Nov. 9, 2009
WEEK #12
Nov. 13 - Valparaiso - 7 pm
Nov. 14 - Butler - 4 pm
Printable Weekly Notes
Weekly Coach Johnson Podcast
Panther Points
• The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball team wraps up the regular season with a pair of home matches. The Panthers face second-place Valparaiso Friday before hosting third-place Butler Saturday.
• UWM extended its winning streak to six matches with a pair of home wins this weekend. The Panthers recorded their first three-set sweep of the league season in beating Wright State before knocking off first-place Cleveland State in four sets.
• Lauren Felsing was named the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week after averaging 4.86 digs per set.
• Milwaukee has clinched a spot in the Horizon League Tournament and stands in fourth place in the league standings.
Here's The Latest
• What's Up
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball team wraps up the regular season with a pair of home matches this weekend.
• About The Opponent
UWM plays its final two matches against the two teams directly ahead of it in the league standings.
Valparaiso enters the final weekend of the season with a chance to claim at least a share of the league title. The Crusaders hit the 20-win mark with a pair of home wins this past weekend. Reigning league player of the year Angie Porche averages just under four kills per set.
Butler stands in third place entering the final weekend, with a chance to move as high as a tie for first but also trying to hold off Milwaukee for third place. The Bulldogs finished a perfect 9-0 at home but are just 4-9 on the road. Jessica Wolfe leads BU at nearly four kills per set.
• The First Time Around
UWM dropped each of its first matches with its two league foes from Indiana. At Butler Oct. 6, Porshia Allen and Jessica Wolfe tallied 10 kills apiece to lead the Bulldogs to a sweep. Then, at Valpo the next day, Tara Diebler collected 16 kills and Valpo made a late surge in the fifth set to pull out a tight win.
• 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. The Panthers are in the midst of a run of four-straight home contests to end the regular season. UWM was home for just 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 133 of their last 152 home matches.
• Looking Around The League
With just one week 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 might need to win at home against Youngstown State Friday to hang on. Valpo could still share the league crown and Butler is trying to move into the top two, as well. Milwaukee and UIC are battling for fourth and fifth place, with UWM holding on to a chance for third, as well.
• About Last Week
UWM extended its winning streak to six matches with victories over Wright State and Cleveland State this past weekend. Against the Raiders Friday, Jena Berg had 14 kills to lead three players in double figures as the Panthers captured a three-set sweep. Then Saturday against the first-place Vikings, UWM hit a solid .216 while limiting the Vikings to a .106 hitting clip in capturing a four-set win. In fact, Milwaukee dominated nearly every statistical category, winning battles in kills (64-47), digs (75-55) and blocks (13-11).
• The Winning Numbers
UWM's six-match winning streak has seen improved play both offensively and defensively. Milwaukee is averaging almost 15 kills per set in the last six matches, more than two kills above its season average. Defensively, the Panthers have limited their opponents to a .112 hitting clip while averaging nearly 21 digs per set.
• More On That Defense
UWM's defense often triggers its success and the Panthers keep getting better this season. In league matches, Milwaukee is tops in digs per set and opponent hitting percentage while sitting second in blocks. Individually, Lauren Felsing leads the league in digs with Jena Berg ninth. In blocks, Natalie Schmitting is third and Maddie Sueppel fourth. This week, Felsing added her second league defensive player of the week honor of the season.
• A Few More Notes
UWM has now hit above .200 in three-straight matches and has its season hitting percentage up to .172 ... Jena Berg has now reached double figures in kills in 18 of her last 23 matches and has 16 double-doubles in that stretch ... Kerri Schuh has reached double figures in kills in seven-straight matches, including a collegiate-best 17 in the win over UIC Oct. 16.
On Background
• Senior Leadership
Milwaukee has a pair of seniors on its 2009 roster and the duo will be playing its final two home matches this weekend. Lauren Felsing has gained a reputation of being one of the best liberos in the Midwest. In addition to her all-league recognition a year ago, 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 single-season UWM digs record. She is second on Milwaukee's all-time list, though she is now less than 100 digs off 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.
• And More About Lauren
Lauren Felsing's defensive efforts continue to sparkle. She averaged nearly five digs per set in UWM's two wins this past weekend and is leading the league in digs per set during league play. She has also passed 1,800 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. While she saw her overall double-figure digs streak snapped at 61 earlier this year, she continues to extend her league-only streak for double-figure dig efforts. Felsing has now reached double figures in digs in 45-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 50 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.
• Academic Honors, Too
Lauren Felsing continues to excel off the court, earning CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V First Team honors for a second-straight year. Felsing carries a 3.97 grade-point average in marketing. The senior libero, who was a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Second Team Academic All-American a season ago, is again eligible for Academic All-America honors. That will be voted upon in the next several weeks. This marks the fifth-straight year a UWM player has earned academic-all region honors. Lauren's sister, Leanne Felsing, claimed honors in 2007 while Cheryl Hegemann captured academic all-region recognition in both 2005 and 2006.
• Setting Up A Winning Streak
It looks like Kellye Zaporski may have saved the best play of her career for the stretch run of her senior season. Zaporski has been a huge spark in UWM's current six-match winning streak, taking over the full-time setting role. She is averaging 11.08 assists and 4.46 digs per set over the last six matches, helping direct the Panthers' offense to a .190 hitting clip and an average of 14.67 kills per set. Zaporski has also tallied double-doubles in five of her last six matches, including collecting 20 or more digs three times.
• 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.
• Other Early-Season Notes ...
One of UWM's wins this year came in record-setting 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 ... Maddie Sueppel and her team each set 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 ... sophomore Mary Beth O'Brien has saved some of 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 ... 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 ... 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 limited Green Bay to a .144 hitting clip ... 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 with wins over both Nebraska and Texas.
