Nov. 30, 1999

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee volleyball team travels to Gainesville, Fla., to take on the University of Illinois in the first round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament on Thursday, Dec. 2, at 5 p.m. EST.

The Panthers received an at-large bid to earn their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers are 25-3 overall—their best record in school history and their third consecutive 25-win season—and are 11-1 in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference. The Panthers earned their third MCC Regular-Season Championship this year.

In the MCC Tournament, the Panthers were upset in the championship game by conference-rival Loyola Chicago, 3-2, giving the Ramblers the conference’s automatic NCAA tournament berth. The Panthers went on the earn one of the NCAA’s 34 at-large bids—a first not only for Wisconsin-Milwaukee, but a first for the MCC.

This is only the second time the Panthers have faced the University of Illinois. The last time these two teams met was on Sept. 1, 1992, when Illinois defeated the Panthers, 3-0. The Panthers were in only their second season at the Division I level and were coached by Tom Pleyte. Litzau replaced Pleyte the next season.

The Panthers are 2-1 against Big Ten schools this season, splitting wins with Wisconsin-Madison and defeating Purdue.

The Teams...

Illinois: The University of Illinois enters its second consecutive NCAA Tournament and 13th appearance overall. Head coach Don Hardin led the team to the Sweet Sixteen last season, but lost to the eventual 1998 champions, Long Beach State. Illinois is 17-12 (.586) all-time in NCAA Tournament play. The team made two appearances in the Final Four in the 1987 and 1988 seasons.

On the roster for Illinois, five players have tournament experience: seniors Melissa Beitz, Tracey Marshall and Sara Sorrell, junior Betsy Spicer and sophomore Amber Linder. Spicer was named to the All-Big Ten first-team as a middle blocker. Spicer led her team and took third in conference in hitting percentage (.341). Spicer also finished fifth in conference for blocks (1.33 bpg). Beitz leads the team in assists with 1,234 and sophomore Shadia Haddad paces the team with a 3.71 kills per game average and 338 total kills on the season.

Last time out, Illinois topped Iowa 3-0 on Nov. 27, 1999. Illinois is 16-10 overall and 12-8 in the Big Ten conference.

Liberty: Liberty University captured the Big South title for their second NCAA tournament berth. The Flames are 22-9 overall and 12-2 in conference. Liberty finished its regular season on a five-game winning streak.

Liberty senior Anthonia Akpama earned Big South Player of the Year by finishing second in the nation for kills. Akpama averaged 5.87 kills per game with 663 total kills. Akpama was second on the team in digs (359) behind teammate Kyrie Dorn (384). Dorn earned second-team All-Conference honors as well as All-Academic team honors. Michelle Howland led the team with 1,510 assists.

Last time out for the Flames, Akpama had 33 kills in 72 attempts with only seven errors and Dorn turned in 21 kills and 16 digs in a 3-2 conference tournament upset over number-one seeded Radford (15-9, 10-15, 15-13, 8-15, 15-11). Howland finished with 75 assists for the match. Liberty defeated High Point 3-0 in the first round of the conference tournament (17-15, 15-7, 15-4) and Winthrop 3-0 in the second round (15-11, 15-5, 15-10).

No. 4 Florida: The No. 4 Florida volleyball team (30-2) has been selected the No. 2 Seed in the East region, earning its ninth consecutive appearance (1991-99) in the 64-team NCAA Championship bracket.

The Gators will play host to the first and second rounds, taking on Big South Conference Champion Liberty (22-9), in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Thursday Dec. 2. Also playing at the home site will be Wisconsin-Milwaukee (25-3) and Illinois (16-10). The winners of the Thursday’s pairings will play Friday Dec. 3. The University Athletic Association will announce times Monday. Big West Conference Champion Pacific (28-2) is the top seed in the region. Pacific handed Florida one of its two losses this season in a marathon 15-9, 14-16, 10-15, 15-9, 10-15 NACWAA Volleyball Classic Championship match.

The Gators clinched their seventh automatic berth into the postseason tournament with a 3-1 victory over Arkansas in the SEC Tournament Final in Knoxville, Tenn. The Lady’Backs, the only other SEC team in the field, (29-6) will take on Big East Champion Georgetown (27-4).

Florida is 6-2 against the entire field, and 1-1 against teams in the region this season. The Panthers have not faced Florida in the past.

Ticket Information...

Tickets will be on sale Monday, Nov. 29, at the University Athletic Association Ticket Office. Until Thursday, tickets must be purchased in a package, which includes all three matches. Prices are $10 for general admission, $6 for students and senior citizens, and $4 for children 12 and under. Individual event tickets can be purchased starting Thursday for $6 for general admission, $5 for students and senior citizens, and $3 for children 12 and under. For more information, contact the UAA Ticket office at (352) 375-4683, ext. 6800.

UW-Milwaukee Travel Information...

The UW-Milwaukee team and official travel party will depart tomorrow, Dec. 1, at 7:30 a.m. on Delta Airlines. The team will stay at the Best Western Gateway Grand in Gainesville, Fla., at (352) 331-3336. UWM Sports Information Director Traci Huntemann-Piatt will travel with the team and can be contacted at the team hotel. The team will return to Milwaukee on Saturday, Dec. 4, at 5 p.m. If the Panthers lose in the first round, the team will return immediately following the match on Thursday.

Gainesville Television Media...

Gainesville has one television network affiliate, TV20, an ABC affiliate. The sports contacts are Joe Girvan and Hank Astengo. They can be contacted at (352) 372-3545. After hours, their extension number is x264.

UW-Milwaukee in the Statistics...

The Panthers have dominated their competition this season, going 25-3 overall and 11-1 in the MCC. They have out-hit their opponents, .278-.166, averaging 17.3 kpg compared to their opponent’s 13.7 kpg. The Panthers are averaging 15.8 assists per game, compared to their opponents who are averaging 12.6 apg, and are averaging 1.9 service aces per game, compared to their opponent’s 1.4 sapg mark.

On defense, the Panthers average 17.7 digs per game, compared to 15.6 dpg for their opponents, and the team is averaging 1.9 blocks per game, even with their opponent’s 1.9 bpg average.

The Panthers top the MCC in team hitting percentage (.278), team kills (17.11), team assists (15.65) and overall win-loss percentage (.917). They are second in team service aces (1.89) and third in team digs (17.55). The team’s lowest mark is in blocks, where they fall sixth in the league averaging 1.91 bpg.

The Season...

UWM began the season with an upset over No. 9 Wisconsin-Madison in front of a record home crowd of 1,012. The Panthers continued on its record-setting 10-match winning streak, which were highlighted not only by the Wisconsin-Madison win, but included wins over volleyball powerhouses Purdue and Illinois State.

The team suffered its first loss to the then No. 14 Wisconsin-Madison, 3-1, at the Wisconsin Challenge in Madison. The Panthers immediately got back to their winning ways, turning in an 11-match winning streak until dropping a home contest to conference-rival Loyola Chicago, 3-1—the team’s first loss at home in 33 outings. The Panthers finished up the regular season with a trio of wins, garnering them the conference crown with their 11-1 conference record.

In the MCC Tournament, the Panthers suffered their third loss of the season, dropping the championship game to conference-rival Loyola to miss the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. This marks the second time that the Ramblers have knocked the Panthers out of the tournament after the Panthers earned the MCC regular-season championship.

Wisconsin-Milwaukee received one of the 34 at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament, giving the team its second consecutive NCAA tournament berth and its first-ever at-large bid.

Panthers in National Statistical Rankings...

Nationally, the Panthers have remained in the NCAA’s top statistical rankings throughout the season in team hitting percentage, team kills, team assists and win-loss ratio. As of Nov. 14—the last report of the NCAA—the Panthers are 13th in hitting percentage (.287), 12th in kills (17.19), 6th in assists (15.73) and 9th in win-loss percentage (.923). Individually, senior Katie Schneider is the No. 4 setter in the nation, averaging 14.19 apg. She tallied her 5,000th career assist last weekend against UIC, standing at 5,099 career assists going into the MCC tourney. She is the first Panther to reach that prestigious level.

Panthers in the MCC...

In the MCC, the Panthers have dominated the conference statistics, ranking No. 1 throughout the season in team hitting percentage, team kills per game, team assists per game, and team overall win-loss ratio. The Panthers top the MCC in team hitting percentage (.278), team kills (17.11), team assists (15.65) and overall win-loss percentage (.917). Although they topped the conference in team service aces for most of the season, they fell to second after the MCC tournament, averaging 1.89 sapg. They are third in team digs (17.55) and the team’s lowest mark is in blocks, where they fall sixth in the league averaging 1.91 bpg.

Individually, the Panthers have topped the conference throughout the season in hitting percentage, assists and service aces. Chrissy Schurla tops the conference in hitting (.336), Ericka Malterer is first in kills (3.86), Katie Schnieder is by far the top in assists (14.12), and also tops the conference in service aces (0.44). In addition, the team boasts six MCC Players of the Week: senior Sue Raschka and sophomore Laura Dallenbach both earned Player of the Week honors twice this season, while senior Ericka Malterer and sophomore Chrissy Schurla each got the nod once during the season.

The Panthers dominated the postseason honors, with Sue Raschka being named the MCC Player of the Year, four Panthers earning first-team All-Conference honors (Raschka, Ericka Malterer, Katie Schneider and Chrissy Schurla), and one player earning All-Newcomer honors (Kristen Krubsack).

Panther head coach Kathy Litzau earned her second consecutive MCC Coach of the Year honor this year—along with Loyola coach Liz Nelson—and her third Coach of the Year honor overall.

MCC Schools in the NCAA Tourney...

For the first time in MCC history, two conference schools will battle for the NCAA Volleyball title as MCC Tournament Champion Loyola will head to Fort Collins, Colo., to face Colorado State on Thursday, while UW-Milwaukee, the regular-season champ, received an at-large bid and will travel to Gainesville, Fla., to face Illinois, also on Thursday.

Loyola-Chicago: Loyola University Chicago's women's volleyball team will travel to Fort Collins, Colo., on Thursday, Dec. 2, to take on Colorado State in the first round of the 1999 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament. The Ramblers earned the #14-seed in the Mountain Region, while the host Rams claimed the region's #3-seed.

The Ramblers earned the school's second-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament by virtue of winning the 1999 Midwestern Collegiate Conference VolleyballChampionships last week at the school's Joseph J. Gentile Center in Chicago. The Ramblers entered the tournament as the conference's #2-seed, before downing Wis.-Green Bay, Illinois-Chicago and top-seeded Wis.-Milwaukee to capture the MCC crown.

The Ramblers compiled a 24-9 overall record during the regular season, including a 10-2 mark in MCC play. Loyola's 24 victories this fall mark the second consecutive season and ninth time in the last 11 years that the Ramblers have eclipsed the 20-win plateau.her only match of the season.

Head Coach Kathy Litzau: Coach Litzau tallied her 100th career win earlier in the season, with 120 career wins to date. Litzau earned her second consecutive MCC Coach of the Year this year, sharing this season’s honor with Loyola-Chicago coach Liz Nelson.