2000 Panther Volleyball Schedule

March 24, 2000

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee volleyball team may face up to four 1999 NCAA Tournament teams during its tough 2000 schedule, released today by the UWM Athletics Department.

The 2000 schedule includes matches against volleyball powerhouses Cincinnati, Ball State and Loyola at Chicago--all teams which played in last year's NCAA Tournament--as well as a possible match-up against the University of Illinois.

The Panthers begin their schedule on Sept. 1 when they travel to Tampa, Fla., to take part in the South Florida Tournament. The round-robin event will include matches against Boston College, Furman, and tournament-host South Florida University.

The Panthers will again play host to the Panther Invitational on Sept. 8-9, featuring Austin Peay, Wyoming, and Portland. The Panthers continue their annual match-up against crosstown rival Marquette University, played this year on the Golden Eagles' homecourt on Sept. 12.

The Panthers then travel to Champaign, Ill., to take part in the Illinois Tournament on Sept. 15-16 before beginning conference play on Sept. 22 at UW-Green Bay. At the Illinois Tournament, the Panthers will face Ball State in the first round of the tournament and could then face the Illini in the tournament finals if both teams win in their first-round matches. The Illini, who defeated the Panthers, 3-1, in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament in Gainesville, Fla., is ranked among the nation's top programs.

The non-conference schedule also is highlighted by several teams that finished at the top of their conferences, including Illinois State, Austin Peay and DePaul.

"The 2000 schedule will be challenging for the young team that we will have," commented head UWM volleyball coach Kathy Litzau. "Once again I tried to schedule teams that have finished high in their conferences. With that in mind we have Illinois, Cincinnati, Ball State, Illinois State, Austin Peay and DePaul as opponents that will help prepare us for the tough MCC schedule."

For ticket information for the upcoming season, please contact the Panther Ticket Office at 414-229-5886.