Milwaukee to face Iowa State in NCAA Volleyball Tournament

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball team will face Iowa State in a first round NCAA Tournament match.

The contest will take place Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET in Ames, Iowa. The Cyclones (22-5) are the fourth-seed nationally. Northern Illinois (28-6) and Miami (25-4) are the other two teams at the regional. The winners of Friday's matches meet at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday.

UWM and Iowa State have met regularly in recent seasons. In 2008, Milwaukee claimed a five-set win over the Cyclones in the Klotsche Center, while the Panthers lost twice at Iowa State in 2009 and once in 2010.

"We've played them a lot in the last four years so we're familiar with the team," head coach Susie Johnson said. "They are a strong team and they're hosting, but we've been there before so we have a familiarity with them and we're excited about the opportunity."

The Panthers (25-4) are making their ninth NCAA Tournament appearance after winning both the Horizon League regular season and tournament titles. UWM also carries a school-record 18-match winning streak into postseason play.

"Having, overall, just four losses on the whole season - it's quite something in and of itself," Johnson said. "To be in the top 64 in the country is a great feat."

The Panthers are led by Horizon League Player of the Year Kerri Schuh, League Newcomer of the Year Kayla Price and League Tournament Most Valuable Player Elizabeth Egerer. Rachel Neuberger and Morgan Potter joined Schuh and Egerer on the all-league team, while Julie Kolinske joined Egerer and Price on the all-tournament squad.

Milwaukee finished the league season unbeaten, becoming the first team to do so since Notre Dame in 1994. UWM has won 25-straight regular season league matches and 17-straight league road matches.

The Panthers won their second-straight Horizon League regular season title this season and have now won the regular season title four times in five seasons under Susie Johnson and 12 times overall.

A Horizon League team has never won an NCAA Tournament match but the Panthers have come the closest to doing so. In their last appearance in 2009, UWM fell in five sets to Dayton. UWM also has had four-set losses to Michigan State, Illinois and Northern Iowa in its NCAA Tournament history.

(Release courtesy of Kevin O’Connor, Milwaukee Athletics)