UWM Panthers Volleyball Season In Review - Panthers Post Another Impressive Campaign
UWM wins 20 matches, league regular season title
(Printable Season In Review attached)
Milwaukee (20-9 Overall; 15-1 Horizon League)
Panther Points
• The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball team won its 11th Horizon League regular season title.
• The Panthers posted a 20-9 overall record - their 12th 20-win season in the last 14 years - while also going 15-1 in league play.
• Milwaukee saw an 11-match winning streak snapped in the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament, which was played at the Klotsche Center.
• Kerri Schuh led the list of league postseason honorees, claiming Horizon League Player of the Year honors. Schuh was joined on the All-Horizon League team by Jena Berg and Natalie Schmitting. Meanwhile, Rachel Neuberger was named the Horizon League Newcomer of the Year and was joined on the all-newcomer team by Elizabeth Egerer. Plus, Susie Johnson was named the League Coach of the Year for the third time in four years.
• Schuh was named an AVCA All-Midwest Region and Honorable Mention All-American performer, while Rachel Neuberger was the AVCA Midwest Region Freshman of the Year.
• Milwaukee wound up 14th nationally in blocks and 27th nationally in digs. Individually, Natalie Schmitting was 57th in blocks while Rachel Neuberger was 97th. Morgan Potter was 78th in digs.
--------------------------------------------------------------
• Summing Up The 2010 Campaign
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball team put together a strong 2010 season, capturing the Horizon League regular season title while winning 20 matches.
• Champions Again!
The Panthers earned the right to host the 2010 Horizon League Tournament by winning the league regular season title. Milwaukee actually clinched the title on the second-to-last weekend of the regular season, claiming a four-set win at Butler to avenge its only league loss of the regular season. The championship was the 11th regular season crown for Milwaukee, which has now won either the regular season or tournament title for 14-straight years. UWM has also won seven of the last eight league regular season titles.
• Winning ... Winning ... Winning
This season has added to an incredible legacy of success for Panther volleyball. UWM won 20 matches, the 12th 20-win season in the last 14 years. In league play, Milwaukee has won at least 10 league matches for 14-straight seasons and has gone through the league slate with just one loss eight times. Since the league expanded to a schedule of 16 league contests in 2007, UWM has had a pair of 15-win seasons and two seasons of 13 wins. UWM is 171-25 in league matches over the last 14 seasons. Milwaukee did see a 17-match winning streak against Horizon League foes snapped in the loss to Butler Oct. 10, but the Panthers have still won 26 of their last 28 matches against league foes.
• The Start Of Something Special
Milwaukee made it clear from the start of the league it was ready to win another league crown. In fact, the Panthers won their first six league contests, the best start in league play under Susie Johnson. The Panthers have now actually started at least 3-0 in league play eight times in the last 14 seasons, and each time Milwaukee has gone on to win the regular season title. UWM's best-ever league start came in 2003, when the Panthers won their first 11 league contests.
• Streaking
The Panthers had an 11-match winning streak snapped in its league tournament semifinal loss to Valparaiso. In fact, after starting season 3-7, UWM won 17 of its last 19 outings. Milwaukee has now had a winning streak of at least seven matches for 14-straight seasons. Under Susie Johnson, the Panthers have two 11-match winning streaks in addition to streaks of 14 and 12-straight wins.
• Always Happy To Be Home
The Panthers have no complaints about playing on their homecourt. UWM went 10-4 overall and 7-1 in league play at home this season. The loss to Butler Oct. 10 was just the second regular season league home loss for the Panthers in their last 52 matches. At one point, UWM had a 37-match home regular season league winning streak and the Panthers have lost just seven regular season league home contests since 1997. Under Susie Johnson, UWM is 31-4 against league teams and 41-11 at home overall.
• League Awards
The Panthers were well-represented when the Horizon League announced their postseason awards following the conclusion of the regular season. Junior Kerri Schuh collected league player of the year honors, while freshman Rachel Neuberger was the league newcomer of the year. And, Susie Johnson was named coach of the year for the third time in her four years as head coach. In addition, seniors Jena Berg and Natalie Schmitting joined Schuh on the all-league team, while sophomore transfer Elizabeth Egerer claimed a spot alongside Neuberger on the all-newcomer team.
• And Regional Honors, Too
A pair of Panthers earned even further recognition when the American Volleyball Coaches Association announced its regional awards. Kerri Schuh was named to the All-Midwest Region team, while Rachel Neuberger was named the region's freshman of the year. This is the 14th time the Panthers have landed a player on the AVCA All-Region squad, while four other times Milwaukee has had an honorable mention honoree. Neuberger is the second-ever Panther to claim region freshman of the year honors, joining current assistant coach Lindsey (Spoden) Vanden Berg.
• And Then For The Nation
Junior Kerri Schuh added another piece of hardware to her personal collection when she was named an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American. This is the sixth time a Panther player has earned AVCA All-America honors. Next season, Schuh will have the chance to join Leanne Felsing as the only two-time All-America honoree in UWM's Division I history.
• Senior Salute
The Panthers had four valuable seniors on their 2010 roster. Natalie Schmitting started every match of her four-year career, becoming UWM's all-time blocks leader and the first-ever Panther to collect more than 500 blocks. She also finished her career with over 1,000 kills. Jena Berg has played the last two seasons in Milwaukee, putting together a strong overall stat line of over 500 kills, 700 digs, 800 assists and 100 blocks this season. She was a two-time All-Horizon League performer. Lauren Hintze was a regular for the Panthers in the back row, collecting 732 digs in her career. Maddie Sueppel was sidelined by injury nearly all of this past season but still had over 800 kills and 300 blocks in her career.
• Defense Steals The Show
UWM has always leaned on its defense as the foundation for success and this past season the Panthers blocked their way to victory. Milwaukee led the Horizon League in blocks, with Natalie Schmitting (1st), Rachel Neuberger (4th) and Kerri Schuh (5th) all in the top 10 individually in the category for all matches. In league-only contests, UWM averaged nearly three blocks per set while Neuberger and Schmitting held down the top two spots. As a team, UWM reached double figures in blocks 18 times and ranked 14th in the nation in blocks per set. The Panthers also finished third in the league and 27th in the nation in digs per frame. Individually, Schmitting and Neuberger ranked in the top 100 in blocks (Schmitting 57th and Neuberger 97th) while Morgan Potter was 78th in digs.
• Emptying The Notebook
UWM finished 59th in the final NCAA RPI and played 11 non-league matches against teams in the top 100 ... Milwaukee went 5-6 in those contests, with its best wins coming over #23 Tulsa and #58 Saint Louis ... if you then included #101 Valparaiso and #102 Cleveland State, Milwaukee went 9-7 against the top 102 teams in the country ... the Panthers played five sets eight times this season and have played 26 five-set matches over the last three seasons ... Milwaukee had 11 players start at least one match ... UWM was 5-3 in five-setters this season and the Panthers are 22-12 all-time in five-set matches under Susie Johnson ... the Panthers played 27 sets decided by two points, with UWM 14-13 in those sets ... Morgan Potter had 39 digs vs. Green Bay Oct. 15, the third-most in school history ... she was named league defensive player of the week three times ... the libero finished with 514 digs this season, sixth-most in a single season in school history ... Melissa Jansen became a key cog in the Panthers' rotation, collecting 78 kills in her last 11 outings after tallying just 19 in the first half of the season ... Elizabeth Egerer had seven or more kills in each of the final 15 matches, including nine double-figure outings ... she led the Panthers in kills during league matches ... Rachel Neuberger's 110 blocks are the third-most for a Panther freshman in school history ... her .269 hitting clip also ranks fourth on the freshman list ... UWM is 113-17 in October matches over the last 13-plus seasons ... the Panthers have gone 29-9 in their last 38 regular season league road matches and went 8-0 in away league matches this season ... Milwaukee recorded four league road sweeps, the most since 2006.