UNI Set For 3-Match MVC Road Trip

Tuesday, October 20

Chicago, Ill.

5 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

Loyola

UNI Set For 3-Match MVC Road Trip

10/19/2015 4:09:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

UNI VOLLEYBALL NOTES (PDF)

This Week's Action
Tues., Oct. 20 - Chicago, Ill.
UNI at Loyola, 5 p.m. - LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS

Fri., Oct. 23 - Evansville, Ind.
UNI at Evansville, 6 p.m. - LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS

Sat., Oct. 24 - Carbondale, Ill.
UNI at Southern Illinois, 4 p.m. - LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS

• The University of Northern Iowa women's volleyball team (11-10 overall, 5-3 Missouri Valley Conference) will embark on a three-match road trip this week.

• UNI will wrap up the first-half of the league schedule with a match at Loyola on Tuesday at 5 p.m.

• The Panthers will then head to Evansville on Friday at 6 p.m. and on to Southern Illinois on Saturday at 4 p.m.

• UNI is ranked No. 2 in the nation in digs/set (18.12). The Panthers have upped that average in MVC matches as 19.35 digs/set.

• UNI posted 65 digs in a three-set win over Drake this past Saturday. In its last three matches, UNI has been credited with 245 digs (22.27 digs/set).

• Piper Thomas was named the MVC Freshman of the Week after she posted 11 kills and four blocks in a 3-0 win over Drake.

• UNI played in front of a season-high 3,102 fans in Saturday's 3-0 sweep of the Drake Bulldogs. UNI ranks No. 13 in the nation in home average attendance with 2,363 fans per home match.

• Junior Amie Held has tallied 1,377 career digs and ranks No. 6 on UNI's all-time digs list.

UNI TO CLOSE OPENING-HALF OF LEAGUE SLATE THIS WEEK
The University of Northern Iowa women's volleyball team (11-10 overall, 5-3 Missouri Valley Conference) will close the opening half of the league slate this Tuesday at Loyola.
   UNI will also play a pair of road matches at Evansville (Fri., 6 p.m.) and at Southern Illinois (Sat., 4 p.m.) to close out the week's action.

RADIO COVERAGE
Live radio coverage of the UNI Panther volleyball team can be found on www.UNIPanthers.com and KXEL (1540-AM). All audio this year will be free of charge (no subscription service).
   Chris Kleinhans-Schulz returns for his fourth season as the play-by-play voice of Panther volleyball.

Live Audio Coverage Schedule
Tues., at Loyola - UNIPanthers.com
Fri., at Evansville - UNIPanthers.com
Sat., at SIU - UNIPanthers.com

SCOUTING LOYOLA
Loyola holds down outright second place in the MVC standings heading into Tuesday's match vs. UNI in Gentile Arena. Loyola is 6-2 in MVC play and 17-4 overall.
   The Ramblers two league losses came at home to Drake (Sept. 28, 3-1) and at Wichita State (Oct. 17, 3-2).

SCOUTING EVANSVILLE
Evansville is in ninth place in the MVC standings having lost nine of its last 10 matches to begin the week.
   The Purple Aces forced the Panthers into five sets in the earlier meeting this season in the McLeod Center before UNI prevailed 15-9 in the fifth.

SCOUTING SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Southern Illinois is in a four-way tie for second place in the MVC standings at 5-3. The Salukis have won three of their last four matches entering this week's play.
   The Salukis fell to the Panthers in the league opener for both squads on Sept. 25, 3-1.
NO. 2 IN THE NATION IN DIGS
UNI ranks No. 2 in the nation in digs/set as the Panthers are averaging 18.12 digs/set this season.
   The Panthers have upped that average in MVC matches as 19.35 digs/set.
   UNI posted 65 digs in a three-set win over Drake (Oct. 17).
   In its last three matches, UNI has been credited with 245 digs (22.27 digs/set).

THOMAS EARNS FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONORS
Middle hitter Piper Thomas was named the Missouri Valley Conference's Freshman of the Week (Oct. 19).
   Thomas recorded 11 kills (.471 hitting percentage) to go along with four blocks in a 3-0 sweep of the Drake Bulldogs on Saturday.
   Thomas posted five of her 11 kills and three of her blocks in a 25-13 opening-set win vs. the Bulldogs. Thomas added three more kills in both the second and third sets as the Panthers defeated the Bulldogs for the 37th straight time.
   She is tied for the team lead with 16 blocks solos and ranks second on the squad with 49 block assists. In MVC matches only,
   Thomas leads the Panthers with 28 total blocks.

HELD MOVES UP THE DIGS CHART
Junior Amie Held moved up to No. 6 on UNI's all-time digs chart with 11 digs vs. Drake to give her 1,377 career digs.
   Next in Held's sights at No. 5 - UNI head coach Bobbi Petersen. Petersen tallied 1,457 career digs from 1986-1989.
   Ellie Blankenship holds the all-time digs mark at UNI with 2,656 from 2007-2010.

UNI's All-Time Digs List
1.   Ellie Blankenship (2007-10)   2,656
2.   Candice Burke (2008-12)   1,737
3.   Amy Braun (2009-12)   1,672
4.   Stephanie May (2003-06)   1,570
5.   Bobbi Becker (1986-89)   1,457
6.   Amie Held (2013-pres.)   1,377
7.   Kate Galer (1993-96)   1,368
8.   Alexandra Auker (1997-00)   1,303
9.   Mary Bernhardt (1984-87)   1,202
10.   Miranda Weber (1999-02)   1,148

MORE SUPERLATIVES FOR HELD
Amie Held has recorded five consecutive double-doubles since moving in a six-player rotation slot.
   She tied a career-high with 15 kills in UNI's 3-0 win over Drake on Saturday.
   In MVC matches only, Held leads the league in digs/set (5.06).

DOUBLE-DOUBLE TALK
Freshman Bri Weber has recorded a team-best 14 double-doubles, while junior Amie Held has registered five straight double-doubles.
   Sophomore setter Heather Hook has seven double-doubles.

GREAT FAN SUPPORT
UNI played in front of a season-high 3,102 fans in Saturday's 3-0 sweep of the Drake Bulldogs.
   UNI is ranked No. 13 in the nation in average home attendance. UNI is averaging 2,363 fans per home match this season.
   UNI ranked No. 7 in the nation in average home attendance in the 2014 season with 3,118 fans per match in the McLeod Center.

NCAA'S UPDATED RPI NUMBERS
UNI is ranked No. 58 in the latest release of the NCAA's RPI listing. UNI has already played 11 top-72 teams in the RPI.
   UNI has collected three wins over top-61 RPI teams season with victories over No. 23 Creighton, No. 44 Missouri State and No. 61 Southern Illinois.
   Six MVC schools are ranked in the top 72 including Missouri State (No. 44), Wichita State (No. 49), UNI (No. 58), Southern Illinois (No. 61), Loyola (No. 71) and Illinois State (No. 72).

UNI's Top-100 RPI Opponents
1. USC (L, 3-0)
11. Kentucky (L, 3-1)
19. Western Kentucky (L, 3-1)
21. Iowa State (L, 3-0)
23. Creighton (W, 3-1)
30. Baylor (L, 3-2)
38. Colorado State (L, 3-0)
44. Missouri State (W, 3-2)
49. Wichita State (L, 3-0)
61. Southern Illinois (W, 3-1)
72. Illinois State (L, 3-0)

ONE OF THE TOUGHEST SLATES
UNI's schedule strength is ranked No. 25 in the nation according to the latest NCAA statistical release.
   UNI's opponents this season have posted a mark of 256-162 (.612), which puts the Panthers's 2015 schedule as the toughest in the Missouri Valley Conference.
   Missouri State has the second toughest schedule in the MVC with its opposition's record at 251-169 (.598), which ranks No. 37 in the nation.

FOURTH AMONG FRESHMEN IN ATTACKS
Freshman Bri Weber ranks No. 31 in the nation in total attacks - but No. 4 in the nation among freshmen.
   Weber's 870 attacks as a freshman ranks only behind Morehead State's Merideth Jewell (1,027 attacks), Marquette's Taylor Louis (999 attacks) and Georgetown's Alyssa Sinnette (903 attacks)

UNI HAS DRAKE'S NUMBER
UNI's 3-0 sweep of Drake on Oct. 24 marked the 37th straight win for the Panthers over the Bulldogs. Drake's last victory over UNI came Nov. 23, 1996.
   UNI has also won 19 consecutive sets vs. Drake. UNI has won six straight matches in 3-0 sweeps and finished off a 3-1 win on Oct. 6, 2012, with a win in the final set.
   UNI has defeated Drake in Cedar Falls 31 consecutive times.

HEAD COACH BOBBI PETERSEN
Head coach Bobbi Petersen is in her 16th year as the Panthers head coach.
   Petersen has posted an impressive 402-116 record at the helm of UNI's program, with seven Missouri Valley Conference regular season titles, eight MVC tournament crowns and two NCAA Sweet 16 appearances to her credit. She ranks in the top 10 of active Division I coaches in winning percentage (.785), with the Panthers winning 20 or more matches in 14 of her 15 years as head coach.

10 CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF APR RECOGNITION, PERFECTION
For the past 10 years the NCAA has recognized teams in the top-10 percent of the Academic Progress Report and the UNI volleyball team has been on the list all nine years.
   In fact, the UNI volleyball team has had a perfect score of 1,000 in each of the 10 years.

AVCA Team Academic Award
The UNI volleyball team compiled a 3.385 cumulative GPA during the 2014-15 season.
   It marks the fourth consecutive season that the Panthers have earned the AVCA Team Academic Award.

AMONG ELITE COMPANY
The Panthers rank No. 6 all-time in NCAA Division I winning percentage (.782). UNI trails only Penn State (.866), Hawaii (.854), Nebraska (.840), Florida (.831) and Stanford (.813) in NCAA Division I winning percentage totals.

17 MVC REGULAR SEASON TITLES
The Panthers have tallied 17 MVC regular season titles through the years.
   UNI won the regular season title in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013.

18 NCAA APPEARANCES
In its 18 trips to the NCAA tournament, UNI has posted 14 wins, advancing to at least the second round 11 times.
   UNI has advanced as far as the NCAA's Sweet 16 three times since 1999. In 2002, the Panthers went into the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the East Region.

HANELINE, HELD COMPETED FOR USA VOLLEYBALL OVER SUMMER
USA Volleyball selected 36 athletes, including UNI's Kayla Haneline and Amie Held, to participate in the U.S. Collegiate National Team (CNT) program that trained and competed in conjunction with the USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships from June 21-29 in New Orleans, La.

NCAA REGIONAL HOST
UNI will serve as the host to the 2015 Division I NCAA Tournament Regional in Des Moines, Iowa, on Dec. 11-12.
   The regional semifinals and final will take place in Wells Fargo Arena.
   To purchase all-session tickets ($17 or $20) to the NCAA Regional contact the Wells Fargo Arena ticket office at 515-564-8300.

WEEKLY PRESS LUNCHEONS
UNI head coach Bobbi Petersen will be available at the weekly Press Luncheons held each Monday beginning at noon in the back room of Pepper's Grill and Sports Pub located on 18th Street in Cedar Falls.