Nov. 4, 1999

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee volleyball team earned its third consecutive No. 1 spot in the District, the American Volleyball Coaches Association announced today. The Panthers also earned that spot in the Oct. 6 and Oct. 20 rankings periods as well. District rankings are released four times a year, with this year’s final release on Nov. 17.

The current rankings fall as follows, with the team’s records at ranking time in parenthesis: 1. UW – Milwaukee (20-1), 2. Southeast Missouri (21-5), 3. Houston (16-6), 4. Cincinnati (21-4), 5. Louisville (13-9), 6. DePaul (17-9), 7. Saint Louis (21-6), 8. Loyola Chicago (16-8), 9. Austin Peay (18-8), 10. Eastern Illinois (16-8).

This season marks the first time the Panthers have reached the top spot in the district rankings. The Panthers finished last season ranked No. 6 in the district, No. 4 in 1997, and were not ranked at the end of 1996 or ‘95. District 6 includes the MCC, Conference USA, Ohio Valley, and the SWAC conference schools.

Panthers Prepare for Last Homestand of the Season

After sweeping the visiting DePaul Blue Demons last night, 3-1, the Panthers turn their sights on ending their season undefeated at home for the third consecutive year when conference-rival Loyola comes to town on Friday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. and Illinois-Chicago on Saturday, Nov. 6, at 2 p.m. Both matches will be played at the J. Martin Klotsche Center on the UWM campus. The Panthers are currently on an 11-match winning streak and a 33-match home winning streak. The last time the Panthers lost at home was on Nov. 15, 1996, when the visiting Ramblers took the match, 3-2.

At Look at the Loyola Ramblers (16-8, 7-2 MCC)

The Ramblers extended their winning streak to three straight with a pair of shutout victories last weekend in Chicago. Kelly Price notched a match-high 15 kills on Saturday night, Oct. 30, to lead the Ramblers to a 15-11, 16-14, 15-9 conference victory over Cleveland State. On Sunday afternoon, Sarah Poglits paced the Ramblers with 10 kills as Loyola downed IUPUI, 15-4, 15-11, 15-12. With the two wins, Loyola improved its home mark on the season to 10-1, a perfect 4-0 at the Gentile Center. The Ramblers have now won 17 of their last 18 matches at Alumni Gym, dropping their only contest to UWM on Oct. 9. Kelly Price has recorded double digits in kills in eight of her last nine matches. Loyola follows up Friday’s conference match against UWM with a Saturday afternoon tilt at UW-Green Bay.

The last time these two teams met, UWM handed Loyola Chicago its first conference loss of the season, downing the Ramblers, 3-1, at LUC’s Alumni Gym.

Chrissy Schurla led the Panthers with 20 kills and a solid .545 hitting percentage, followed by sophomore Laura Dallenbach and senior Sue Raschka who each had 13 kills. Dallenbach added a team-high 17 digs on defense while Raschka added 15 digs.

Overall, Loyola leads the series with the Panthers, 20-12.

A Look at UIC (14-12, 6-3 MCC)

The Flames went 1-1 last week, losing a five-game non-conference match at Bradley while winning their only league contest of the week at home versus Cleveland State. The Flames lost to Bradley, 3-2, on Tuesday, Oct. 26, then went on to sweep the Vikings, 3-0, on Friday, Oct. 29.

The Flames travel to Green Bay, Wis., for a match with the Phoenix on Friday, before making their way to Milwaukee, Wis., on Saturday for an afternoon affair with conference-leader UW-Milwaukee.

The Panthers Continue to Roll

The Panthers are on an 11-match winning streak, and have dropped only one match so far this year, to then No. 13 UW-Madison. As of Oct. 31, the last time the NCAA released the national statistics, the Panthers topped the MCC team statistics in virtually every category. They also boast the conference’s top player in hitting percentage, aces and assists. The Panthers are also among the top teams in the nation in team hitting percentage (12th, .286), in team kills per game (11th, 17.23 kpg), in team assists per game (3rd, 15.94 apg), and in team win-loss ratio (6th, .952). Individually, senior Katie Schneider (S, West Bend, Wis./East) ranks 3rd in the nation in assists, averaging 14.34 assists per game.