MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Head coach Susie Johnson announced the complete schedule for the upcoming 2021 Milwaukee volleyball season on Wednesday morning. The Panthers will host 11 matches, opening the year with the Panther Invitational at the Klotsche Center.
 
After playing just 14 matches a season ago, Milwaukee returns to a full schedule with 11 non-conference contests followed by 18 Horizon League matchups.
 
"I believe our team for this season is in a great position to be competitors," Johnson commented. "This scheduled shows we have the confidence to go in and play a very tough preseason. We have the talent on this team and believe in our ability to compete.
 
At their home invite, the Panthers welcome Illinois and UC Santa Barbara on August 27-28. The Illini won five of their final six matches of last year while the Gauchos last competed in 2019 and pushed No. 2 Texas to five sets in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
The following weekend, Milwaukee heads to Notre Dame for another packed tournament. In addition to taking on the home Irish, the Panthers will face Cincinnati and Bowling Green, who finished 22-2 this past season.
 
The tough non-conference schedule continues September 10-11 at South Dakota where Milwaukee faces three opponents who combined for four conference tournament victories a season ago. The Panthers take on the Coyotes as well as Bradley and Central Arkansas.
 
Another NCAA Tournament team awaits the Panthers on September 17-18 as Milwaukee faces UCLA at the Butler Tournament. MKE will also face Butler and Western Michigan in Indianapolis.
 
"We want use this tough preseason to prepare for Horizon League because it is the best it's ever been," Johnson continued. "It has extremely strong teams from top to bottom, so we believe this preseason is going to prepare us for success in league play."
 
On September 24, the Panthers dive into the Horizon League schedule at Purdue Fort Wayne. Two days later, Milwaukee takes on IUPUI before returning to the Klotsche Center to battle Northern Kentucky and defending league champion Wright State on September 30 and October 1, respectively.
 
Following road contests at Oakland and Cleveland State, Milwaukee hosts five straight on its home court beginning with UIC on October 12.
 
The Panthers return to the road on October 25 to square up with Green Bay and follow with road matchups at Northern Kentucky and Wright State later that week.
 
Cleveland State and Oakland visit the first week of November before Milwaukee wraps up the regular season on the road at Robert Morris (Nov. 11) and Youngstown State (Nov. 14).
 
The Horizon League Tournament is scheduled to take place from November 19-21.
 
Additional details including game times and live coverage links will be released at a later date. Follow along with the Panthers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as well as the web at MKEPanthers.com.