Sept. 25, 2012

Fri. Sept. 28 • 7 p.m. CST • vs. Green Bay (8-6, 1-1)
Klotsche Center • Milwaukee, Wis.
Phoenix split first two league matches this past weekend; has won five of last six contests overall

Printable Weekly Notebook

Panther Points
• The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball team wraps up a three-match homestand by welcoming Green Bay to the Klotsche Center for a Friday night contest.

• The Panthers split two league matches this past weekend. Friday night UWM recovered from dropping the first set to beat Youngstown State in four sets. Then Saturday, Cleveland State started hot and only got strong en route to a three-set sweep of the Panthers.

• Saturday's loss snapped Milwaukee's 26-match Horizon League regular season winning streak. UWM has still won 40 of its last 42 regular season league contests.

• UWM continues to battle through injuries problems this season. All-league setter Kayla Price is out for the year with a hand injury while Taylor Golabowski continues to be sidelined by a hand injury.

• Sophomore Hannah Blanchard made her first two starts at setter over the weekend and averaged 11.43 assists per set.

• 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.

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• The Week Ahead
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball team wraps up a three-match homestand by welcoming Green Bay to the Klotsche Center for a Friday night contest.

• Scouting Notebook
Green Bay is off to an 8-6 start overall and split its first two league matches of the year ... the Phoenix has won five of its last six contests overall ... Green Bay has four players averaging 2.47 kills per set or more, while as a team the Phoenix is hitting .204 ... UWM has won eight in a row in the series ... the Panthers have also won 17 of the last 18 meetings ... Green Bay's last win in Milwaukee came in 2002.

• Looking Back
Milwaukee split its two matches this past weekend, coming from behind to beat Youngstown State before falling to Cleveland State. Friday against the Penguins, UWM dropped the first set but put it all together over the next three frames en route to a convincing win. The Panthers hit a season-high .305 for the match and placed four players in double figures in kills. Saturday, the Vikings started hot and never let up in recording a three-set sweep of the Panthers. The loss was Milwaukee's first in a regular season league match since October of 2010 and Cleveland State's first win over the Panthers in Milwaukee since 1992.

• Streak Snapper
UWM's lengthy and impressive Horizon League winning streak is over, but the Panthers still boast a long list of impressive winning numbers. The loss to Cleveland State Saturday snapped a 26-match regular season league winning streak but UWM has still won 40 of its last 42 regular season league contests. Milwaukee has also won 17-straight league road matches, a streak that will be put on the line next weekend in Chicago. Plus, in league play, Milwaukee has won at least 10 league matches for 15-straight seasons and, in addition to last year's unbeaten run, has gone through the league slate with just one loss eight times. UWM is 188-26 in league matches over the last 15-plus seasons.

• The Injury Bug
Milwaukee currently finds itself without two key performers as league play gets underway. All-league setter Kayla Price suffered a hand injury midway through the match at Marquette Sept. 15 and is now done for the season following surgery. Meanwhile, back row specialist Taylor Golabowski injured her hand during practice the second week of the regular season and has been sidelined while recovering.

• Setting Up Success
An injury also means an opportunity for someone else to step forward and sophomore Hannah Blanchard plans on doing just that. Blanchard made her first two collegiate starts at setter this past weekend, averaging 11.43 assists per set. The Panthers hit a very solid .261 in the two contests, including a .305 hitting clip Friday against Youngstown State as four players reached double figures in kills. Blanchard was an all-around performer at Muskego High School and actually had 394 assists as a senior.

• Just Being Julie
Julie Kolinske continues to be a standout for the Panthers during the early season. The sophomore is leading the team in kills, averaging 4.05 kills per set, while she stands second on the team in digs with 3.36 per frame. This past weekend was highlighted by a 19-kill, 16-dig effort against Youngstown State. She has had a double-double in seven of her last eight matches and now has 13 this season. She also has collected 20 or more kills in a match three times this year.

• Nice Numbers In The Back
Senior Anna Bartz is piling up some big numbers as UWM's libero this season. She tallied a collegiate-high 29 digs in a five-set loss to Iowa two weeks ago and then had 26 more in a win over Youngstown State Friday. On the year, she is leading the team with 4.29 digs per set. She has 810 career digs - keeping her on pace to pass 1,000 for her career - while she has also reached double-figures in digs 37 times in her career.

• 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 sitting second on the team in blocks (0.83) while Mulvey is third on the team in digs (2.84). Maggie Dunbar has also played in 10 of 15 matches this season, averaging just under two kills per set. Plus, Sammi Herron has been in and out of the rotation this season and has three double-figure kill outings as well as a 17-dig effort against Western Michigan. Herron was a part of the regular rotation in both league matches this past weekend.

• Starting On The Court
UWM's starting lineup and rotation continues to feature plenty of youngsters. The typical starting seven and sub rotation has included six freshmen and sophomores, including Nicole Latzig, Kayla Price or Hannah Blanchard and Julie Kolinske all earning regular opening nods. The rest of the rotation has typically included freshman Maisey Mulvey, sophomore Arianna Wiersma, and either freshman Sammi Herron or freshman Maggie Dunbar.

• 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 161 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 league following last season are on the preseason all-league team. Senior Elizabeth Egerer, junior Rachel Neuberger and sophomore Kayla Price were named to the seven-person squad. Neuberger was an all-league performer and honorable mention All-American a year ago, when she led the league in hitting percentage and total blocks. Egerer was the league tournament MVP in leading Milwaukee to the title. Price was the League Newcomer of the Year and Midwest Region Freshman of the Year a season ago. Milwaukee was the only school with non-seniors on the list.

• A Little More On The Non-League
UWM has faced plenty of tests during the non-league portion of its schedule, and still has another awaiting Oct. 30 when it again faces crosstown-rival Marquette. Four of UWM's losses came to teams in BCS leagues, with those four teams a combined 40-17, while Pacific (11-2) and Western Michigan (8-6) also knocked off the Panthers during non-league play. UWM also owns wins over Fairfield (7-7), William & Mary (9-5) and SEMO (9-6). Plus, four of the Panthers' losses came in five sets, with the only three-set sweeps they suffered coming at Duke and Wisconsin.