MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Milwaukee volleyball team wrapped up the Horizon League schedule with a 9-9 record and hold the No. 5 seed for the Horizon League Championships which begins this weekend. The Panthers will open play with No. 4 Cleveland State on Friday at 5:00 pm CT.
The winner of Friday's match will advance to play either No. 1 Wright State or No. 2 Northern Kentucky on Saturday. With an 18-0 record in league play, Wright State secured the top seed and will host the tournament from McLin Gymnasium in Dayton, Ohio.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Cleveland State has been one of the hottest teams heading into the Horizon League Championships, winning the last four matches and five of the last six to improve to 10-8 and earn the No. 4 seed. Three of the last four victories were via 3-0 sweeps.
Defense has been solid for the Vikings, ranking second in the league in blocks (2.49/set) and fourth in digs (16.08/set). CSU has held opponents to just a .171 attack percentage, which puts them third among league opponents.
Freshman Laken Voss has been a huge spark for Cleveland State, leading the team with 359 kills and 413 total points. Fellow freshman Karly Klaer has been solid at setter with 800 assists, 127 kills, and 259 digs. CSU has five players with at least 250 digs led by Audrey McConihe's 379.
SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee has dominated the all-time series against Cleveland State with a 49-21 record. The two teams split this season, however, with the Vikings most recently earning a 3-1 in Ohio. MKE has won six of the last eight matchups with Cleveland State.
HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Since joining the league in 1994, Milwaukee has taken home the tournament trophy eight times with the last coming in 2013. The
Panthers' have been to the title match a total of 12 times. MKE last reached the title game in 2019 but fell to Northern Kentucky 3-0.
Under head coach
Susie Johnson, Milwaukee is 13-8 in the Horizon League Tournament with four titles (2008, 2009, 2011,
2013).
LOOKING AT THE LEAGUE
Wright State locked up the regular season title and overall No. 1 seed with a perfect 18-0 record. It marks the Raiders third regular season crown in the last four seasons. WSU has won 21 straight contests overall.
Northern Kentucky won four in a row and 12 of the last 13 to close the regular season and grab the No. 2 seed. NKU advanced to the championship match last season and took home the title in 2019.
Green Bay enters the tournament with the No. 3 seed behind a 13-5 Horizon League mark. The Phoenix will face sixth-seeded Youngstown State in the quarterfinals. During the regular season, GB won both matchups against YSU. The Phoenix are seeking a third overall league title with their most recent championship coming in 2018 while the Penguins are competing for their first crown.
ALL-ACADEMIC HONOR
Ari Miller was named to the Horizon League All-Academic Team for the third consecutive season. She carries a 3.975 GPA in Health Care Administration.
Despite missing five matches due to injury, Miller has once again shown that she's one of the top threats in the league. The junior ranks among the league leaders in hitting percentage (3rd, .334), kills per set (8th, 3.21), blocks (8th, 1.02), and points per set (4th, 3.90).
Miller has tallied at least 10 kills in 18 matches this season and has recorded at least six blocks on seven occasions.
GO OFF, GEURTS
Bri Geurts put together a career-year, putting up career highs in kills (182), blocks (86), aces (14), and attack percentage (.251).
The sophomore hit at least .300 in six straight matches from October 14-29 and is hitting a career-best .251.
BIG-TIME DOUBLE DOUBLE
Last time out against Cleveland State,
Madi Malone put up a huge double-double of 14 kills and a career-high 18 digs. It marked the 10th double-double this season for the sophomore.
She currently leads the team with 287 kills and is second with 284 digs.
FRESHMAN PHENOM
Natalie Schmitz has been a huge impact for the Panthers' offense this year and ranks second on the team with 279 kills and third with a .223 attack percentage.
Schmitz has at least 10 kills in 14 contests including 15 on October 21 against Robert Morris which matched a career high at MKE.
BLOCK PARTY
In the win over Oakland on October, 8
Bri Geurts racked up a career-high nine blocks. As a team, Milwaukee recorded 10 blocks, its ninth match this season with double figure stuffs. On October 21, MKE added another match with 10 blocks. It marks the most matches with at least 10 blocks since 2016 when Milwaukee had 15 double-figure outputs.
The Panthers currently rank fifth in the league with 2.02 blocks per set in league play.
MAKING IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Natalie Schmitz is not the only freshman who has stepped into a pivotal role for the Panthers.
Josie Johnson has helped control the offense at the setter position. Johnson has dished up 476 assists and has added 154 digs and 12 aces, which is fourth on the team.
Kara Erdmann currently ranks fourth on the team with 200 digs, reaching double digits in five of the last six matches.
Czhen Beneby has also made an impact, totaling 168 kills and 80 blocks in her first season with the black and gold.
YEAR 50
This year marks the 50th season of Milwaukee volleyball.
Susie Johnson has been on the bench for more than half that time, spending 10 seasons as an assistant coach and embarking on her 16th at the helm this year. Johnson is just 10 victories away from surpassing Kathy Litzau for the most NCAA Division I wins in program history (271).
As a program since inception in 1973, the Panthers have claimed 14 league championships and have been to 10 NCAA Tournaments. Milwaukee volleyball also has 21 Bud K. Haidet Hall of Famers, 12 All-Americans, 11 league players of the year, and much more in its history.
A GRAND MILESTONE
On September 17 against San Jose State, junior
Ari Miller put away 13 kills which put her over 1,000 for her career. Miller became the 15th player in program history to reach the milestone.
Additionally, Miller currently ranks sixth in career kills per set (3.16) and first in attack percentage (.337).
Against Northern Kentucky on October 28,
Kaley Blake dished out 25 assists to reach 1,000 for her career.
PRESEASON POLL
The Panthers picked up four first-place votes and 93 total poll points as they were predicted to finish second in this year's Horizon League preseason poll. MKE was edged by Northern Kentucky, who earned six first-place votes and 96 poll points. Wright State was picked third (78 points) followed by Green Bay (69) to round out the top four.
CATCH ALL THE ACTION
Thanks to ESPN+, Milwaukee volleyball will be readily available for viewers. The Horizon League and ESPN have an agreement that includes ESPN hosting the league's digital network on the ESPN+ platform.
ESPN+, which will host the Horizon League women's soccer, men's soccer, and volleyball championships, offers fans thousands of live events, on-demand content, and original programming not available on ESPN's linear TV or digital networks. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $9.99 a month (or $99.99 per year) and cancel at any time.
For road games, visit MKEPanthers.com for live coverage links.
