UNI Outlasts Valpo in Five Sets

Saturday, October 21

Cedar Falls, Iowa

7 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

20-5, 10-1MVC

Valparaiso (Purple Pride Game)

12-11, 4-6MVC

Valparaiso

UNI

UNI Outlasts Valpo in Five Sets

10/21/2017 10:12:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score UNI-valpo-boxscore-2017-2

Box Score (PDF)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa volleyball team fought off a match point against the Valparaiso Crusaders and scored its 20th win of the season with a 3-2 triumph in the McLeod Center.

UNI won by set scores of 25-21, 23-25, 22-25, 29-27, 15-9.

The win gives UNI its 35th 20-win season in program history. The Panthers moved to 20-5 overall and 10-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play. Valpo fell to 12-11 overall and 4-6 in league play.

Junior Piper Thomas recorded a match-high 22 kills for the Panthers. Thomas has posted 45 kills in two matches against Valpo this season.

Sophomore Karlie Taylor set a career-high with six blocks, including five solo stuffs against the Crusaders. Taylor posted her 18th straight double-figure kill match with 19 kills and her eighth consecutive double-double with 14 digs.

Valparaiso looked to be in control of the match in the fourth set as the Crusaders opened up a 15-11 lead. After the Panthers rallied to tie the set at 20-20, the Crusaders scored back-to-back points to take a 22-20 advantage. A block of a Taylor attack by Jaclyn Bulmahn and Sydney Bronner gave Valpo a match point at 25-24.

Taylor and Moriah Johnson then rose to the occasion and secured a block on Valpo's Katherine Carlson to square the set at 25-25. UNI would not trail the rest of the set and eventually closed out the fourth set, 29-27.

The Panthers did not trail in the fifth set in jumping out to a 6-2 lead. Valpo could only close the margin to three points and the Panthers posted a 15-9 fifth-set win.

NOTES: UNI secured a season-high 13 blocks … the Panthers won the opening set for the 19^th time this season and moved to 18-1 when winning the first set … UNI is 3-2 in five-set matches this season … UNI improved to 8-0 all-time against Valpo.