
1. Katie Schneider (1996-99): 5,276
...
6. Melissa Lange (2002-05): 2,446
7. Kellye Zaporski (2006-09): 2,356
8. Josie Johnson (2022-present): 2,329
9. Kari Naber (1994-97): 2,308

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

HORIZON LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
On Nov. 17, the Horizon League named Kara Erdmann as Player of the Week, it was the second time in her career, and she became the second Panther this season to earn recognition, joining Josie Noble, who was named Player of the Week on Nov. 3.

Noble became the first Panther freshman to receive the honor since Madi Malone was named Horizon League Player of the Week on both Sept. 8 and Oct. 6 of the 2021 season.

WINNING IN FIVE
Milwaukee won its first five-set match of the season on Nov. 7, defeating Robert Morris in the fifth set by a 17-15 score after trailing by as many as five at 10-5. The Panthers won the first two sets but RMU fought back to win sets three and four, before Milwaukee recovered in the fifth.

The Panthers have played just two five-set matches this season, both coming at home, with a loss to DePaul on Sept. 17 and the Nov. 7 win over Robert Morris. The last time Milwaukee played two or fewer five set matches came back in 2022, when Milwaukee lost to both Notre Dame and Utah in non-league play. Meanwhile the last time Milwaukee played five set matches exclusively in the Klotsche Center was during the COVID-19 season in the spring if 2021, when the Panthers won a five-set match at home against Green Bay.

ERDMANN OF LATE
With 177 digs over the past seven matches, an average of 7.08 per set, Kara Erdmann has climbed her way back towards the top of the nation in terms of digs and digs per set and moved into second in the Horizon League in both of those categories. Through the team's 31 matches this season, Erdmann has recorded 530 digs and is back in the top-10 of the Milwaukee single-season mark, currently in seventh position on the single-season list. Last year Erdmann set the Milwaukee single-season mark with 718 digs.

ERDMANN IN THE TEENS
With 530 total digs and 5.15 digs per set, Kara Erdmann is currently ranked 15th and ninth in all of Division I volleyball through matches completed on Nov. 2. Last season, Erdmann finished the year second in the nation at both 5.85 digs per set and 719 total digs in 2024.

KILLS-BLOCKS DOUBLE-DOUBLE
With 13 Kills and 13 Blocks against Green Bay on Oct. 28, Josie Noble became the first Panther to record at least 10 blocks in a single match since Ari Miller did so against Oakland on Oct. 13, 2019, in Rochester, Mich.

The Kills-Blocks Double-Double is the first for a Panther since Rachel Neuberger had 15 Kills and 10 Blocks against Wright State on Oct. 12, 2012. They are the only two instances of Kills-Block Double-Doubles since the conclusion of the 2010 season.

BLOCKS AROUND THE NATION AND THE LEAGUE
With 13 blocks in the team's four-set win over Green Bay, Josie Noble has tied for the third-most blocks among all Division I players in a four-set match. Only Chelsea Cotter of George Mason with 15, and Julia Amorim of Hofstra with 14 have more than Noble in a four-set match this season.

Her 13 blocks are the most of any Horizon League student-athlete in any length of match this season, there have been four instances in 2025 of Horizon League players getting 11 or more blocks in a match. JeriLynn Koehler of Cleveland State being the only other to do so in league play, recording her total against Purdue Fort Wayne on Oct. 17, Katie Noschang (Northern Kentucky), Azra Eric (Robert Morris), and Taya Nordmann (Youngstown State) recorded their 11 blocks in non-league play.

SWEET 16
With 16 blocks against Green Bay on Oct. 28, it marked the most in a single match for the Panthers since the 2017 season, when Milwaukee secured 17 against North Carolina State on Sept. 16 of that season.

It was also the most for Milwaukee in a match against a Horizon League team since Nov. 24, 2013, when the Panthers had 16 in the Horizon League Championship match against Valparaiso, and most in a regular season Horizon League match since Milwaukee had 19 against Valpo on Oct. 13, 2012.

RIVALRY SWEEP
With Milwaukee's win over Green Bay on Tuesday, the Panthers swept their season series against their in-league foe. It marks the 14th time since 2004 that the Panthers have taken all matches against the Phoenix in a single season.

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 17 matches with the team-high by Natalie Schmitz. Josie Noble has led the team eight times, Bella Lipski four, Ella Schuetz  and Annie Eschenbach three times each.

The Panther defense has also had six different players lead the team in blocks at various points throughout the season including a team-best 19 times by Josie Noble. Bella Lipski has led the team in blocking 14 times this season, followed by Annie Eschenbach five times, Emily Hansen and Sam Vande twice, and Julia Kellner and Natalie Schmitz once each.

Kara Erdmann has led Milwaukee in digs 29 times this year, while Josie Johnson, Ella Schuetz, Milica Tomic each finished a match with the team lead on one occasion. Johnson has also led Milwaukee in assists 21 times, with Milicia Tomic leading the Panthers 11 times this season.

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.

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.

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.

NOBLE UP FRONT
With 114 blocks on the season, Josie Noble leads Milwaukee with her efforts and is 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 1.14 blocks per set entering play this weekend, Noble is on pace to finish third on the freshman list in blocks per set during a 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.

WITHIN THE HORIZON
Below are Milwaukee's top performers in each statistical category, as provided by the Horizon League…
Hitting Percentage: Josie Noble (7th, .289 Pct.)
Assists: Josie Johnson (10th, 5.07 Assists/Set)
Blocks: Josie Noble (2nd, 1.14 Blocks/Set)
Kills: Natalie Schmitz (15th, 2.83 Kills/Set)
Service Aces: Kati Goba (21st, 0.22 Aces/Set)
Digs: Kara Erdmann (2nd, 5.15 Digs/Set)
Points: Josie Noble (16th, 3.14 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.