UNI Volleyball Set for Three Match Homestand

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This week's action

Friday, Oct. 5 – Cedar Falls, Iowa (McLeod Center)
UNI (RV) vs. Illinois State, 7 p.m. | ESPN+ | AUDIO | STATS

Saturday, Oct. 6 – Cedar Falls, Iowa (McLeod Center)
UNI (RV) vs. Bradley, 7 p.m. | ESPN 3 | AUDIO | STATS

Monday, Oct. 8 – Cedar Falls, Iowa (McLeod Center)
UNI (RV) vs. Evansville, 7 p.m. | ESPN + | AUDIO | STATS|

• UNI will host a three-match homestand that begins with contests Friday and Saturday versus fellow Missouri Valley Conference co-leaders Illinois State and Bradley. The homestand finale will be Monday against Evansville.
• The Panthers continued their undefeated start to league play last weekend with Friday's 3-0 sweep at Loyola followed by a 3-1 victory Saturday at Valparaiso.
• UNI currently leads the Valley in kills per set (14.42) and assists per set (13.58). Karlie Taylor owns a league-high 4.58 kills per set while Rachel Koop tops the conference at 11.51 assists per set.
• Within MVC-only action, Piper Thomas paces all individuals with 5.08 kills per set and a .478 attack percentage. Rachel Koop leads the conference with 13.15 assists per set, and Karlie Taylor sits in first for aces per set (0.46).
• Piper Thomas was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week for September 24 through September 30. Thomas averaged 5.00 kills per set and .456 hitting over UNI's three wins last week.
• Kendyl Sorge enters the week 37 digs shy of joining Ellie Blankenship and Amie Held in the 2,000-Dig Club. Sorge owns 1,963 total digs over 441 consecutive sets played to start her Panther career.
• UNI is ranked 20th nationally in the NCAA's first RPI release from October 1. The Panthers are also receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 - one vote each for 23rd, 24th, and 25th place - for six total points.
• This is the 29th consecutive season that at least 10 Iowa natives are on the UNI roster including the second year in a row that 14 of the 15 Panthers are from Iowa. Each of UNI's last 8,189 points played dating back through last season have been played with only Iowans on the court.
• UNI returns four of seven starters from last year, including Honorable Mention All-America honorees Karlie Taylor and Piper Thomas, MVC All-Freshman pick Jaydlin Seehase and libero Kendyl Sorge.
• The Panthers rank No. 8 all-time in NCAA Division I winning percentage (.773). UNI trails only Penn State (.863), Hawaii (.852), Nebraska (.843), Florida (.833), Stanford (.813), BYU (.778) and UCLA (.774).
• UNI, Hawaii, Nebraska, Stanford, Penn State and UCLA lead the nation with 37 consecutive non-losing seasons in NCAA Division I volleyball. UNI has also posted 33 straight NCAA Division I winning seasons – the fifth-longest active streak in the nation behind Hawaii (37), Nebraska (37), Penn State (37) and Stanford (37).
• Head coach Bobbi Petersen is in her 19th year at the helm of the Panther program with a record of 471-147. She has led the Panthers to 13 NCAA Tournament appearances.

RADIO COVERAGE
Live radio coverage of the UNI Panther volleyball team can be found on www.UNIPanthers.com and KXEL (1540 – AM). All Audio will be free of charge. Chris Kleinhans-Schulz is in his seventh season of calling UNI volleyball matches.

WATCH LIVE
Friday's match with Illinois State can be viewed on ESPN+. Saturday's broadcast with Bradley can be found on ESPN3 and Monday's match with Evansville will be back on ESPN+.

SEEING RED(BIRDS)
Illinois State is 12-4 overall, and the Redbirds top league play in hitting (.306) and opposing hitting (.089) while jumping out to a 4-0 start in MVC action. Marissa Stockman (.386) and Ali Line (.355) lead MVC attackers in hitting while Courtney Pence is averaging a league-high 5.67 digs per set. UNI leads the series, 52-25, including a 3-1 win in last year's MVC Semifinals.

BRAVE FRONT
Bradley is 14-2 this year with a 4-0 MVC record, and the Braves lead the league in overall digging (18.63 per set), aces (1.46 per set), and opposing hitting (.143). Yavianliz Rosado earned MVC Defensive Player of the Week honors this week. UNI leads the series, 63-10, with 25 wins in a row dating back to 2005.

PURPLE ACES ON DECK
Evansville is 6-12 overall and 0-5 in conference play. The Purple Aces pace the circuit with 25 aces in league tilts. Rachel Tam carries Evansville's offensive attack with 302 kills including 4.38 per set. UNI leads the series, 49-1, with its only loss occurring on November 1, 2008.

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UNI Volleyball Set for Three Match Homestand

Players Mentioned

Rachel Koop

Jaydlin Seehase

Kendyl Sorge

Karlie Taylor

Piper Thomas

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