MILWAUKEE – Horizon League play continues for the Panthers this week after opening the league slate at Northern Kentucky this past weekend. After an 0-2 start, Milwaukee will look to bounce back with a pair of midweek matches, beginning with Green Bay on Tuesday and Northern Illinois on Thursday.

Tuesday's match against the Phoenix and Thursday's contest against the Huskies will both begin at 6:00 p.m. at the Klotsche Center. Tuesday will be Residence Life Night and will feature free food for UW-Milwaukee students with a valid ID, along with a foam paw giveaway for fans in attendance.

Matt Menzl returns for his 20th season as the voice of Milwaukee volleyball, with both matches available on ESPN+. Links for ESPN+ and live stats are available at MKEPanthers.com.
 
WEEK AT A GLANCE & GAME LINKS
Tuesday, Sept. 29 | Green Bay at Milwaukee | Milwaukee, Wis. | Klotsche Center | ESPN+ / Live Stats
Thursday, Oct. 1 | Northern Illinois at Milwaukee | Milwaukee, Wis. | Klotsche Center | ESPN+ / Live Stats

FIRST SERVE
» Milwaukee opened Horizon League play this past weekend, taking on the Northern Kentucky Norse over the weekend in Highland Heights, Ky. The Panthers fell to the Norse on Friday in four sets and were swept by NKU on Saturday.
» The Panthers will be home for its longest homestand of the season beginning on Tuesday evening against Green Bay, before welcoming Horizon League newcomer Northern Illinois to the Klotsche Center on Thursday evening.
» Milwaukee finished up non-conference play on Sept. 22, traveling to Iowa and falling to the host Hawkeyes by a 3-1 score. The Panthers finished the non-league slate with a 5-7 record,
» This past week against Iowa and Northern Kentucky, Milwaukee was led by Annie Eschenbach with 38 kills and a .286 hitting percentage, while Ella Parker was second with 31 kills and Josie Noble with 27 kills. Milica Tomic had 66 assists and Emma Duffy added 52. Liv Doerre rounded out the offense this week with five service aces.
» Defensively, the Panthers were led by Kati Goba with 38 digs, while Ella Schuetz was second on the team with 28. Josie Noble recorded 15 blocks, and Schuetz added eight, Julia Kellner chipped in with seven blocks.
» Green Bay enters play this week at 9-4 and as winners of seven straight matches heading to Milwaukee on Tuesday. The Phoenix needed five sets in both matches against Oakland this weekend to begin Horizon League play at 2-0.
» Northern Illinois is 6-6 this season but began Horizon League play against Wright State and were swept by the Raiders twice this past weekend.
» Milwaukee is 54-25 against Green Bay, which includes a four-match winning streak, while the Panthers are also 26-11 in home matches against the Phoenix.
» The Panthers are 8-12 overall against Northern Illinois, with wins in their last two against the Huskies including their last match on Sept. 1, 2024, in DeKalb. Milwaukee and Northern Illinois have previously met as conference opponents from 1993-96 in both the Mid-Continent and the Midwestern Collegiate conferences with the Huskies owning a 1-6 confernece record against the Panthers.

THREE THINGS ABOUT GREEN BAY
1. Green Bay has taken on two common opponents with the Panthers through the first month of the season as the Phoenix fell to Western Michigan in four sets, and Indiana State in three. By comparison, Milwaukee fell to WMU in five sets and won five and four-set matches over the Sycamores.
2. The Phoenix are second in the Horizon League in points at 16.70 per set, including 13.04 kills per set. GB also defends the floor well and is tops in the league in opponent hitting percent, limiting opponents to a .168 hitting percentage.
3. Diane Pichelman leads the Horizon League in hitting percentage at .366, while Gillian Koning leading the team at 3.09 kills per set. Olivia Neumann is tops in the league with 1.25 blocks per set. Pichelman and Koning are both in the top-25 in points per set this season.

THREE THINGS ABOUT NORTHERN ILLINOIS
1. Both Northern Illinois and Milwaukee have played former Horizon League member UIC earlier this season, earning sweeps against the Flames. The Huskies won, 25-23, 25-22, 25-16, while the Panthers won by 25-21, 25-21, 25-21 scores.
2. Northern Illinois is entering the week fourth in the Horizon League in points at 16.05, hitting percentage at .221, kills at 12.62, service aces at 1.67. However, have fallen to either 10th or 11th in all four categories based off its first two league matches.
3. Rylea Alvin is second among Horizon League student-athletes this season with a .364 hitting percentage, while the Huskies are led by Ava Grevengoed at 2.87 kills per set. Grevengoed is 13th overall in the league in total points, while Katie Pahl and Autumn Flynn are both in the top-25 in points in the league.

UP NEXT
Milwaukee will host Cleveland State for a pair of matches next weekend, taking on the Vikings on Oct. 9 at 6:00 p.m. and Oct. 10 at 2:00 p.m.

Friday's match will feature a pink shirt giveaway for the team's annual breast cancer awareness match, while Saturday's match will be alumnae and family day.

ON THIS DATE
Sept. 29 - Record: 7-6; Streak: Won 1; Record vs. Green Bay: 4-2; Streak vs. Green Bay: Won 1 (2019)
Oct. 1 - Record: 9-3; Streak: Won 1; Record vs. Northern Illinois: 0-0; Streak: N/A

CONFERENCE OPENERS
With its loss to Northern Kentucky on Friday evening, Milwaukee had its winning streak snapped in conference openers. The Panthers had previously won its last five conference openers dating back to the 2021 season. This is the second-straight season that Milwaukee has dropped its first Horizon League road match, falling to IU Indy in 2025 in four sets.

SET THREE IN MADISON
During the team's visit to No. 6 Wisconsin on Sept. 18, Milwaukee took the third set from the Badgers by a 25-22 score after dropping identical 25-18 scores in the first two sets.

The set win was Milwaukee's first set win over an AVCA ranked team since taking a set at No. 11 Purdue on Sept. 3, 2022. It was also the first set win against Wisconsin since the 2013 season, while the team's .210 hitting percentage against the Badgers was Milwaukee's best since at least the 2010 season.

Milwaukee has beaten an AVCA Top-10 team just once in program history (Home vs. No. 9 Wisconsin on Sept. 1, 1999), with its last set win against a Top-10 team coming back in 2002, when Milwaukee took a set from No. 6 Northern Iowa during their NCAA Tournament First Round matchup.

FIVE-MATCH WIN STREAK
Milwaukee won five-straight matches from Sept. 3 through Sept. 11, which was Milwaukee's longest winning streak in non-league play since the 2023 season, when the Panthers also won five-straight from Sept. 1 through Sept. 8, recording wins against Montana State, St. Thomas, Northwestern, Idaho, and Western Illinois.

The last time Milwaukee had a winning streak longer than five matches in non-conference play was during the 2019 season, when the Panthers won 10-straight matches heading into Horizon League play.

YEAR TWO LEAPS
For three Panthers in their second years with the program, Josie Noble, Annie Eschenbach, and Ella Schuetz have made large leaps in their development in helping Milwaukee to its early-season success.

Noble had 233 kills over 103 sets last year (2.26 kills/set) and has bumped that to 2.28 kills per set.
Eschenbach had 137 kills over 87 sets last year (1.57 kills/set) and has bumped that to 2.81 kills per set.
Schuetz had 210 kills over 102 sets last year (2.06 kills/set) and has bumped that to 2.13 kills per set.

CAN YOU DIG IT?
Through the team's first 14 matches, Kati Goba is fifth in the Horizon League at 3.96 digs per set, with Daisy Cluxton of Northern Kentucky leading the league at 4.48 digs/set. Goba enters play on Sept. 28 ranked 105th among Division I players in digs per set, and 63rd in the nation in total digs with 214.

EARLY SEASON BLOCKING
Milwaukee anticipated a strong blocking game heading into the 2026 season, and thus far in the early season it has been successful. The Panthers are fourth in the Horizon League in blocks per set at 2.04 with 110 blocks through 54 sets played. Northern Kentucky leads at 2.3 with 122 blocks over 52 sets played.

WHO WAS LEADING TODAY?
Through eight matches in 2026, five different Panthers have led the team in kills including Ella Scuetz, Bella Lipski, Josie Noble, Annie Eschenbach and Ella Parker. Milica Tomic has led Milwaukee in assists 12 times, while Emma Duffy has done so three times this year.

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

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

So far in 2026, Milwaukee is 3-1 when outblocking opponents and 2-6 when being outblocked, and 0-2 when blocks are even.