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Post by skrapheap on Oct 22, 2021 18:29:56 GMT -6
An hour before the Panthers and Jaguars began their match tonight, Wright State and Northern Kentucky started play in a match with significant implications for tournament seeding. NKU entered the match having won seven consecutive matches; their last loss was to Milwaukee. The Norse were 8-1 in league play entering play tonight. Wright State entered the match at 7-2, tied for third place with UIC. The Raiders were also on a seven match winning streak, and their last loss in league play was to....MIlwaukee. The Norse won the first meeting this season...in Ohio. Both teams were scheduled to play UIC and had the match cancelled because of Covid 19 infections in the Flames program. A Raider victory would pull them into a tie with NKU.
The first match took five sets. The Norse won two sets, then the Raiders won two sets, and finally the Norse won a close fifth set to get the win.
This match started with the Raiders in control. As you would expect from two of the top teams in the league, there were a lot of long rallies, but the Raiders had the best of it. WSU's lead reached five at 10-5 before the Norse scored a couple of quick points to cut the lead to 10-7. The Raiders pushed the lead to 13-8, and the Norse took their second time out of the set. The Raiders were hitting .300 early, to .097 for the Norse. Both teams are usually fairly good at service, but neither team had scored an ace. The teams traded points until three points by the Norse, including the first ace of the night, cut the lead to 21-18. The Raiders took a time out when a Norse kill made the Raider lead 23-20. Out of the break, a Raider block gave WSU four set points. Another block gave the Raiders the set.
Wright State got out to a 3-0 start in set two, before a blocking error got NKU on the board. The Norse tightened the score quickly and the teams traded points and the lead most of the first half of the set. When a Norse setting error gave the Raiders a 14-12 lead, NKU took a time-out. Two Raider errors tied the score at 15-all. The Norse took their first lead of the set at 20-19, but the Raiders quickly tied the score again. Wright State took a time-out when the Norse went up 22-21. An NKU service error gave the lead back, and the back-and-forth play continued. NKU called their second time-out with the score tied at 23-all. The Norse reached set point first, but gave up the tie on a hitting error, which they promptly challenged the play. The Norse challenge was successful and the match was tied at one set each.
The third set was very similar to the second, down to the score. NKU and WSU played another tightly contested set, with the Norse again pulling away late to go up two sets to one.
The Raiders caught fire in the fourth set, overcoming an early Norse lead, and gradually building the lead to a 25-18 win. The Raiders did not hit particularly well in the set, but the Norse hit an uncharacteristic .025.
Set five began as another close affair. An early surge put the Norse up 4-2, but the Raiders scored five consecutive points, the last on their second ace of the evening, to take a 7-4 lead and force a Norse time-out. The Raiders scored another point to increase the run to six, before the Norse got a kill. Another Norse error put the Raiders up 9-5. A late call of a Norse kill prompted a challenge from WSU Coach Manners, but the call was upheld to narrow the lead to 9-6. A kill from the back row put WSU up 11-8, but the Norse scored the next two points to cut the lead to 11-10 and prompt a Raider time-out. The Raiders got the lead to 13-11 on consecutive points off of out-of-bounds blocks, and NKU took a time-out. After an NKU kill, an NKU error gave the Raiders match point. The Raiders got the win on an easy kill off an NKU overpass.
In the other game on the schedule, Purdue Fort Wayne beat Green Bay 3-1 in Green Bay.
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Post by skrapheap on Oct 22, 2021 18:56:36 GMT -6
While the WSU-NKU match was going to five sets, the Panthers cruised to another sweep, this one over IUPUI the first sets were over quickly, as the Panthers won 25-10 and 25-9. The Jaguars started to put some offense together in set three, but the Panthers won 25-16.
Milwaukee hit a blistering .464 for the match, starting at .227 for the first set, and wrapping up with sweep with a .680 percentage in set three: 18 kills against one error on 25 total attacks. The Panthers didn't need to hit especially well in the first set, as eight of their points came on service aces. Sarah Schroeder, who has been getting more time in the rotation of late, had three of the Panther aces, and Carmen Heilemann had two. Heileman has had several aces over the last few matches. The entire Panther service game has become more and more of a weapon this season; when serves aren't directly scoring points, they are frequently preventing the opposition from setting up their own offense, forcing them to send over free balls rather than attacking. The Panthers are averaging 1.3 aces/set.
Heilemann and Madi Malone each had 10 kills on the night. Heilemann hit .714 for the match: she had no errors and a total of 14 attacks. Malone hit .444. Ari Miller had nine kills on a .467 hitting percentage.
The Panthers had 38 digs to only 17 for the Jaguars, and nine aces to only three for the Jaguars. Both teams had four service errors. The Panthers also continued to play stout defense at the net, totalling eight blocks to only three for the Jaguars.
The Panthers went 5-0 on their home stand and are now 11-0 in league play. No other HL team has fewer than two losses in league play.
Milwaukee starts a three match road trip on Monday at Green Bay. A win there would give the Panthera a commanding 12-0 record with six matches to play, four of those against teams with losing records. Following the Monday night match, the Panthers will play at NKU on Thursday and at Wright State on Friday. They finish the league season at home against Cleveland State and Oakland and then on the road against Robert Morris and Youngstown State. Wins at NKU and WSU would wrap things up, as even if those teams managed to tie the Panthers in the standings, the Panthers would have the tiebreaker in head-to-head competion.
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Post by skrapheap on Oct 26, 2021 7:20:24 GMT -6
In her post-match remarks after last Friday's sweep of IUPUI, Coach Johnson looked forward to last night's match with Green Bay by noting that the Phoenix nearly always play the Panthers tough in Green Bay. The four set victory proved she was correct. The set scores were 30-32, 25-22, 25-19, 25-21.
The match could have been another sweep, as Milwaukee had ample opportunity to win the first set. Credit the fight in the Phoenix, as they overcame several leads in the set, including three set points at 24-21. In all, Milwaukee reached set point six times before the Phoenix scored three consecutive points to win. Coach Johnson attributed the Phoenix success to their serve. Green Bay got two points on aces, the second in their set-winning surge. The Phoenix serve was effective at making it difficult for the Panthers to run offense. Milwaukee had nine hitting errors in set one and hit .167.
The Panthers played better in sets two through four, but had to overcome Phoenix leads in all three sets with late surges of their own. Overall, the Panthers hit .291 to .242 for the Phoenix. As they have done all season, the Panthers played much more efficiently after the slow start; they had as many hitting errors in sets two through four as they did in set one.
The Panthers were led by their familiar hitters: Carmen Heilemann (19 kills on a .417 percentage, five digs, four blocks), Madi Malone (a double double with 17 kills and 10 digs, two aces), and Ari Miller (16 kills against one hitting error (.375), three blocks and a service ace).
The road trip gets more challenging with matches at Northern Kentucky and Wright State on Thursday and Friday nights. With UIC, the Norse and the Raiders are currently tied for second place in the league standings at 8-2. The Panthers beat the Norse 3-1 at home and the Raiders 3-2, after which both teams went on long winning streaks. NKU and WSU both had matches with UIC cancelled, so eventually they will have had one less opportunity than the Panthers to win the regular season title, and they are currently two and one-half matches back of the Panthers.
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Post by skrapheap on Oct 27, 2021 10:19:14 GMT -6
There are two matches scheduled for Thursday night, and both have implications for seeding for the league tournament. The top four teams meet. Milwaukee (12-0) travels to play Northern Kentucky (8-2; tied for second), and UIC travels to Wright State. The Flames and the Raiders also have an 8-2 record. The current standings list Wright State ahead of Northern Kentuck and UIC, all based on overall league recored.
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Post by skrapheap on Oct 27, 2021 12:17:48 GMT -6
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Post by skrapheap on Nov 4, 2021 18:42:56 GMT -6
Heading into two matches with Northern Kentucky and Wright State, the Milwaukee Panthers looked like a juggernaut, undefeated in 12 league matches, outhitting the opposition by a wide margin, at the top of D1 volleyball in total kills and assists.
Milwaukee lost both matches, being swept by the Norse and losing to the Raiders 3-1 after winning the first set. The Panther offense could not put together the long runs which had allowed them to win match after match. A win against either team would have all but locked up the regular season title, but at the end of the weekend, NKU was in second place at 11-2. As the next three teams in the standings, NKU, WSU and UIC, had lost matches to Covid, only a real collapse by the Panthers could cost them the regular season championship.
Fast forward to tonight, when the Panthers faced Cleveland State, right on the line between the sixth and final tournament spot. The Panthers dominated in every possible way. It was another quick sweep, 25-13, 25-12, and 25-15. Carmen Heilemann continued her hot play, leading all players with 15 kills, the only hitter with double-digit kills. She had only two hitting errors, with a hitting percentge of .542. Ari Miller and Madi Malone had nine kills each, hitting .533 and .368 respectively. Kleja Cerniauskaite had seven kills and no errors for a scintillating .778 hitting percentage. Abby Koenen had six kills and one error for a hitting percentage of .294. The Panthers had six service aces to one for the Vikings.
While the Panthers were sweeping the Vikings, Green Bay was sweeping Oakland, who is Sunday's opponent, and was 9-4 coming into tonight. The Grizzlies will play at UIC Friday night before coming to the Klotsche.
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Post by skrapheap on Nov 6, 2021 16:29:18 GMT -6
If the Panthers win their remaining three matches, starting with tomorrow's home finale against Oakland, they will win the regular season championship, no matter what Northern Kentucky, Wright State, or UIC do in their remaining matches. For a while this afternoon, it looked like the Panthers would get some help from Purdue Fort Wayne, who has been eliminated from the tournament field. The Mastodons bounced back from a 24-26 set one loss to Northern Kentucky to win sets two and three. Through the first three sets, the Mastodons were outhitting the Norse. However, NKU asserted themselves in the fourth set, winning 25-17, then took command early in set five and hung on to win the deciding set.
The Panthers route to the top seed in the tournament will begin with tomorrow afternoon's home match with Oakland. The Grizzlies come in to the match having lost 3-1 to Green Bay on Thursday and lost 3-1 to UIC on Friday. Oakland and Green Bay are currently in fifth and sixth place in the league standings. If the Phoenix win their remaining matches and the Grizzlies los their last three, the Phoenix would receive the fifth seed and Oakland the sixth.
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Post by skrapheap on Nov 7, 2021 16:37:06 GMT -6
Senior Day for the Milwaukee Panthers was a day to honor six players: Carmen Heilemann, Lauren Spaulding, Kleja Cerniauskaite, Jess Grabowski, Rylie Vaughn, and Abby Koenen.
Five of the six provided their usual contributions to the team's successful season so far. Vaughn orchestrated the Panther offense as she has all season, with a double double of 39 assists and 20 digs, adding two service aces and two kills in a sweep of Oakland. Cerniauskaite contributed four kills and a block. Koenen had six kills, a block and two digs. Grabowski had 14 digs and seven assists. Spaulding had two aces, including the match winner.
But Senior Day was the Carmen Heilemann show. She had a match-leading 20 kills on a team-high .390 hitting percentage, with eight digs and an ace. Through the early part of the season, Ari Miller was consistently the Panthers' leading offensive contributor, but she has taken on more of a supporting role since, and Heilemann and Madi Malone have taken terms as the leading offensive threats. Today's match was more of the same. Heilemann had 10 kills in the first set as the Panthers rolled to a set one win. Malone had 13 kills on the afternoon. Miller had seven kills on a .250 hitting percentage, and two blocks.
The loss was the third consecutive for the Grizzlies, who started this week's schedule with a comfortable lead as the fifth place team. Losses to Green Bay, UIC and Milwaukee have tightened up the race for the last two spots in the league tournament. Green Bay and Oakland will fill those spots, but who will finish fifth and who sixth remain to be determined. Green Bay is currently one match behind Oakland at 8-8.
In the final weekend of regular season play, Milwaukee has road matches against Robert Morris (2-13 in league play) and Youngstown State (3-12). If the Panthers win out, they clinch the league regular season championship, with the first round bye and hosting rights for the tournament semifinals and final. Northern Kentucky needs the Panthers to lose one match to slip past the Panthers into the top seed in addition to winning out on the road at Cleveland State and Oakland. Wright State faces Oakland and Cleveland State. Green Bay finishes against YSU and RMU. Oakland has the bigger challenge to hang on to the fifth seed.
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Post by skrapheap on Nov 10, 2021 23:13:17 GMT -6
Six seniors will play their last regular season matches for the Panthers this weekend. Today, Coach Johnson announced the signing of four incoming freshmen for 2022: mkepanthers.com/news/2021/11/10/womens-volleyball-johnson-announces-four-to-recruiting-class.aspxOne of the players is her daughter, Josie. She's a setter, just like her mother was. She grew up around Panther athletics, volleyball in particular, so it is nice that she will have the experience of playing college volleyball for UWM. Coach Johnson was her club coach for the past several years, which was another draw, I am sure. (I always thought it was a pity that none of former coach Litzau's daughters played for Milwaukee, but they were all good enough to be recruited by high major programs, and Litzau had long since moved out of coaching into an administrative post in the Athletic Department by the time they were finishing high school.) The other three recruits are largely front row players. With the loss of six players to graduation, the 2022 Panthers will go from being a veteran team to quite a young one. The returning core will be solid, though, and some newcomers this season who have not played a lot will have an opportunity, along with these newcomers, to step into more prominent roles.
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Post by skrapheap on Nov 10, 2021 23:21:38 GMT -6
In other news, Carmen Heilemann has received her second Horizon League Player of the Week honor this season. That makes the eighth time a Panther has been named a POTY in the eleven weeks of this season: Ari Miller has four honors, and Madi Malone has two honors, to go with Heilemann's two. HL PotY announcement
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Post by skrapheap on Nov 11, 2021 15:57:42 GMT -6
In its weekly summary for volleyball (the "Weekly Assist"), the Horizon League states that the tournament field has been set: "Milwaukee.... Northern Kentucky, Wright State, UIC, Oakland and Green Bay have...clinched a spot in the championship." A look at the standings bears this out: School | League Record | Milwaukee | 14-2 | Northern Kentucky | 13-2 | Wright State | 12-3 | UIC | 11-3 | Oakland | 9-7 | Green Bay | 8-8 |
The seventh place team, Cleveland State, is 6-10 with two matches left; it's not possible for CSU to surpass the sixth place team. If Green Bay and CSU finish with identical records, the Phoenix apparently have the tie-breaker. That said, the final seedings are not yet set. The Panthers can lock down the top seed by winning both of their remaining matches, which would put them at 16-2. The best Northern Kentucky could finish would be 15-2, because they lost a regular season match with UIC to Covid 19. UIC could move past Wright State into the third seed if they win out and the Raiders lose one of their remaining matches. Green Bay could move past Oakland into the fifth seed if they win out and the Grizzlies are unable to win at least one of their last two matches. The Panthers are on the road against Robert Morris (2-13, last place) and Youngstown State (3-12, ninth place, and winners of their last two matches. The Panthers will play the Penguins after Green Bay has played them. The GB-OU match will directly impact the seeding.
Northern Kentucky also finishes on the road, against Cleveland State and Oakland. The NKU-OU match could be very interesting. Wright State plays Oakland and Cleveland State on the road.
UIC plays Youngstown and Robert Morris on the road. Oakland has lost their last three matches, but finishes with two matches at home, where they are 8-1 this season, 6-1 in league play.
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Post by skrapheap on Nov 12, 2021 20:23:11 GMT -6
The Panthers made short work of Robert Morris last night, so they could spend tonight watching the rest of the league play.
Heading into tonight's play, the most intriguing matches were Green Bay at Youngstown State and Wright State at Oakland. The Golden Grizzlies were in fifth place, but had lost their last three matches, while the Phoenix were just one match behind, in sixth place, and had won their last two. The matchups looked like the Phoenix would tie the Grizzlies in the standings. Green Bay, though on the road, was facing a Youngstown squad with three league wins. Oakland, though at home, was facing the third place Wright State, who had won their last four matches.
The Phoenix did win and the Grizzlies did lose, but both matches were quite competitive. Oakland outlasted Wright State 28-26 in the first set, and almost forced extra play in the third set, falling 25-23. WSU's other two set wins were easy. The Phoenix ran into an inspired YSU team, and needed five sets to win. The Penguins won the first set handily, 25-15, and were competitive in the second set, which the Phoenix won 25-22. The Phoenix got on track and won set three 25-18, only to see the Penguins, with their backs against the wall. pull away in set four to win 25-19. The fourth set went back and forth and back and forth, with multiple ties and lead changes, until the Phoenix prevailed 16-14.
The Phoenix and Grizzlies are now tied for fifth place in the standings with 9-8 league records. The Phoenix play Robert Morris on the road to finish league play. Oakland plays host to a second place team in Norther Kentucky, who needs a win to keep the pressure on Milwaukee for the top seed. The Panthers finish the regular season at Youngstown State, who are eager to play spoiler. The Panthers need to win to clinch the top spot, absent a major upset by Oakland over NKU.
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Post by parkerj on Nov 13, 2021 18:17:20 GMT -6
HORIZON LEAGUE CHAMPIONS!!!!
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Post by skrapheap on Nov 13, 2021 18:54:53 GMT -6
The Panthers looked again like the juggernaut they were during their 12-0 start to the league season. sweeping their last four matches after dropping matches to Northern Kentucky and Wright State, as they swept Youngstown State 25-17 25-11, and 25-15. The Panther dominance in the match is reflected all over the box score. They hit .341 to .099 for Youngstown State. The Panthers had seven hitting errors in the match; the Penguins had 18. The Panthers got seven points off service aces to two for the Penguins; the Panthers had seven service errors to 11 for the Penguins. Milwaukee had 45 digs to 37 for YSU; they had seven blocks to only two for YSU. Carmen Heilemann and Kleja Cerniauskaite had 10 kills apiece to lead the Panthers. Ari Miller and Madi Malone had eight kills each. The Panthers finished at 16-2 (22-8 overall) to 15-2 for the second place NKU Norse. NKU played only 17 league matches because their first scheduled match with UIC was cancelled due to Covid exposure. The Panthers will now host the Horizon League Volleyball Tournament for 2021. Milwaukee and NKU are the 1 and 2 seeds and have byes in the quarterfinal round. Wright State and UIC finished in the 3 and 4 seeds, respectively. Oakland lost their last match of the regular season, so Green Bay is now in the fifth seed for the tournament. The quarterfinal matches on Friday, Novermber 19th, will pit #3 Wright State with #6 Oakland, and #4 UIC and #5 Green Bay. The highest seed coming out of the quarterfinal will face NKU in the semifinals on Saturday, and the lowest seed will face Milwaukee. The tournament champion will be crowned on Sunday. Amusing aside: apparently Kleja Cerniauskaite's name is a real challenge to say. The play-by-play announcers all enunciate her name very clearly when she makes a point. It almost sounds like they're proud of themselves for mastering the pronunciation.
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Post by skrapheap on Nov 15, 2021 12:46:01 GMT -6
So much for preseason polls:
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