Sept. 11, 2012

Marquette Invitational • Milwaukee, Wis.
Fri. Sept. 14-Sat. Sept. 15
Al McGuire Center

Fri. Sept. 14 • 4:30 p.m. CST • vs. Iowa (7-3)
Hawkeyes beat Valpo, nearly upset nationally-ranked Iowa St.
Sat. Sept. 15 • 11 a.m. CST • vs. Pacific (8-1)
Only loss came to #8 Stanford; swept Loyola
Sat. Sept. 15 • 7 p.m. CST • Marquette (7-2)
Beat ranked Michigan; lost in five to ranked UNI

Printable Weekly Notebook

Panther Points
• The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball team wraps up its schedule of in-season tournaments by making the short trip across town for the Marquette Invitational.

• The Panthers went 1-2 this past weekend at the InnTowner Invitational in Madison, beating Drake while falling to North Dakota State and Wisconsin. The match with the Bison went five sets, with UWM nearly overcoming a two-set deficit. Against Wisconsin, the Panthers had great opportunities to win sets two and three but could not pull it out.

• Julie Kolinske earned a spot on the all-tournament team this past weekend. The sophomore averaged 4.45 kills per set and 3.27 digs per frame in leading the Panthers.

• The Panthers have been picked to win the Horizon League championship again this year. UWM is looking for its third-straight regular season crown and its ninth in the last 10 years. In all, Milwaukee returns four starters and seven letterwinners but will feature a roster with 10 freshmen and sophomores.

• The Week Ahead
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball team wraps up its schedule of in-season tournaments by making the short trip across town for the Marquette Invitational.

• Scouting Notebook
Milwaukee will be playing Marquette twice this season, returning to the Klotsche Center for a matchup with the Golden Eagles in late October ... Marquette has beaten UWM four-straight times, with the Panthers' last win coming in 2007 ... the Panthers and Hawkeyes last met in 2005, with Iowa claiming 3-2 win in Iowa City ... the Hawkeyes will be the second Big Ten team the Panthers are facing this season, with UWM having fallen to Wisconsin last weekend ... Milwaukee has never faced Pacific ... this is the last of four in-season tournaments this season for Milwaukee. UWM has a total of four in-season tourney titles under Johnson.

• Looking Back
Milwaukee went 1-2 at the InnTowner Invitational in Madison this past weekend. The Panthers claimed a three-set win over Drake but drop hard-fought contests to North Dakota State and Wisconsin. In the match with the Bison, UWM rallied from a two-set deficit before falling, 16-14, in the fifth set. Against the Bulldogs, Milwaukee was in control from start to finish in recording its third 3-set sweep of the season. Then against the Badgers, UWM had a set-point chance in the second frame and had things tied at 23-apiece in the third set before falling.

• Just Being Julie
Sophomore Julie Kolinske came on strong at the end of last season and has picked up where she left off so far this year. Kolinske is leading the team in kills, averaging 3.97 kills per set, while she stands second on the team in digs with 3.45 per frame. This past weekend in Madison, she earned a spot on the all-tournament team by averaging 4.45 kills and 3.27 digs. She had a double-double in each contest this weekend and now has nine this season. She also has collected 20 or more kills in a match twice this season.

• Plenty Of Offense
The Panthers have been piling up some big offensive numbers early in the season. UWM is second in the league in both kills and assists, with setter Kayla Price topping the league chart in assists while Milwaukee has three players in the top 10 for kills (Julie Kolinske - 2nd; Rachel Neuberger - 5th; Elizabeth Egerer - 9th). Plus, Neuberger leads the league in hitting percentage. Kolinske, meanwhile, is also in the top 10 in the league in digs, making her the only player in the league to be in the top 10 for both kills and digs.

• The New Faces Coming Through
UWM has four true freshmen on its roster and each one of them continues to see playing time. Nicole Latzig and Maisey Mulvey have played in every match this season, with Latzig leading the team in blocks (0.87) while Mulvey is third on the team in digs (3.00). Maggie Dunbar has also played in all but two matches this season, averaging better than two kills per set. Plus, Sammi Herron has been in and out of the rotation this season but did post a 17-dig effort against Western Michigan two weeks ago.

• Starting On The Court
UWM's starting lineup and rotation over the first three weekends of the season has featured plenty of youngsters. The starting seven on opening night included two freshmen and two sophomores, with Maggie Dunbar, Nicole Latzig, Kayla Price and Julie Kolinske all earning opening nods. Then, the rest of the rotation included freshman Maisey Mulvey and sophomore Taylor Golabowski. Plus, sophomores Amber Simonton, Hannah Blanchard and Arianna Wiersma along with freshman Sammi Herron have all made appearances over the first three weekends

• A Summary Of The 2012 Squad
UWM returns four starters and seven letterwinners while adding a talented group of newcomers in 2012. Honorable mention All-American Rachel Neuberger heads the list of returnees. She was also an All-Horizon League performer last season after being named the region freshman of the year in 2010. Elizabeth Egerer also returns for Milwaukee. The senior was an All-Horizon League performer last season before claiming league tournament most valuable player honors. Setter Kayla Price is also back. The sophomore was the AVCA Midwest Region Freshman of the Year and Horizon League Newcomer of the Year.

• Seniors Leading A Young Squad
Elizabeth Egerer and Anna Bartz make up this year's two-person senior class, small compared to the six-person group the Panthers boasted a season ago. The duo actually tops a very young roster that has just one junior, meaning 10 of this year's 13 Panthers are freshmen or sophomores. Egerer and Bartz have combined to appear in 151 matches so far in Panther uniforms, with Egerer here the last two seasons after transferring from Michigan State while Bartz has spent the last three seasons in Milwaukee.

• League Picks
UWM has been picked to repeat as champions of the Horizon League in a preseason poll of the league's coaches. The Panthers claimed seven first-place votes and 49 points in beating out Cleveland State for the top spot. The expectations are nothing new for Milwaukee, which will be seeking its third-straight regular season league crown and its ninth in the last 10 seasons.

• And The New League Honors
Three Panthers who earned recognition from the Horizon League following last season are on this year's preseason all-league team. Senior Elizabeth Egerer, junior Rachel Neuberger and sophomore Kayla Price were all named to the seven-person squad. Neuberger was an all-league performer and honorable mention All-American following last season, when she led the league in hitting percentage and total blocks. Egerer was the league tournament MVP in leading Milwaukee to the title. She finished fourth in the league in kills, hitting double digits in the category 19 times. Price was the League Newcomer of the Year and Midwest Region Freshman of the Year a season ago, topping the league charts in assists per set. Milwaukee was the only school with non-seniors on the list.

• Classroom Excellence
Rachel Neuberger was named to the Capital One Academic All-District volleyball team and the league's all-academic squad. The sophomore has a 3.86 grade-point average and is a regular on the UWM Dean's List and Horizon League Honor Roll. This marks the seventh time in the last nine years a UWM player has earned academic all-region honors.

• Winning ... Winning ... Winning
The 2011 season added to an incredible legacy of success for Panther volleyball. UWM finished with 25 wins, marking the 14th 20-win season in the last 16 years. In league play, Milwaukee has won at least 10 league matches for 15-straight seasons and, in addition to this year's unbeaten run, has gone through the league slate with just one loss eight times. In fact, since the league expanded to a 16-match schedule in 2007, UWM has had a 16-win season, a pair of 15-win seasons and two seasons of 13 wins. UWM is 187-25 in league matches over the last 15 seasons. This marked the first time since 1994 a team went through the league season unbeaten. Now, the Panthers begin the 2012 season having won 25-straight and 39 of its last 40 regular season league contests. Milwaukee has won 17-straight league road matches.