MILWAUKEE – Back home for a pair of Horizon League matches, the Milwaukee volleyball team welcomes IU Indy and Purdue Fort Wayne to the Klotsche Center on Friday and Saturday.
 
This will be the lone meeting of the season for Milwaukee against the Jaguars and Mastodons, as the 2026 volleyball season will feature four matches against opponents just once. In addition to this weekend, the final weekend of the regular season will see the Panthers visit Youngstown State and Robert Morris to wrap up the regular campaign.
 
The match against the Jaguars this Friday was moved up two hours with first serve now set for 4:00 p.m. (CT) due to the Major League Baseball postseason game taking place in Milwaukee later in the evening. Saturday's match will take place at the originally scheduled start time of 2:00 p.m. (CT).
 
Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ with Matt Menzl on the call, while live stats will also be available at the links found on MKEPanthers.com.
 
WEEK AT A GLANCE & GAME LINKS
Friday, Oct. 23 | Milwaukee vs. IU Indy | Milwaukee, Wis. | Klotsche Center | ESPN+ / Live Stats
Saturday, Oct. 24 | Milwaukee vs. Purdue Fort Wayne | Milwaukee, Wis. | Klotsche Center | ESPN+ / Live Stats

FIRST SERVE
» Milwaukee split its decisions a week ago, falling to Green Bay on the road in three sets before bouncing back and picking up a three-set win over Northern Illinois on Thursday.
» This week, the Panthers must prepare for another two opponents, welcoming IU Indy and Purdue Fort Wayne to the Klotsche Center on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
» Friday's match versus IU Indy has been move to a 4:00 p.m. start time due to the Major League Baseball postseason game taking place in Milwaukee later in the evening.
» The Panthers enter play this weekend off a season-best .435 hitting percentage against the Huskies on Thursday evening. Milwaukee ended the match with 46 kills against just six hitting errors on 92 attempts to earn the win.
» Josie Noble led all players with an .800 hitting percentage, while Bella Lipski added a .700, the duo combined for 19 kills without an error on 25 attempts. Annie Eschenbach and Kami Stover both hit .500 in the win.
» IU Indy enters the weekend with a 9-12 record and are 4-4 in Horizon League matches under head coach Andrew Kroger, last season the Jaguars won all three matches from Milwaukee including their league quarterfinal matchup in late November.
» Purdue Fort Wayne is 11-10 to begin the season with a 5-3 mark in Horizon League play led by head coach Steve Florio. The Mastodons will visit Green Bay on Friday evening before visiting Milwaukee on Saturday. Last year Milwaukee won both matches from Purdue Fort Wayne during the regular season.

THREE THINGS ABOUT IU INDY
1. The Jaguars won four of its first six Horizon League matches this season, with a pair of wins over Robert Morris and weekend splits against Youngstown State and Oakland. This past weekend, IU Indy was only able to muster one set win against Wright State on Friday and were swept on Saturday afternoon in the team's first two matches in the newly built James T. Morris Arena.
2. IU Indy ranks 23rd in the nation in team assists with 956, as well as 20th nationally in total team kills with 1,035. Bailey Sinish leads the team with 284 kills and Jillian Tippmann is close behind with 243 kills this season, meanwhile Grace Puricia is eighth in the nation with 803 assists, good enough for 46th nationally at 10.04 assists per set.
3. While IU Indy excels offensively, it's the defense where they struggle. The Jaguars are ranked last in opponents hitting percentage, allowing teams to hit .257 against them. IU Indy is also last in the league in blocks at 1.33 per set with 106 over 80 sets played and last in digs at just 12.53 per set with 1,002 digs over 80 sets played.

THREE THINGS ABOUT PURDUE FORT WAYNE
1. The Mastodons have five wins in Horizon play this season, including four-straight over Cleveland State and Robert Morris to begin conference play. Purdue Fort Wayne dropped a four-setter to Youngstown State before answering with a four-set win over the Penguins the next day for a 5-1 start. This past weekend, PFW was swept twice by Northern Kentucky.
2. The Mastodons rank in the top 50 just once among Division I programs, as they are 24th in the nation in total assists with 954. Using a two setter offense, Haiden Means has a team-best 470 assists, while Lili Smith has 335 on the year.
3. Riley Rosneck leads the Mastodons with 338 kills while hitting .257 this season, Miona Dimitric has a team-best 23 service aces, while Bella Dibuono has a team-high 77 blocks. Becky Barrett leads the Horizon League with 356 digs and is 45th in the nation with 4.40 digs per set.

UP NEXT
The Panthers head to Michigan for a pair of matches against Oakland on Oct. 30 and Oct. 31 before wrapping up the home portion of the schedule the following weekend on Nov. 6 and Nov. 7 at home against Wright State.

HITTING PERCENTAGE AT NORTHERN ILLINOIS
During the team's sweep over Northern Illinois on Oct. 15, the Panthers hit a season-best .435. It was the team's best in a match since the 2023 season, when the Panthers hit .459 against Idaho in early September. It was also Milwaukee's best hitting percentage in a Horizon League match since Nov. 4, 2021, when Milwaukee hit .467 against Cleveland State.

WHO WAS LEADING TODAY?
During matches played in 2026, five different Panthers have led the team in kills, including Annie Eschenbach (10 times), Ella Parker (five times), Josie Noble (three times), Bella Lipski (twice) and Ella Schuetz (once). Milica Tomic has led Milwaukee in assists 17 times, while Emma Duffy has done so four times this year.

Defensively, six players have led the team in blocks, including Noble (13 times), Lipski (eight times), Eschenbach (twice), Schuetz (twice), Julia Kellner (once) and Kayla Landerud (once), while Kati Goba has led or tied for the team lead in digs in all but three of the team's matches this season. Ella Parker (twice), Ella Schuetz and Milica Tomic have each done so once.

YEAR TWO LEAPS
For two Panthers in their second years with the program, Josie Noble and Annie Eschenbach have made leaps in their development in helping Milwaukee to its success this season.

Eschenbach had 137 kills over 87 sets last year (1.57 kills/set) and has bumped that to 2.60 kills per set.
Noble had 233 kills over 106 sets last year (2.26 kills/set) and has bumped that to 2.40 kills per set.

CAN YOU DIG IT?
Through the team's first 20 matches, Kati Goba is fifth in the Horizon League at 4.21 digs per set, with Daisy Cluxton of Northern Kentucky leading the league at 4.50 digs/set. Goba enters play on Oct. 21 ranked 77th among Division I players in digs per set and 41st in the nation in total digs with 328.

PANTHER BLOCKING
Milwaukee anticipated a strong blocking game heading into the 2026 season, and thus far has been successful. The Panthers are fourth in the Horizon League in blocks per set at 1.98, with 154.5 blocks through 78 sets played. Northern Kentucky leads at 2.36 with 184 blocks over 78 sets played.

NOT SO BLOCK PARTY
In 2025, the Panthers were 1-13 in matches where they were outblocked by opponents, winning their first such match in the team's four-set win over Purdue Fort Wayne on Oct. 31. Milwaukee was also 8-6 with more blocks than its opponents and 2-2 when blocks were equal.

So far in 2026, Milwaukee is 5-1 when outblocking opponents, 2-8 when being outblocked and 1-3 when blocks are even.