Sept. 8, 2009
WEEK #3
Sept. 11 - South Dakota - 1:30 pm
Sept. 11 - W. Michigan - 7:30 pm
Sept. 12 - Marquette - 1:30 pm
Sept. 12 - Ohio State - 7:30 pm
Printable Weekly Notes
Johnson Podcast
Panther Points
• The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball team comes home for the first time in 2009, playing four matches in the annual Panther Invitational.
• The Panthers dropped three 5-set heartbreakers this past weekend in Mississippi.
• UWM lone victory this season came in record-setting fashion, as the Panthers hit .474 in a three-set sweep of Alcorn State.
• Milwaukee will be putting its stellar Klotsche Center record on the line against a tough field this weekend. The Panthers are 23-3 at home under Susie Johnson.
• Iowa State won last year's Panther Invitational.
• What's Up
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball teams plays on its home court for the first time in 2009, hosting the annual Panther Invitational.
• About The Field
The Panthers will play four matches in this weekend's Panther Invitational, facing off with teams from the Big Ten, Big East, MAC and Great West.
South Dakota is 3-4 heading into a Tuesday match at Kansas State. The Coyotes lost three times at the InnTowner Invitational in Madison on the opening weekend but won three of four at Drake this past weekend. USD's only loss in Des Moines came in five sets to Valparaiso.
Western Michigan has faced a difficult slate and is 2-4 this year after reaching the Sweet 16 a season ago. The Broncos' losses have come to Hawai'i, UCLA, Santa Clara and Dayton - all NCAA Tournament qualifiers a year ago.
Marquette is 6-1 this season under new head coach Bond Shymansky. The Golden Eagles' only loss this season came to Iowa, while MU has wins over Horizon League foes Butler and Loyola.
Ohio State is also 6-1 this season, winning the Tribe Invitational at William & Mary on the opening weekend before finishing second at the Hilton Classic at Colorado State this past weekend. OSU's only loss came to the host Rams in five sets.
• Panther Invite History
This weekend marks the 12th Panther Invitational since UWM moved to the Division I ranks. Drake won the first event in 1995 and the tournament has had eight different champions. Iowa State won the title on a tiebreaker last season while UWM's last crown came in 1997. Other winners include Wisconsin, Alabama and the College of Charleston.
• About Last Week
The Panthers headed to Mississippi this past weekend looking for a pick-me-up and instead were handed heartbreak. Sandwiched around an easy win over Alcorn State were three 5-set losses, including to the host Rebels and to UAB, which reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament a season ago. Each of the five-setters followed a different script, with UWM playing up-and-down against Akron, going up 2-0 on Ole Miss before falling and then fighting from behind against UAB. But, in each case, a slow start in the final frame doomed the Panthers.
• Record-Setter
UWM's one win so far this year came in impressive fashion, as the Panthers opened the first set on a 10-0 run en route to a three-set sweep of Alcorn State. Milwaukee hit a school-record .474 in the match, besting a .471 effort against Seneca in 1990. And, the contest allowed UWM to empty its bench, with Mackenzie Millis (six kills) and Natalie Chery (five kills) each posting their best numbers of the season.
• Snapping A Long Streak
The one down side to the dominance of Alcorn State was the lack of dig opportunities for libero Lauren Felsing, who saw her 61-match double-figure dig streak snapped when she had just five digs in the contest. In fact, no Panther reached double figures in the category and Alcorn State had just 58 attack opportunities.
• A Few More Notes
The last time the Panthers started 1-5 was 2002, when UWM recovered to win 20 matches and the Horizon League Tournament ... the Panthers have won 127 of their last 142 home matches overall and have a 37-match home league winning streak ... Susie Johnson claimed her 50th UWM head coaching win in the victory over Alcorn State Saturday ... Jena Berg reached double figures in kills in all four matches in Mississippi and wound up with three double-doubles ... after not reaching double-figures in kills in any of the first four matches of the season, Natalie Schmitting was in double digits vs. both Alcorn State and UAB ... Sam Trawitzke was UWM's full-time setter in all four matches, averaging over 10 assists and nearly two digs per set. Kellye Zaporski, who normally splits setting duties with Trawitzke, was under the weather ... UWM is now 78-45 during in-season tournaments over the last 12-plus years.
• Already This Year
UWM opened the 2009 season with a pair of matches against #13 Iowa State. It marked the first time the Panthers have ever opened a Division I season with two-straight matches against a ranked foe. The Cyclones were able to avenge their five-set loss to the Panthers last season in Milwaukee with a pair of three-set victories in Ames.
• 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 year with a cume GPA of 3.0 or better and seven of those players posting better than a 3.5 GPA.
