Nov. 2, 2009

WEEK #11
Nov. 6 - Wright St. - 7 pm
Nov. 7 - Cleveland St. - 4 pm

Printable Weekly Notes
Weekly Coach Johnson Podcast

Panther Points
• The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball team returns to the Klotsche Center for its final four matches of the regular season. This weekend, UWM hosts Wright State Friday night before facing league-leader Cleveland State Saturday afternoon.

• UWM extended its winning streak to four matches with a four-set win at Youngstown State Saturday afternoon. The Panthers avenged an earlier loss to the Penguins and have now beaten YSU in 19 of the last 20 meetings between the two schools.

• Milwaukee stands in fifth place in the league standings, in position to clinch a spot in the league tournament and within two matches of third place. The top six teams make the league tournament, which will be hosted by the regular season champion.

Here's The Latest
• What's Up
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball team begins the month of November with home matches against Wright State and Cleveland State.

• About The Opponent
UWM will play its final four regular season matches at home, beginning with contests against two Ohio foes this weekend.

Wright State dropped a pair of five-set matches in Chicago this past weekend to see its losing streak extended to seven, and the Raiders are on the verge of being eliminated from tournament contention. But, WSU beat UWM the first time around behind Shaunda Sandifer, who averages 3.54 kills per set while hitting .314

Cleveland State saw its 12-match winning streak snapped in a five-set loss at UIC Saturday but the Vikings still hold down first place in the league standings with just two weeks to play. CSU is hitting .255 as a team and averaged 13.86 kills per set. Individually, Beth Greulich is making a strong case for player of the year honors, averaging 3.33 kills while hitting .343.

• The First Time Around
UWM dropped a pair of matches on its trip to Ohio in October. At Cleveland State, Liz Fazio had 13 kills and Beth Greulich added 11 as the Vikings captured a three-set win. Natalie Schmitting had 12 kills for Milwaukee, which hit just .083 and committed 26 hitting errors. Then at Wright State, Shaunda Sandifer and Becca Awaa collected 17 kills to lead the Raiders to a four-set win. Kerri Schuh led UWM with 15 kills and a .375 hitting clip.

• Happy To Be Home
After spending nearly the entire first half of the league season on the road, UWM is getting to enjoy its home court late in the year. Friday's match starts a run of four-straight home contests to end the regular season for the Panthers, who will wind up having played seven of their final eight league matches at home. UWM was home for three days over the first seven weeks of the season, playing four home matches in two days at the Panther Invitational and a single home match with Youngstown State in early October. UWM saw its 37-match home league winning streak snapped in that match with the Penguins, but the Panthers have still won 131 of their last 150 home matches.

• Looking Around The League
With just two weeks to play in the regular season, a lot remains up in the air in the Horizon League. Cleveland State is in good position to win the regular season league title but must still hold off Valpo and Butler. Meanwhile, UIC continues to hold on to fourth place while UWM has established itself in the fifth spot. That leaves at least three teams fighting for the sixth and final league tournament spot, with Youngstown State clinging to a slight edge over Green Bay and Loyola.

• About Last Week
Jena Berg had 17 kills to lead three players in double figures as UWM claimed a four-set win at Youngstown State Saturday. Kerri Schuh added 13 kills and Maddie Sueppel 10 for Milwaukee.

• The Winning Numbers
UWM's four-match winning streak has been marked by improved play both offensively and defensively. UWM is averaging more than 14 kills per set in the last four matches, nearly two kills above its season average. Defensively, the Panthers have limited their opponents to a .116 hitting clip while averaging 22 digs per set.

• More On That Defense
UWM has always relied heavily on its defense to trigger success and the Panthers' defense keeps getting better as the season goes along. In league matches, Milwaukee is tops in digs per set while standing second in opponent hitting percentage and third in blocks. Individually, Lauren Felsing leads the league in digs with Maddie Sueppel and Natalie Schmitting ranking in top 10 in blocks.

• A Few More Notes
UWM's .206 hitting clip Saturday marked its best since the Panthers hit .216 at Loyola in September. Milwaukee's season hitting percentage is back up to .166 ... Jena Berg has now reached double figures in kills in 16 of her last 21 matches and has 14 double-doubles in that stretch ... Kerri Schuh has reached double figures in kills in five-straight matches, including a collegiate-best 17 in the win over UIC Oct. 16.

On Background
• What An Opening Challenge
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. Iowa State has since moved into the top 10 in the country and the Cyclones own a win at Nebraska.

• Record-Setter
One of UWM's wins 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. The win was also the 50th UWM head coaching win for Susie Johnson.

• Block Party
Maddie Sueppel and her team each set new school records for blocking in UWM's loss to Marquette Sept. 12. Sueppel's record-setting performance included 19 total blocks (2 solo, 17 assists), the most by a Panther in a match of any length in the school's Division I history. The previous high was 17, set by Liz House during a five-set match in 1990. It also set a new Horizon League record, and earned Sueppel league defensive player of the week honors. UWM's 23 total blocks against Marquette was also a school-record for a four-set match.

• 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. Felsing has been back in double figures in digs in 16 of 18 matches since.

• And More About Lauren
Lauren Felsing's defensive efforts continue to sparkle. She had 26 more digs in the win over Youngstown State and is leading the league in digs per set during league play.She has also passed 1,700 digs in her career, pushing her up to second on UWM's all-time list. Becky Peters tops that list at 1,875 digs. At Green Bay in September, she collected 40 digs, a collegiate high and a UWM record for a four-set match. She also continues to extend her league-only streak for double-figure dig efforts. Felsing has now reached double figures in digs in 43-straight regular season league contests. She has also reached double figures in digs in her last five league tournament outings, meaning she has hit double-digits in her last 48 matches against league foes. Her play earned her Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week honors a month ago, the fifth time in her career she has collected those honors.

• Not Used To Being Swept
This season's three-set losses by UWM has brought to mind just how dominant the Panthers have been in the Horizon League over the years. The sweep at the hands of UIC Sept. 19 marked the first three-set sweep UWM had suffered in league play since 2005, when Loyola claimed a 3-0 win over Milwaukee. Then, the sweep Oct. 2 at the hands of Youngstown State marked the first home sweep by a league opponent since 1995, when Butler claimed a 3-0 win over the Panthers. And, dating back to 2002, UWM has still been swept just five times in league contests.

• Big Crowd
The Oct. 17 win over Loyola came as part of the annual "Pink Out," with the Panthers doing their part to raise awareness and money for breast cancer research. Panther fans came out in big numbers for the event, with 1,037 in attendance for the contest. That is the second-largest volleyball crowd in school history and just the third time UWM has drawn over 1,000 fans for a volleyball match. The other two times both came in contests with Wisconsin, first in 1999 and again in 2007.

• Dominating The In-State Rival
The win over Green Bay Oct. 23 added to UWM's stellar record against its in-state league rival. Milwaukee has now won 32 of the last 35 meetings between the two schools. The run has included UWM winning streaks of nine and 18 matches.

• Saving The Best For Green Bay
Sophomore Mary Beth O'Brien has saved her best performances for contests against UWM's in-state rival. O'Brien tallied a collegiate-best 13 kills in the Oct. 23 win over Green Bay, adding to the nine kills she tallied in the win at Green Bay in September. Those two tallies mark her highest offensive outputs of the season.

• Defense ... Defense ... Defense
UWM has been known for its tremendous defensive efforts over the years, and the Sept. 25 win in Green Bay was no different. Milwaukee's 110 digs marked a season high, but fell short of the school-record of 123 (set at Eastern Illinois in 1990). Still, the tally was the most for the Panthers since collecting 114 in a five-set win over Syracuse in 2007. Meanwhile, UWM limiting Green Bay to a .144 hitting clip.

• High Expectations
UWM was 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. 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, which was picked to win in 2008, finished third in the poll.

• 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 a season ago and she set a new single-season UWM digs record. She is second on Milwaukee's all-time list, though she has closed to within 100 digs of all-time leader Becky Peters. Meanwhile, Kellye Zaporski has been a regular at both setter and in the back row throughout her career. She began the 2009 season with nearly 1,600 assists and also now has over 850 career digs.