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Post by skrapheap on Jun 2, 2021 22:54:23 GMT -6
Per the team's Twitter account, Carmen Heilemsnn, one of the team's more consistent offensive contributors, will be back next fall. So the extended eligibility applies to other sports, it appears.
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Post by Pounce Needs Pals on Jul 2, 2021 7:40:03 GMT -6
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Post by skrapheap on Aug 30, 2021 14:07:57 GMT -6
The Panthers went 0-3 in their own tournament to start the season. They were swept by Illinois, lost 3-1 to UC, Santa Barbara, and took Valparaiso to five sets, and were two points from winning the fifth set and the match.
Milwaukee was picked to finish fourth in the HL Preseason Poll. They didn't make the league tournament last season. A fourth place finish will land a place in the tournament.
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Post by skrapheap on Sept 1, 2021 21:11:46 GMT -6
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Post by skrapheap on Sept 3, 2021 17:38:26 GMT -6
The Panthers went 0-3 in their own tournament to start the season. They were swept by Illinois, lost 3-1 to UC, Santa Barbara, and took Valparaiso to five sets, and were two points from winning the fifth set and the match. If one were a big believer in trends, one might hope that the improvement in performance over the course of last weekend would mean the Panthers were bound to break through and win their first match soon. The Panthers did win this afternoon, dropping the first set to Cincinnati and then winning three straight sets to take the match 3-1. But what is more encouraging than the mere progression was how the Panthers won. Cincinnati jumped out to a substantial lead in the opening set and won 25-19. The Panthers played much better in set two, getting out to a late lead and then withstanding a late run by the Bearcats to win 25-21. Cincinnati again started well in the third set. Milwaukee battled back repeatedly, scoring four consecutive points to tie the score at 11-all, and more impressively, overcoming three set-points to extend play. The Panthers then went on to win the set 28-26 on a Madi Malone service ace and an Ari Miller kill. The Panthers went in a short run early in the fourth set at 7-4, and did not give up the lead for the remainder of the match. They pulled away gradually and finished the set 25-18. Malone, a freshman, led all scorers with 24 kills. Miller and Csrmen Heilemann contributed 13 kills each. Abby Koenen had 10 kills. Milwaukee improved at hitting in each set, hitting .390 in set four, to finish at .254 for the match. Malone hit .462 for the match, behind Miller and Heilemann. The service game contributed as well, as the Panthers had six aces to only two errors. Coach Johnson's remarks after last weekend's play focused on how the team needed to learn to finish. Today, they took a step in that direction.
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Post by skrapheap on Sept 5, 2021 20:42:08 GMT -6
The Panthers' match with Bowling Green took a wrong turn into a five set loss yesterday.
Today the Panthers wrapped up the tournament with a 3-1 win over host Notre Dame. The first and fourth sets saw the Panthers pull away for easy wins. The second set was closer, with Milwaukee hanging in for a 25-22 win. The third set was pretty much all Notre Dame.
The Panthers outhit the Irish .197 to .169. The Panthers had five players with double-digit kills (Madi Malone, Ari Miller, Carmen Heilemann, Kleja Cerniauskaite, and Abby Koenen), four with double-digit digs (Jess Grabowski, Sarah Schroeder, Riley Vaughn, and Malone), and three with double-digit assists: setters Vaughn and Kaley Blake, and Grabowski, who plays the libero).
The win gave the Panthers a 2-1 record for the weekend. Cincinnati also finished 2-1 but the Panthers won the head-to-head match.
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Post by Pounce Needs Pals on Sept 5, 2021 21:03:42 GMT -6
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Post by skrapheap on Sept 8, 2021 19:26:23 GMT -6
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Post by skrapheap on Sept 17, 2021 21:35:16 GMT -6
It was a good day of volleyball in Indianapolis for the Panthers today, sweeping Butler (the tournament host) and coming back from two sets down to Western Michigan to win in five sets.
Milwaukee controlled play pretty much throughout the match with Butler, getting balanced scoring and playing very efficient offense. The Panthers hit .318 as a team for the match, to .079 for the Bulldogs. Abby Koenen led all scorers with 11 kills on a .259 hitting percentage. Carmen Heilemann (.500 hitting percentage) and Ari Miller (.500) added 10 kills each. The offensive efficiency allowed the Panthers to overcome a superior defensive performance by the Bulldogs, who outdug the Panthers (61-52) and outblocked them (7-4). Milwaukee won the first two sets by 25-20 scores, before jumping out to an early 7-3 lead in set three and cruising to a 25-16 win. The Bulldogs were 5-4 entering the match to the Panthers' 4-5 record.
The afternoon contest with Western Michigan appeared to be a significant challenge going in. The Broncos had a 6-3 record going into the weekend, and had already beaten HL favorite Wright State and Indiana in pre-season play. The Broncos entered the match with a 7-4 all-time record against the Panthers, though the Panthers had had success in the more recent matches. Milwaukee played well in the opening sets, but Western Michigan started hot, winning 25-22 and 25-21 before the Panthers got going. Milwaukee hit a red-hot .356 in sets three through five to win the match. In sets three and four, the Panthers took control of play right away and hung on to win. The fifth set was more back and forth until a late surge won the match.
Ari Miller led the way offensively, with 30 kills on .520 hitting percentage; that's a career high for her and one behind the school record for a five-set match. Setter Rylie Vaughn set up many of those kills, and many for other Panthers, as she set a career high of 51 assists. The Panthers hit .308 for the match to .290 for the Broncos. Madi Malone contributed 20 kills while hitting .362. Carmen Heilemann finished with 17 kills on a .469 hitting percentage.
For the day, Miller hit .479. A decent day tomorrow would put her in contention for another Player of the Week honor.
Next up on the schedule is a noon match with #19 UCLA, who has lost one match so far this season. It will be a challenge, but the Panthers at their best, as shown today, may rise to the challenge.
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Post by skrapheap on Sept 24, 2021 17:00:47 GMT -6
Milwaukee finished the non-league season with a record of 6-6, winning six of their last nine matches after starting 0-3 in their own tournament.
They played a fairly challenging schedule, as is their wont. I think they did a pretty good job of building toward league play and learning to play as a team. They got good contributions from a mixture of returning and new players.
They are lead on offense by junior middle blocker Ari Miller (3.59 kills/set, .367 hitting percentage, and two HL Player of the Week honors in non-league play). Right behind Miller is freshman Madi Malone (3.04 kills/set, 2.54 digs/set on a .251 hitting percentage, and one Player of the Week honor in non-league play). Next is fifth year player Carmen Heilemann (2.70 kills/set on a .304 hitting percentage).
Defensively they are lead by Jess Grabowski who is averaging 4.29 digs/set. Riley Vaughn and Madi Malone are averaging about 2.5 digs/set. Miller, freshman Bri Geurts, Heilemann, Kleja Cerniauskaite, and Abby Koenen are the top defenders in terms of blocks.
The Panthers start league play this weekend on the road in Indiana, at Fort Wayne on Friday night and Indianapolis on Saturday. Neither program is off to a great start on the year.
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Post by skrapheap on Sept 24, 2021 19:42:44 GMT -6
The Panthers took tonight's match with Purdue Fort Wayne in four lopsided sets: 25-10, 16-25, 25-12, and 25-19. Milwaukee hit .295 for the match, starting off with a .417 performance in the opening set. The Mastodons hit .286 in the second set, which they won, but only .132 for the match.
Ari Miller started slowly, but wound up leading all players with 18 kills. Madi Malone and Carmen Heilemann contributed 16 and 12 kills respectively. Rylie Vaughn had 48 assists and 13 digs, and hit .500 for the match on four attacks, all surprise dumps over the net instead of setting up a hitter. Jess Grabowski led all players with 26 digs.
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Post by skrapheap on Sept 28, 2021 13:37:24 GMT -6
Following a Sunday sweep of IUPUI in Indianapolis, the Panthers are 2-0 in league play, heading into this week's schedule. Oakland, Green Bay, UIC and Cleveland State are also 2-0 thus far in league play.
Ari Miller had another excellent performance against the Jaguars (14 kills on a .379 hitting percentage, one solo block and two block assists) and was named Player of the Week in consecutive weeks. She has been a PotW in three of the five weeks in which the league has handed out the honor this season. The league did not name a pre-season player of the year, but I have to think that she is the front runner so far. The wins finished a stretch of eleven consecutive matches on the road over which Miwaukee went 8-3.
The competition this week will be a big step up, however. Wright State and Northern Kentucky were first and third in the pre-season poll, while the Panthers were fourth. WSU and NKU each played one match last weekend, against each other. The Norse traveled to Dayton to take on the Raiders, and won in five sets. NKU won the first two sets, and after WSU battled back to win sets three and four, regained the momentum to win set five. A road win against the defending champions is a significant achievement, but the Norse had won the league tournament in the previous season, knocking off the Panthers in the semi-final.
The Panthers will face the teams in consecutive nights, Thursday and Friday, as opposed to the day off between matches they enjoyed last weekend, but at least they will be the home team. Miller is leading the team in several categories, but she has had plenty of help. Madi Malone (3.09 kills/set) and Carmen Heilemen (2.77 kills/set) have been steady contributors. Abby Koenen had had strong performances of late and is now just under two kills/set. Collectively, the Pantehra are leading the league in kills, hitting percentage, and assists.
Defensively, the Panthers are lead by Jess Grabowski with 4.56 digs/set; Rylie Vaughn and Malone are averaging 2.55 digs/set. The Panthers have improved their block game in recent weeks, but they still are fairly consistently getting outblocked in match play. Fortunately, they are getting enough kills that the deficit in blocks has not been costly.
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Post by skrapheap on Sept 30, 2021 19:07:39 GMT -6
I was not sure what to expect from tonight's match. NKU has become a league volleyball power, and in their lone league match, they beat Wright State in five sets in Ohio. In contrast, the Panthers had won two league matches on the road, and entered the match having beaten NKU the last five times the teams played in Milwaukee.
Set one saw the Panthers get out to an early lead, scoring the first two points of the set, then putting together a run of five points to go up 10-5. The Norse fought back with two quick points, but the Panthers scored three quick points to force the second NKU time-out of the set. At the time, the Panthers were up 13-7 and hitting .400 to -.083 to the Norse. With both times-out expended, the Norse would have to find other ways to stop the Panthers momentum. The Panther lead reached eight at 17-9, and the Norse tried wholesale substitutions. They scored four of five points to cut the lead to 21-15, and Milwaukee took a time-out, after which the Panthers traded points to six set points at 24-18. NKU got three of those points before the Panther closed out the set with a Carmen Heilemann kill. The Panthers outhit the Norse .357 to .111. Heilemann had seven kills in the set on a .667 hitting percentage. Ari Miller and Madi Malone started more slowly, at three and two kills, respectively, but both hitting a solid percentage.
The teams traded points to begin set two to a three-all tie, and then the Norse scored consecutive points. The Norse lead alternated between one and two points until the Norse again scored consecutive points to open a 10-6 lead, and the Panthers took a time-out. The hitting percentage gap had narrowed to .244 for Milwaukee to .146 for NKU. An NKU error ended the run, and the Panthers picked up a quick point on a Malone ace. The Panthers were having a hard time stringing together points, so the lead hovered at four to five points. When the lead reached 16-10, the Panthers called their second time-out. Heilemann still lead all scorers with 10 kills, and Miler had five, but they weren't getting a lot of help from anyone else. When the Norse took a 20-13 lead, they had surpassed the Panthers in hitting, .196 to .190. The Panthers finally scored consecutive points on kills by Heilemann (12th for the match) and Miller to cut the lead to 21-16 when the Norse took their first time-out. Out of the time-out, Heilemann scored consecutive kills to cut the lead to 21-18 and the Norse took time-out number two. Heilemann got another kill (15th for the match) and it was 21-19. Heilemann was hitting .565 for the match at this point, moving the Panthers back above the Norse in hitting percentage at .214 to .159. Three consecutive Heilemann errors finally broke the string at four points and pushed the Norse to set point, and the sixth NKU ace of the night won the set. The Panthers hit .064 in set two after starting out at .357.
The start of set three saw Miller start to heat up, with consecutive kills to open a 4-1 lead (her 8th and 9th of the match). Consecutive errors by the Norse pushed the lead to 6-1 before they got their second point. Miller responded with her 10 kill of the match, followed by a kill from Malone and the first NKU time-out. When play resumed, Miller added a kill and a block and the lead was 10-2. Another Malone kill prompted the second and last NKU time-out. The Panthers were hitting .583 for the set at this point. When play resumed, the Norse got a kill and and their seventh ace, but then gave up two points on a service error and a hitting error. Bri Geurts then had a solo block and a block assist with Rylie Vaughn to push the Panther run to four point. Another error made the run five before the Norse got their fifth point of the set. The Panthers continued to pour on the offense, scoring two more points to make the lead 18-5. Another Malone kill made the lead 19-6. Heilemann's first kill in some time (17th for the match) made the lead 20-7. The set finished 25-12. Miller had eight kills in the set, and was hitting .565 for the match through three sets. Heilemann was hitting .400 with her 17 kills. The Panthers hit .469 in the set and were at .262 for the match, to .125 for the Norse.
Miller continued her rampage with a kill for the first point of the fourth set, followed by a Heilemann ace. A Malone kill and a Rylie Vaughn ace made the score 7-4 Panthers. The two aces matched the Panther output in the first three sets. Heilemann's 18th kill made the score 9-6. An NKU error made the score 10-6 and the Norse took a time-out. Heilemann had another kill out of the time-out, followed by Miller, and the Norse quickly called their second time-out. The Panther onslaught continued when play resumed, with a Norse error and then a block by Heilemann and Miller pushing the lead to 14-6. After the Norse scored consecutive points, Miller scored her 17th kill. The ninth NKU ace of the evening made the score 16-11, and the Panthers took a time-out of their own. Out of the break, the Panthers scored two quick points in a kill from setter Vaughn and a Jess Grabowski service ace. Malone's 10th kill of the night made the lead 19-12. Miller's 18th kill made the score 22-15, and the Panthers were hitting a blistering .400 for the set. The Panthers had a 23-16 when the Live Stats froze. They won the fourth set 25-17.
Heilemann led all scorers with 20 kills, followed by 19 for Miller, and 11 for Malone. In the three sets they won, the Panthers, who lead the league in hitting percentage, hit at least .357 per set. On the evening they hit .291.
The Panthers are scheduled to play Wright State tomorrow night, but the Raiders match with UIC was cancelled. It appears the problem is with the Flames, as their next scheduled match, with NKU, is also cancelled. The Raiders are 0-1 in league play thus far.
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Post by skrapheap on Oct 1, 2021 21:31:59 GMT -6
Milwaukee did not look ready to play at the start of tonight's match with Wright State; the Raiders were. The Panthers, leading the league in many offensive categories, was up against one of the best defenses in the league, and the Raiders' defense was up to the task in sets one and two. The Panthers started to play better in set two, and then won three straight sets to win the match.
The Panthers kept set one close to begin with, including a four point run to take an 8-6 lead, and then again a 9-7 lead. The Raiders came up with a four point run of their own, and never trailed the rest of the set. The WSU run started with consecutive blocks. The Raider lead reached three at 13-10, and then the Panthers scored four of the next five points to tie the score at 14-all. The Panthers could never score more than single points for the rest of the set, and Wright State won 25-20. The offensive bright spot for the Panthers in set one was Madi Malone, who had 11 kills. She did not get much help, as no one else on the Panthers had more than two kills. Carmen Heilemann, who had been the high scorer for the Panthers against Northern Kentucky last night, was a frequent victim of the Wright State block, and was hitting a negative percentage because of it.
Set two started out much the same as set one, although the Raiders got out to a lead earlier in the set, and built it steadily. The Panthers were briefly able to close on the Raiders, but were not able to take the lead, though they did tie the score at 13-all. The Raiders then scored nine of the next eleven points, and had what appeared to be a commanding 22-15 lead. Rather than fold, however, the Panther then ran off eight consecutive points to take a 23-22 lead. The Panthers had a golden opportunity to win the set, as they got to set point and could have put the ball away on a Raider over-pass. The ball was struck solidly, but landed out of bounds to tie the score at 24-all. The Panthers got to set point a second time, but again failed to put the set away with a hitting error. Wright State took the opportunity handed to them and scored three points to win set two 27-25.
Wright State again out to an early lead in set three, scoring seven of the first eleven points until the Panther offense started to get going. The Panthers gradually closed in on the Raiders, exchanging points and leads through the middle part of the set. A three point run turned a 20-19 deficit into a 22-20 lead. After WSU tied the score at 23-all, the Panthers got consecutive kills from Malone and Heilemann (from the back row, no less) to take the set. Malone continued to shine with seven kills in the set. Heilemann, Ari Miller (eight kills) and Abby Koenen (four kills) all got untracked offensively in the set.
Having gotten the offense working, the Panthers began set four with more confidence, getting out to a 7-4 lead. Panther errors contributed to a four Raider point run and the Panthers took their first timeout trailing 8-7. Malone's 24th kill (which tied her career high) tied the score at 9-all. The Raiders took a 13-10 lead and the Panthers took their second time-out. More than half the Raiders points in the set to that point were on Panther errors. The lead grew to 17-12 when the Panthers really started to put things together on offense. They outscored the Raiders 13-4 to win the set 25-22. The Raiders took their first time-out when consecutive hitting errors pulled the Panthers closer at 19-17. The Panthers retook the lead at 21-20 on a Raider error at the end of a long rally. The Raiders took their second time-out trailing 23-21. The Panthers took the set on a Malone kill.
The Panthers seized control of the fifth early. They took a 5-1 lead, including two service ace, and Wright State took a time-out. Heilemann's serve was particularly effective, gettin an ace and otherwise making it difficult for the Raiders to get organized offensively. The lead grew to 9-3, then 11-4 when WSU took their second time-out. Malone's 29th kill gave the Panthers nine match points, and a Raider hitting error finished the comeback.
Malone led all scores with her 29 kills (on a .318 hitting percentage). Miller had 20 kills and hit a team-high .383. Koenen finished with 13 kills, hitting .355, and Heilemann overcame a rough start to finish with 11 kills on an .065 hitting percentage. The Panthers hit .571 in the decisive fifth set. Wright State had 18 blocks to seven for Milwaukee, but the Panther offense overcame that deficit to outhit the Raiders .221 to .217. They outdug the Raiders 96-87 and amassed 72 assists to 52 for the Raiders.
The Panther weekend is now over, and it remains to be seen whether a Panther can snag yet another Player of the Week honor. Ari Miller is a contender, again, having 19 kills last night and 20 tonight. Madi Malone had a good weekend too, scoring 40 kills in the two matches on an overall hitting percentage of .299. Malone had yet another double-double with her 14 kills tonight. Rylie Vaughn averaged 54 assists per match and 22 digs per match against the Norse and the Raiders.
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Post by skrapheap on Oct 6, 2021 11:17:38 GMT -6
This week, Milwaukee travels to play two matches with teams toward the top of the standings.
Thursday, the Panthers face Oakland in Rochester, MI, starting at 4:00 PM Milwaukee time. The Golden Grizzlies are 3-1 in league play, having beaten Youngstown State, Robert Morris and Purdue Fort Wayne, and lost to Cleveland State. The Panthers have beaten IUPUI, Purdue Fort Wayne, Northern Kentucky and Wright State.
Friday's match is with Cleveland State in Cleveland, at 5:00 Milwaukee time. Thursday night Cleveland State hosts Green Bay (currently 2-3 in league play), so if the Panthers and Vikings both win Thursday night, Friday's match will be for first place, and the loser will be 5-1 to 6-0 for the winner. UIC is 3-0, and will be on the road at Oakland on Friday.
The Panthers continue to lead the league in kills, assists, and hitting percentage. The Panthers are hitting .250 thus far; Oakland is currently in second place at .223. Cleveland State has managed to win four league matches while hitting only .164 to date. Milwaukee also is giving up the fewest kills/set in the league at 11.89, just ahead of Green Bay. Oakland and Cleveland State are currently fifth and sixth in the league.
Thus far in league play, the Panthers have not always gotten off to the best start offensively, but once they do get going, they are a juggernaut. The match with Wright State is an example: The Panthers were beaten in the first set, played much better and almost pulled out a win in the second set, and then thoroughly dominated the third, fourth and especially the fifth set to take the match. The Panthers are dead last in opponent's blocks: opponents are averaging 2.52 blocks per set against Milwaukee, but it hasn't been enough to overcome the Panthers' offensive advantages. An opponent hitting percentage of .202, which places the Panthers at fifth in the league, has not prevented the Panthers from winning four matches.
It can be tough to win on the road in Horizon League Volleyball, but I like Milwaukee's chances.
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