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Post by skrapheap on Sept 8, 2012 13:09:03 GMT -6
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Post by skrapheap on Sept 8, 2012 20:30:09 GMT -6
After giving up a 10 point run to get in a hole they could never get out of, the Panthers played Wisconsin much tougher.
The difference in the match was that Wisconsin made the plays and the points they needed, and the Panthers didn't. The result is that the Panthers were swept.
In the second and third sets, the Panthers had opportunities to take control of each set, but didn't. Every time the Panthers seemed to have momentum, the Badgers reeled them back in, and at the end of the set, the Badgers simply played with more confidence.
What is frustrating about the season so far is that they have only played a few sets of poor volleyball. Of their five losses, three of them have gone to five sets, and when they have been swept, they have played their opponents tough for two of the three sets. Matches have been there for the taking, but they haven't learned how, or haven't developed the confidence, to take them. They could easily have a much better record.
The Panthers have four non-league matches left. Three of those matches are next weekend in a tournament at Marquette. (The remaining match is a home match with Marquette toward the end of the league season.) The Panthers play Iowa, Pacific, and Marquette.
Marquette made to the second round of the NCAA tournament last season, and is 6-1 in 2012 heading into the final match (tomorrow) of the first of two tournaments they are hosting this year.
Neither Iowa nor Pacific made the tournament last year, but Pacific was 8-0 to begin 2012 before playing Stanford in Stanford's tournament. (As of this writing, Stanford was up 2-0 and leading 18-11 in the third set.) Next weekend's tournament will be another opportunity for the Panthers to put things together before the league season starts.
The Panthers' first three league matches are at home, against Youngstown State, Cleveland State and Green Bay. Cleveland State has been a contender in the league for the last several years; Green Bay of late has played the Panthers tough. The Vikings are currently 7-4; Green Bay is 3-6.
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Post by skrapheap on Sept 21, 2012 20:15:23 GMT -6
Back to Horizon League play, the Panthers extended their league win streak with a four-set victory over Youngstown State. Having won the last eight league matches in 2010, all 16 league matches last year, and the first match of 2012, the streak now stands at 25.
The Penguins took the first set, 25-23, but thereafter the Panthers played strong both defensively and offensively, taking the next three sets 25-17. 25-15 and 25-21.
Julie Kolinske led four Panthers with double-digit kill totals: Kolinske had 19 kills, Rachael Neuberger had 16 (and hit a gaudy .517 for the match), Sammi Herron had 12, and Elizabeth Egerer had 11.
What is even more impressive is that the hitters were working with an unfamiliar setter. Kayla Price is injured, and expected to be out for the rest of the season. Hannah Blanchard filled the role well, amassing 50 assists and hitting .286 with two kills.
Saturday's match will be a tough challenge. Cleveland State, who beat Green Bay in four sets tonight, comes to town to play at 4:00 p.m.
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Post by skrapheap on Sept 27, 2012 10:03:13 GMT -6
The Panthers took their lumps against Cleveland State last Saturday, getting swept, and the last two sets weren't terribly close.
The loss of an all-league setter made itself felt, certainly, but this team really hasn't looked solid yet this season, even when Kayla Price was running the offense. Hannah Blanchard was solid filling in, but i imagine it takes awhile for a new setter to get comfortable with the hitters, and vice versa. A week's practice should help.
This squad may find itself like the team of a few years ago did, and reel off a bunch of wins yet. i hope they put things together sooner rather than later. That team of a few years ago was in last place with something like a 3-6 record, and their winning streak only pulled them as high as third place. An earlier turnaround would make it possible still to win the league and host the tournament.
Friday, the Panthers will host Green Bay. The Panthers have won eight straight matches with the Phoenix, but many of those wins have been in tight matches. Last fall in Green Bay, the Panthers were in danger of being swept before they got on track and won the match in five sets. Last fall at home, the Panthers took four sets to dispatch the Phoenix; three of the four sets were won by the minimum two point margin. Green Bay is off to a respectable 9-6 start to their season (1-1 in league play).
i'm glad to read that the SBGC is trying to ramp up attendance for Friday. Green Bay's volleyball fans, like their basketball fans, travel well, so we can expect good attendance from Phoenix fans.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2012 13:13:07 GMT -6
I will be selling merchandise for the bookstore at tomorrow night's match vs. Green Bay. One of two volleyball matches this year I will be doing so (the 2nd being vs. Marquette on October 30th).
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Post by skrapheap on Sept 28, 2012 21:01:53 GMT -6
Tonight represented a step forward for the Panther volleyball team. For the first time this season, the Panthers won a match that went to five sets: 25-18, 25-22, 14-25, 19-25, 15-7. The Panthers beat a taller, more experienced Phoenix team.
The sets were not as close as had been the case in recent matches with the Phoenix.
The Panthers started fast, which was a good sign. They took control of both of the first two sets early. Green Bay played better in the second set, but the Panthers held on at the end and their margin of victory was the smallest of the night.
Down 2-0, Green Bay came out of the break like a different team. They completely took the momentum away from the Panthers in the third set, and won by 11. They kept going in the fourth set. The Panthers started to play better in the fourth set, but Green Bay still won by six points.
This brought the Panthers to the fifth set. In previous matches this year, the Panthers were unable to get control of the fifth set, and lost. Tonight was very different. The Panthers jumped out to a 5-0 lead, then pushed from 5-3 to 10-4, and then to 14-5. Green Bay fought off two match points, but the Panthers finished the set with a kill by Elizabeth Egerer to take the match.
Julie Kolinske had 22 kills. Egerer and Rachel Neuberger had 18 and 11 kills, respectively. Hannah Blanchard had 55 assists.
The league got more interesting tonight. Going in, UIC and Cleveland State were in first place with 2-0 records, followed by four teams at 1-1. After tonight's action, there are five teams at 2-1. Most notably, Loyola, whom the Panthers will play on Friday, swept Cleveland State in Cleveland, and UIC, whom the Panthers will play on Saturday, lost in five sets to Youngstown State in Youngstown.
The attendance was pretty good tonight. There were more Panther fans, than Phoenix fans, and the Panther fans were louder for most of the match.
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Post by skrapheap on Oct 1, 2012 9:20:36 GMT -6
i watched some volleyball on Saturday.
Cleveland State bounced back from their Friday loss to Loyola, sweeping UIC. UIC played the Vikings tough in the first set, but CSU won going away in the second and third sets. CSU is now 3-1 in the league.
Loyola beat Youngstown State 3-1, to join CSU in leading the league. Loyola appears to be the real deal. After sweeping the Vikings in Cleveland on Friday, they won the first, second and fourth sets in Youngstown. The Ramblers roster is young, like the Panthers: five freshmen, four sophomores, one junior and two seniors. The Panthers will have their hands full on Friday night in Chicago, and there could be some epic battles in the next few years if both rosters stay healthy, something which has been a problem for the Panthers this season.
UIC played the Panthers pretty tough at home last year, so Saturday's match will probably be a challenge as well.
Valpo and Milwaukee are both 2-1, right behind CSU and Loyola.
Update from UWMPanthers.com: www.uwmpanthers.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/100212aaa.html
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Post by skrapheap on Oct 6, 2012 17:24:05 GMT -6
The word to describe the trip to Chicago is "brutal."
Friday night, the Panthers took Loyola to five sets, but in all three sets they lost, they allowed Loyola to string together five or more points at a time, digging themselves a hole they couldn't get out of. In the two sets they won, they kept Loyola from making those runs, and managed to win a much closer set.
Today, UIC won the first set even though they were trailing 15-20, because they put together a run at the end of the set. They scored ten of the last twelve points of the set, including the last five, and won 25-22.
In the second set, the Panthers bounced back and managed to hold a late lead and reversed the first set score.
In the third set, the Flames got off to a fast start, and then started a run which gave them, at the first time out, a 12-9 lead. The Panthers countered with a run of their own which put them up 16-14, and when the Flames had closed to 17-16, the Panthers went on another run to go up 21-16 and force a UIC timeout. UIC closed the lead up to two at 23-21. The Panthers pushed their lead to 24-21, the Flames then scored two straight points, but the Panthers closed the set with a block to win 25-23.
The fourth set, the Flames started quickly, getting out to a 5-1 lead to force a Panther timeout. The Panthers closed the lead and kept it closed until another Flames run pushed their lead to 16-13 and forced another timeout. Play continued back and forth, with the Panthers unable to shorten the lead to less than 2. UIC called a timeout leading 22-20, and another timeout after a Maisey Mulvey ace tied the set at 22. The set was tied again at 23, and the Flames got two points to even the match at two sets each.
The fifth set featured another quick start by the Flames, but the Panthers again made it close, until at the end they gave up yet another Flames run to lose the match. They did close the gap to 13-11, and then gave up two easy points to give the Flames the set and the match.
The formula for beating the Panthers this year appears to be to trade points until you can go on a run. As the Panthers do not appear to have the kind of dominating hitter they have had in previous years (e.g. Kerri Schuh in 2010 and 2011), this is not a bad strategy. The Panthers do not usually put together long scoring runs themselves. Unless someone emerges as a reliable hitter, the Panthers will continue to struggle to win sets and matches.
Update: Julie Kolinske, who leads the team in kills this season, missed the UIC match with an injury. No further details were available, so i have no idea how long she will be out. Kayla Price's injury was announced as season-ending; Taylor Golabowski's injury was not, so far as i am aware. If all three players are gone for the season, the rest of the season will be tough.
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Post by skrapheap on Oct 13, 2012 13:13:03 GMT -6
A depleted Panther squad held on and beat last place Wright State in four sets.
Statistically, the Panthers dominated, but the scores were fairly close: two of the four sets went beyond 25 points.
One good sign: Julie Kolinske returned to the lineup.
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Post by skrapheap on Oct 13, 2012 17:25:23 GMT -6
The first set of Saturday's match with Valparaiso was all too typical of this season: the Panthers played the Crusaders close to 8 points, then gave up a long run of points to Valpo, and found themselves unable to overcome the deficit they put themselves in. Valpo won easily, 25-15. The Panther defense started out well, getting four blocks (two solo) from Rachel Neuberger early, but Valpo hit .294 for the set. Serve reception was a problem for Milwaukee, as Valpo had two service aces, but there were many instances where setter Hannah Blanchard had to travel a long way to set the ball for her hitters, plus a couple of easy kills for Valpo after Panther overpasses.
In the second set, Valpo got out to an 7-4 lead, leading to a Panther time out. The Panthers then fought back to an 8-8 tie, powered by two consecutive blocks, forcing a Valpo time out. The Panthers then pushed to lead to 14-10, leading Valpo to call their second time out of the set. The Panthers pushed their lead to 20-13, and when Valpo reeled off two points, Coach Johnson called her second time out with the Panther lead at 20-15. Another Valpo run closed the gap to 21-20, tied it at 23, and then scored the last two points to win the second set 25-20.
Milwaukee scored the first four points of set three to force a Valpo time out, then pushed the lead to 6-0 to force a second Valpo timeout. The Panther run reached 8-0 until a Panther overpass gave Valpo it's first point. The Panther block was on fire early in the third set (as it was all match). A Valpo run closed the lead to 11-5 forcing a Panther time out. The Panthers maintained a six or seven point lead to 15-8, then three Panther errors allowed the Crusaders to close the lead to four, prompting the second Panther timeout. Valpo then went on a run to tie at 17 and take the lead. The Panthers fought back to take a 23-22 lead. An Egerer kill gave the Panthers a set point, but Valpo tied the set at 24. The Panthers then scored two points to squeak by with a 26-24 win.
Valpo established a 6-2 lead at the beginning of set four, prompting a Panther timeout. The Panthers countered with a run of their own to close the lead to 8-5, and then to 9-8. Valpo then took a timeout. The Panther run continued with the Panthers taking the lead at 10-9. The set continued close until Valpo ran off three points to take a 15-12 lead, forcing the second Panther timeout. Milwaukee scored the first two points after the timeout, and Valpo countered with a soft kill, but then gave the serve away, allowing the Panthers to tie the set at 16 and then take a lead at 17-16. The set was tied at 17 and again at 18. A Hannah Blanchard ace gave the Panthers a two point lead at 20-18, and a Valpo hitting error gave the Panthers a 21-18 lead when Valpo called its second timeout. The Panther run continued, extending the lead to 23-18. The Crusaders fought off two set points, but Julie Kolinske's tenth kill of the match finished the set, 25-21, tying the match at two sets each, pushing the match to a fifth set.
Kolinske scored the first two points of the set, and a Hannah Blanchard block later pushed the lead to 4-1, forcing Valpo to take a time out. A Kolinske kill pushed the lead to 5-2. Valpo countered with a run of their own to take a 6-5 lead and force a Milwaukee timeout. The set was tied at 6 and then at 7. Valpo then scored two points and forced the second Panther timeout. The Panthers evened the match at 10 on two Maggie Dunbar kills, and then the match was tied at 12 on a Kolinske kill. Valpo then took their second timeout. Valpo tied the match at 13, then Kolinske scored a kill to set up match point, but Valpo tied the match. An exchange of points led to Valpo's third match point, and a Panther hitting error gave Valpo the match.
The Panthers are now 1-7 in five set matches on the year, and 3-4 in the league on the season.
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Post by skrapheap on Oct 24, 2012 13:00:24 GMT -6
After another difficult weekend on the road, the Panthers head to Green Bay Friday.
Both squads are 3-6 in the league this season. Youngstown State is also 3-6. The Panthers beat the Phoenix in five sets in Milwaukee earlier this season.
A depleted Panther squad got a little more help with the return of defensive/serving specialist Taylor Golabowski last weekend, but still lost both matches.
Next week the Panthers have three matches, all at home: their final non-league match with Marquette on Tuesday, and matches with UIC and Loyola on Friday and Saturday.
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Post by skrapheap on Nov 2, 2012 8:28:32 GMT -6
Last weekend of home volleyball, almost certainly. UIC tonight, Loyola tomorrow afternoon. Seniors Anna Bartz and Elizabeth Egerer will be making their final home appearances.
The Panther would have to win their last four matches to finish the league season at .500. One of the four matches is against Wright State, who is, so far, winless in the league. Finishing 7-7 would probably not get the Panthers a home match in the league tournament. Cleveland State is solidly in first place, and will probably host the tournament semi-final and final.
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Post by skrapheap on Nov 7, 2012 13:23:20 GMT -6
The Panthers head into the last weekend of the league season knowing that they need to win both matches to have a chance at the league tournament.
One of the matches is with winless Wright State, who has already been eliminated from tournament contention. The other match is with Valpo, currently in third place at 8-4. Winning a spot in the league tournament seems to be a tall order.
The top team, Cleveland State, can finish no worse than 12-2. The second through fourth place teams, UIC, Valpo and Loyola, can finish with no worse than a .500 league record.
The Panthers could finish in a three-way tie with Green Bay and Youngstown State if the latter two teams lose their remaining matches and the Panthers win both of theirs. If Green Bay wins one of its two remaining matches, and Youngstown wins its remaining match, the two teams would finish with six wins, which would eliminate Milwaukee. If the Panthers win two matches and finish in a tie with Green Bay, Youngstown or both, i am not sure how the tiebreakers would work to fill the remaining two spots.
It looks like a "wait until next year" situation for the Panthers, which has not happened to the program in a long, long time.
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