Panthers Hope Solid Spring Sets Stage For Stellar Fall
April 24, 2008
MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball team hopes a solid spring of growth and improvement will turn into another championship campaign come the fall. The Panthers, who have won the last five Horizon League regular season titles, wrapped up their spring season with a good showing at the College Invitational in suburban Chicago this past weekend. At the event, UWM captured wins over DePaul and Marshall while pushing tournament runner-up Saint Louis, UCONN of the Big East and Iowa of the Big Ten to three games in the best-of-three format before falling. Earlier in the spring, the Panthers also found success. At UIC April 5, UWM beat Loyola and Green Bay while splitting with UIC and Northwestern. Then, April 12 at the Klotsche Center, the Panthers beat Green Bay and a strong UWM alumni squad. More than anything, though, head coach Susie Johnson was looking for progress from her players, who will be part of one of the youngest teams in the country next season. In fact, when fall practice opens August 11, the Panthers will have 12 freshmen or sophomores on their 16-player roster. And one of the juniors - Tennessee transfer Jenna Berg - will be sitting out after not receiving a release from UT. Johnson thinks plenty was accomplished this spring. "What we focused on most was simply getting better," Johnson said. "I wanted each individual to get better and that will allow the team to get better. I thought we definitely accomplished that. In fact, this was one of our better springs as far as people getting better." While the Panthers will be counting on a number of youngsters in 2008, there is still plenty of support from an experience core of players. Becky Peters is the lone senior on the roster, while juniors Lauren Felsing and Kellye Zaporski should also be back in the starting lineup. Plus, middle hitters Natalie Schmitting and Maddie Sueppel - both just sophomores - started all of last season. Schmitting even earned All-Horizon League honors while both players made the league's all-newcomer team.
That group, Johnson says, has definitely made a commitment to continuing the success of Milwaukee volleyball. "We have excellent team chemistry and the team is very excited to get started again this fall," Johnson said. "I think we got stronger during the off-season with our work in the weight room and all of our players are in great shape. I am impressed by the commitment they have made to getting better. All of that can only help us." A quick glance at the makeup of the Panthers' roster shows defense should again top the list of strengths. Felsing was stellar at libero all of last season while Peters made the shift from libero to outside hitter, still providing an incredibly high level of defense. Defense, especially in the back row, should help keep UWM competitive against the best teams in the nation. "It just seems like the position of libero was created for someone like Lauren Felsing," Johnson said. "She works hard on every single play whether it is in practice, in a spring match or in the fall. And, she keeps our team in every point of every game of every match because of how hard she works. No matter what they throw at her, she keeps digging and passing and really keeps us alive." But, with a lengthy roster and a number of fresh faces, many of the lineup decisions - along with true strengths and weaknesses - are still to be determined. That process will begin in earnest in early August. "It should be an extremely competitive preseason," Johnson said. "With 16 players, we will have a lot of competition. We are deep in every position and I believe a naturally competitive atmosphere helps step up the level of play. There should be excellent competition for all three weeks leading up to the start of the season, and then you'll usually see the top players rise up. But, because of our depth, that competition will continue into the season and a lot of different players will certainly have an opportunity to contribute." UWM's full schedule has not yet been announced, but the Panthers already know there will be plenty of tests. In fact, the season opens Aug. 29-30 with the annual Panther Invitational. The field includes Iowa State, Ole Miss and Illinois State - three teams that all made the NCAA Tournament a season ago. |
