Thanks to the recent work of coach Kathy Litzau and the Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panther volleyball team, the city of Milwaukee is becoming almost as well known for blocks and digs as it is for beer and bratwurst. This weekend, coach Sharon Dingman and Illinois State visit a place familiar to both coach and program.
When Dingman was at Butler in the late 1990s, her Bulldogs and Litzaus Panthers battled for supremacy in the Horizon League. Since she arrived in Normal, the Birds are 1-1 against the Panthers, with ISU dropping a three-game match in 2000 at the Klotsche Center and the Birds taking a five-game set in the 2001 Barker GMC Classic.
Kathy has done a terrific job in Milwaukee, said Dingman, whose team faces 10 non-conference opponents this season who have been to the NCAA Tournament at least once in 2001 or 2002. Five straight NCAA Tournament bids speaks for itself. They are solid at every position and will be another challenging opponent for us.
Illinois State, 3-4, meets 7-0 UWM in its home opener, one of six matches played as part of the Panther Invitational. The Redbirds and Panthers play at 7 p.m. Friday at the Klotsche Center, where the Panthers are 65-5 in their last 70 home matches. Also in the tournament are Sacramento State--trying to extend a streak of two straight NCAA Tournament bids--and Eastern Illinois. The Birds play Sac State at 11 a.m. Saturday and Eastern Illinois at 4:30 p.m. the same day.
The Sacramento State Hornets, 3-4, are coached by 28-year veteran Debby Colberg, who is just two wins away from 700 in her career--all in Sacramento. The EIU Panthers, 3-4, are led by former Central Illinois prep star Erica Gerth of El Paso. She tops the Panthers in kills, digs and aces.
Dingman has shuffled her lineup, creating a starting opportunity for freshman outside hitter Savannah Knowles. Putting Knowles opposite kill leader Laura Doornbos on the left side moves senior Staci Boyce to the middle--where she started as a sophomore--and returns junior Amber Rogers from the middle back to a right-side spot.
Meeting tough teams in the three weekends before Missouri Valley Conference play begins (Sept. 19 at Bradley) doesnt intimidate Knowles.
The schedules, the kind of non-conference teams we play, are one of the reasons I wanted to come to Illinois State, said Knowles. The challenge of playing those teams helps us get ready for the Missouri Valley Conference. I like our schedule.
Dingman likes seeing different kinds of teams.
Milwaukee and Sacramento State are teams a lot like us: athletic, said Dingman. Teams like Nebraska and Illinois and Colorado were bigger teams. When you start in the Valley with Bradley, Northern Iowa, SMS and Wichita State, it helps to have seen different types of teams.
The Valley season opens at 7 p.m. Sept. 19 at Bradley, with a nationally-televised match on College Sports TV at 6 p.m. Sunday at Northern Iowa. The Panthers are ranked No. 6 in the nation and have won five straight Valley regular-season titles.
