Aug. 31, 2009

Week #2
Sept. 4 - vs. Akron - 11:30 am
Sept. 4 - @ Ole Miss - 7:30 pm
Sept. 5 - vs. Alcorn State - 9 am
Sept. 5 - vs. UAB - 2:30 pm

Printable Weekly Notes
Coach Johnson Show Podcast - Week Two

Panther Points
• The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball team continues the non-league portion of its 2009 schedule by traveling to Oxford, Miss., for the Magnolia Classic.

• UWM dropped a pair of matches at #13 Iowa State this past weekend. It marks the first time the Panthers have started a season 0-2 since 1994, but it is also the first time Milwaukee has started a season with two-straight matches against a ranked opponent.

• Lauren Felsing collected 32 digs in the two matches at Iowa State and has now reached double figures in digs in 59-straight contests.

• Jena Berg made her UWM debut this past weekend and tallied 14 kills in two matches.

Here's The Latest

• What's Up
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball teams hits the road for the second weekend of non-league play, this time heading to Oxford, Miss., for the Magnolia Invitational.

• About The Field
The Panthers will play four matches in Oxford this weekend, facing teams from the SEC, Conference USA, MAC and SWAC.

Ole Miss went 1-2 at the Tiger Invitational this past weekend, falling to Missouri and BYU while claiming a win over Texas State. The Rebels were picked to finish second in the SEC West after claiming that same spot a season ago.

UAB split its first two matches of the season and hosts Jacksonville State Tuesday before heading to Oxford. The Blazers reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season and have eight letterwinners back from that team.

Akron went 3-1 at the Sycamore Classic, beating Indiana State, UMKC and SIU Edwardsville while falling to North Dakota. The Zips have four starters back from a season ago.

Alcorn State will open its 2009 season Tuesday at Southeastern Louisiana. The Braves won just one match a year ago but have seven freshmen and sophomores on this year's roster.

• Looking For A Tourney Title
UWM will be taking part in the first of its two in-season tournaments when it heads to the Magnolia Classic this weekend. The Panthers have won an in-season tournament title in each of the last three seasons. In all, Milwaukee has won 10 in-season tournaments in the last 12 years and has a 77-42 record during in-season tournaments over that time frame.

• Heading To The SEC
The Panthers are heading south this weekend, making their second visit to SEC country in the last three years. In 2006, Milwaukee played at the Bama Bash in Tuscaloosa and claimed the tournament title, beating Ball State, Mercer and Alabama for the tournament crown. The only other time UWM has played on an SEC floor came in the 1999 NCAA Tournament at Florida. The Panthers did not play an SEC team in that contest, though, falling to Illinois, 3-1.

• About Last Week
Milwaukee knew it would facing a stiff test in opening the 2009 season with two-straight matches against a nationally-ranked foe, and Iowa State turned out to be every bit as good as its #13 ranking. The Cyclones recorded sweeps over the Panthers in both contests over the weekend. Friday night, Milwaukee looked like it might extend the match, hanging close in a 25-20 loss in the second set before using a late surge to nearly pull off the win in what turned out to be a 26-24 loss in the third set. Saturday, ISU was just too much on offense, as the Cyclones hit .358 for the match. That was the best effort by a UWM opponent since Louisville hit .377 against the Panthers on Sept. 15, 2006. Meanwhile, UWM fell to 8-12 in its 20 Division I openers.

• Hoping For A Bounce Back
Milwaukee heads to Mississippi this weekend looking to snap an unfamiliar slide. In fact, the 0-2 start by the Panthers marks the first time UWM has dropped its first two matches of the season since 1994. Plus, UWM has only lost two or more matches in a row just four times in the last four-plus seasons. But, UWM had also never before opened the season with two-straight matches against ranked teams, or for that matter the Panthers had never before played ranked opponents in back-to-back matches in any part of the season.

• A Few More Notes
Tennessee transfer Jena Berg made her long-awaited debut for the Panthers and had 14 kills over the two weekend matches ... Lauren Felsing averaged more than five digs per set over the weekend and now has reached double figures in digs in 59-straight contests ... Melissa Jansen tied a collegiate-high with 10 kills Friday.

On Background

• High Expectations
UWM has been picked to win the 2009 Horizon League championship. The Panthers, who have won the last six regular season titles, received seven of nine first-place votes and totaled 63 points in the poll. Last season, the Panthers exceeded preseason expectations after being picked third in the preseason. UWM wound up winning the regular season title and then won three matches in the league tournament to secure an NCAA Tournament berth. Valparaiso, which finished just behind the Panthers in last year's standings, was picked second in the poll. The Crusaders, who return league player of the year Angie Porche, received a pair of first-place votes. Cleveland State, who was picked to win the title last season and who UWM beat in the league tournament title match, finished third in the poll. Butler was picked fourth while Wright State was picked fifth. Loyola (sixth), UIC (seventh), Youngstown State (eighth) and Green Bay (ninth) rounded out the selections.

• Experience Matters
One year after fielding one of the youngest teams in the country, the Panthers return all but one starter and 12 of 14 letterwinners. Two of the returnees made the All-Horizon League squad, with senior Lauren Felsing and junior Maddie Sueppel both recognized last season. Meanwhile, two other returnees made the league's all-newcomer team, with Samantha Trawitzke and Kerri Schuh both honored last year.

• Welcome Aboard
UWM impact newcomer is Tennessee transfer Jena Berg. The former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Player of the Year sat out last season after transferring to Milwaukee in January of 2008 and has two seasons of eligibility remaining. Berg is starting at outside hitter for the Panthers.

• Senior Leadership
Milwaukee has a pair of seniors on its 2009 roster. Lauren Felsing has gained a reputation of being one of the best liberos in the Midwest. In addition to her all-league recognition, Felsing claimed honorable mention all-region honors from the American Volleyball Coaches' Association. She was also a three-time winner of the Horizon League's Defensive Player of the Week award and she set a new single-season UWM digs record. She has now reached double figures in digs in 59-straight contests and she has 1,389 career digs, putting her third on the all-time list. Meanwhile, Kellye Zaporski has been a regular at both setter and in the back row throughout her career. She begins the 2009 season with 1,575 assists.

• Summing Up The 2008 Season
No one quite knew what to expect from a very young Panther squad in 2008, as they were picked third in the Horizon League after losing five seniors from the 26-3 squad of 2007. But, Milwaukee served notice on the first weekend it was a force to be reckoned with, as the Panthers knocked off then-#18 Iowa State in a five-set thriller. UWM wound up claiming seven non-league wins against a difficult slate and carried that momentum into league play. The Panthers were 8-1 before a weekend road trip to Valpo and Butler dropped them back to 8-3. But, UWM bounced back to win its final five league contests and clinch its sixth-straight regular season league crown. From there, UWM won three-straight matches in the league tournament in Cleveland - including a five-set thriller over the host Vikings in the title match - to claim its seventh NCAA Tournament berth. Nationally-ranked Illinois then proved too much for the Panthers in the postseason, ending UWM's season with a three-set sweep in Champaign in the first round of the tourney.

• Winning Ways
The 2008 season allowed the Panthers to add to their already stellar numbers over the past decade-plus. Milwaukee has now won six-straight outright league titles, something no other league school has ever accomplished. It was also UWM's 10th overall crown, easily the most among league schools. UWM has now won at least 11 league matches for 12-straight seasons while never losing more than three league contests during that same time. In that time span, Milwaukee has built a 146-18 record in regular season league play. UWM also pushed its overall win total to 23, which marked its 11th 20-win season in the last 12 years. Finally, UWM entered the NCAA Tournament riding an eight-match winning streak, meaning the Panthers have had a winning streak of seven or more matches in 12-straight seasons.

• Senior Salute
Becky Peters did her part as the lone senior last year. She finished her career as both UWM's and the Horizon League's all-time digs leader and finished tied for second on UWM's all-time matches played list (120). Her dig total wound up at 1,875 and she reached double figures in digs in 109 of her 120 career matches. In 2008, Peters reached double figures in kills 26 times while recording 21 double-doubles.

• Getting Others Involved
One of the other keys to the success a young Panther team enjoyed last season was the variety of people stepping up with big performances at key times. UWM had 12 different players earn at least one start, while four players (Becky Peters, Maddie Sueppel, Natalie Schmitting and Lauren Felsing) started all 32 matches. Meanwhile, six different players had at least one double-figure kill match while six different players had at least one double-figure dig outing.

• An Academic Standout
Junior Lauren Felsing earned CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Second-Team Academic All-America honors last season. Felsing carries a 3.98 grade-point average in marketing. Felsing also earned academic all-region and academic all-league recognition in addition to being a three-time U.S. Army Horizon League Scholar-Athlete of the Week honoree. She also earned Horizon League All-Academic honors last season. The honors for Felsing are just some of many academic awards for the Panthers, as UWM's success extends throughout its roster. Twelve players on the team finished the school year with a cume GPA of 3.0 or better and seven of those players posting better than a 3.5 GPA.