UNI Returns to McLeod vs. Redbirds, Sycamores

Friday, October 30

Cedar Falls, Iowa

7 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

Illinois State

UNI Returns to McLeod vs. Redbirds, Sycamores

10/26/2015 2:40:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Complete Release (PDF)

This Week's Action
Fri., Oct. 30 - Cedar Falls, Iowa (McLeod Center)
Illinois State at UNI, 7 p.m.

Sat., Oct. 31 - Cedar Falls, Iowa (McLeod Center)
Indiana State at UNI, 7 p.m.
• Halloween Trick or Treating on Concourse

UNI Volleyball Notes
• The University of Northern Iowa women's volleyball team (13-11 overall, 7-4 Missouri Valley Conference) will return to the McLeod Center for a pair of league matches on Friday against Illinois State and Saturday vs. Indiana State.

• The Panthers will look to avenge a pair of MVC losses from earlier this season that occured on the road at Indiana State (L, 3-2) and at Illinois State (L, 3-0).

• Both matches this weekend will be shown live on ESPN3 with Eric Braley and Molly Turk calling the action.

• Since making the switch from libero to a six-rotation player on Oct. 2, junior Amie Held has led the Panthers in both kills and digs.

• Junior Amie Held has tallied 1,410 career digs and ranks No. 6 on UNI's all-time digs list.

• Heather Hook is the top setter in MVC matches only as she is averaging 11.10 assists per set.

• Freshman Bri Weber has recorded a team-best 14 double-doubles, while junior Amie Held and sophomore Heather Hook are tied for second with seven double-doubles apiece.

• UNI is ranked No. 3 in the nation in digs/set (17.57).

• UNI ranks No. 13 in the nation in home average attendance with 2,363 fans per home match.

• The Panthers schedule is rated as the 19th-toughest in the nation according to the latest NCAA statistical report.

UNI RETURNS HOME TO THE MCLEOD CENTER
The University of Northern Iowa women's volleyball team (13-11 overall, 7-4 Missouri Valley Conference) will return home to the McLeod Center for a pair of league matches against Illinois State and Indiana State.
   UNI and Illinois State will square off on Friday at 7 p.m.
   UNI and Indiana State will take to the court on Saturday at 7 p.m.

PROMOS
Saturday night's match will feature trick or treating on the McLeod Center's concourse for children in 6th grade and younger in halloween costumes.

THE VALLEY ON ESPN3
Both matches this weekend will be shown live on The Valley on ESPN3.
   Eric Braley (play-by-play) and Molly Turk (analyst) will call the action at the McLeod Center.

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
Fri., vs. Illinois St. - KXEL (1540-AM)
Sat., vs. Indiana St. - KXEL (1540-AM)

SCOUTING ILLINOIS STATE
UNI and Illinois State are tied for fourth place in the MVC standings heading into Friday's match in the McLeod Center.
   The Redbirds have won five of their last six matches going into play this week.
   UNI holds a 47-23 lead in the all-time series vs. Illinois State. However, the Redbirds have won four consecutive matchups against the Panthers - including two in a row in the McLeod Center.

SCOUTING INDIANA STATE
Indiana State has lost three matches in a row and five of its last six heading into MVC play this week. Indiana State will play at Drake on Friday before making the trek to Cedar Falls for the UNI match on Saturday.
   UNI owns a 55-4 lead in the all-time series vs. Indiana State. The Sycamores have won two of the last three meetings against the Panthers - both in Terre Haute.
   UNI is 28-0 all-time vs. Indiana State in matches played in Cedar Falls.

SEASON OF STREAKS
UNI has been riding a season of streaks since Sept. 11. UNI won two in a row on Sept. 11, but followed it up with a three-match losing skid.
   UNI then won five in a row only to see the Panthers lose three in a row.
   UNI saw its four-match win streak snapped on Saturday at Southern Illinois.
   UNI has had winning streaks of two, five and four, while also having three losing skids of three straight matches.

HELD HAS FIT RIGHT IN
Since making the switch from libero to a six-rotation player on Oct. 2, junior Amie Held has led the Panthers in both kills and digs. Held has posted 103 kills (3.55 kills/set) and 129 digs (4.45 digs/set) in UNI's last eight matches. Held added her first collegiate solo blocks this past Friday in a 3-0 sweep at Evansville.

HELD HAS ANOTHER GOOD WEEK
Junior Amie Held posted team-highs in kills (34), digs (33) and service aces (5) as UNI posted a mark of 2-1 in league action.
   Held added two more double-doubles to give her seven on the season since her move into a six-player rotation slot.
   She had nine kills, nine digs and a service ace in a 3-0 win at Loyola.
   Held secured a double-double with 11 kills (.333 hitting percentage) and 11 digs in a 3-0 win at Evansville. Held also added two service aces and the first two solo blocks of her collegiate career against the Purple Aces.
   Held completed the weekend with 14 kills, 13 digs and two service aces at Southern Illinois.

PIPER POSTS SOLID NUMBERS
Reigning MVC Freshman of the Week Piper Thomas averaged 2.80 kills, 1.10 blocks and had a .393 hitting percentage as UNI posted a 2-1 mark in league play.
   Thomas began the week with eight kills, three blocks, two service aces and hit .278 in a three-game sweep at Loyola.
   Thomas posted eight kills, six blocks, a service ace and hit .467 in a 3-0 sweep at Evansville.
   Thomas finished the week with 12 kills, two blocks and hit .435 against Southern Illinois.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE TALK
Freshman Bri Weber has recorded a team-best 14 double-doubles, while junior Amie Held and sophomore Heather Hook are tied for second on the squad with seven double-doubles apiece.

NO. 3 IN THE NATION IN DIGS
UNI ranks No. 3 in the nation in digs/set as the Panthers are averaging 17.57 digs/set this season.

GREAT FAN SUPPORT
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 12 top-89 teams in the RPI.
   UNI has collected four wins over top-89 RPI teams season with victories over No. 26 Creighton, No. 45 Missouri State and No. 61 Southern Illinois and No. 89 Loyola.
   Six MVC schools are ranked in the top 72 including Wichita State (No. 39), Missour State (No. 45), UNI (No. 58), Illinois State (No. 60), Southern Illinois (No. 61) and Loyola (No. 89).

UNI's Top-100 RPI Opponents
2. USC (L, 3-0)
10. Kentucky (L, 3-1)
20. Western Kentucky (L, 3-1)
21. Iowa State (L, 3-0)
26. Creighton (W, 3-1)
36. Colorado State (L, 3-0)
38. Wichita State (L, 3-0)
39. Baylor (L, 3-2)
45. Missouri State (W, 3-2)
60. Illinois State (L, 3-0)
61. Southern Illinois (W, 3-1 | L, 3-1)
89. Loyola (W, 3-0)

ONE OF THE TOUGHEST SLATES
UNI's schedule strength is ranked No. 19 in the nation according to the latest NCAA statistical release.
   UNI's opponents this season have posted a mark of 298-192 (.621), 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 272-192 (.586), which ranks No. 50 in the nation.

HELD RANKS NO. 6 ON DIGS LIST
Junior Amie Held ranks No. 6 on UNI's all-time digs chart with 1,410 entering this week's action vs. Illinois State and Indiana State.
   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.)   1,410
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

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.

UNI HAS LOYOLA'S, EVANSVILLE'S NUMBER
UNI is a perfect 11-0 all-time vs. Loyola after posting a 3-0 win in Chicago this past Tuesday.
   UNI scored a 3-0 win at Evansville on Friday to record its 15th consecutive victory over the Purple Aces. UNI is 45-1 all-time vs. Evansville.

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.