Milwaukee City Wire

The Milwaukee Panthers women's volleyball team is set to open its 2025 home season by hosting the 24th Panther Invitational at the Klotsche Center. The tournament will feature matchups against Iowa State on Friday, Central Michigan on Saturday, and South Alabama on Sunday.

All three of Milwaukee’s matches will be streamed live on ESPN+, with play-by-play coverage from Matt Menzl. Live statistics will be available for all six tournament matches, and neutral-site contests can be viewed via the Milwaukee Panthers YouTube page. Links to video streams and stats are provided on the team's schedule page.

This year marks the second consecutive season—and only the third time since 2019—that Milwaukee has hosted the Panther Invitational. The team last faced Iowa State in 2015; their previous meeting at Klotsche Center was in 2008, when Milwaukee won in five sets. Central Michigan and Milwaukee have not met since 2010, while Sunday's contest against South Alabama will be their first-ever matchup.

Iowa State enters the weekend after a strong start to its season, winning both games at the Bobcat Invite in Athens, Ohio. Maya Duckworth, named to the Big 12 Volleyball Preseason team, contributed 11 kills across those games. Middle blocker Pam McCune leads Iowa State with 20 kills so far this year.

Central Michigan is led by new head coach Arielle Wilson and was picked third in this year's MAC Preseason poll. Freshman Taylor Cripe recorded 35 kills over three matches during a recent tournament hosted by BYU.

South Alabama was selected third in the Sun Belt Conference's West Division preseason poll. Anna Loberg received recognition as Preseason Setter of the Year and joined Sarah Gooch on the All-Sun Belt Team. Loberg had 36 assists through two opening losses against Baylor and LSU.

Milwaukee freshman Josie Noble shares a connection with South Alabama’s Cambria Gaier; both played high school volleyball at Caledonia High School in Michigan.

Following this weekend’s invitational, Milwaukee faces a challenging stretch before Horizon League play begins—including a match against Wisconsin on September 9 and participation in Marquette’s four-team tournament later that week.

Senior Natalie Schmitz approaches a milestone with just six more kills needed to reach 1,000 career kills—a feat last accomplished by Madi Malone during her junior season in 2023. Josie Johnson also enters this season ranked among Milwaukee's top ten all-time for career assists.

Kara Erdmann returns after being named Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year for her senior campaign. She posted program records for digs last season and earned First Team All-League honors alongside Schmitz, who also made Second Team All-League.

Freshman Milica Tomic made an immediate impact last year as an All-Freshman selection—the first Panther honored since Schmitz in 2022—with significant contributions as setter and server.

Three transfer players join Milwaukee: Hailey Hutchings (Grand Canyon University), Carol Herrero (Iowa Western), and Annie Eschenbach (McHenry County College/Xavier University). Five true freshmen round out this year’s roster: Sam Vanda (Illinois), Julia Kellner (Wisconsin), Braylin Bosetski (Wisconsin), Ella Schuetz (Wisconsin), and Josie Noble (Michigan).

Head coach Susie Johnson is nearing another career achievement with four wins needed to reach 200 Horizon League victories after reaching her overall milestone of 300 coaching wins last year. Raina Terry joins Johnson’s staff for her first season as assistant coach following a standout playing career at Illinois and professional experience with Major League Volleyball’s Columbus Fury.

The Panthers’ non-conference schedule includes meetings with teams recognized by the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll—Preseason No. 8 Wisconsin on September 9, Marquette on September 14 (receiving votes), and No.13 Arizona State later that month.

Looking ahead, Northern Illinois will join the Horizon League next season as its twelfth full-time member. The Huskies lead their historical series with Milwaukee but have dropped three of their past four encounters.