UNI Volleyball Travels to Drake on Saturday

Saturday, November 14

Des Moines, Iowa

7 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

Drake

UNI Volleyball Travels to Drake on Saturday

11/10/2015 1:29:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

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This Week's Action
Sat., Nov. 14 - Des Moines, Iowa (Knapp Center)
UNI at Drake, 7 p.m. (The Valley on ESPN3)

• The University of Northern Iowa women's volleyball team (15-13 overall, 9-6 Missouri Valley Conference) will look to snap a two-match losing skid on Saturday at Drake.

• The Panthers will take on the Drake Bulldogs (14-18 overall, 5-10 MVC) Saturday at 7 p.m. in Des Moines, Iowa.

• Saturday's match will be shown live on ESPN3.

• UNI has won 37 consecutive matches vs. Drake.

• UNI is ranked No. 55 in the latest release of the NCAA's RPI listing.

• UNI ranks No. 7 in the nation in digs/set as the Panthers are averaging 17.48 digs/set this season.

• UNI has clinched one of six spots for the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference volleyball tournament. UNI has qualified for 31 consecutive Gateway/MVC postseason tournaments.

• Since the first season of MVC volleyball in 1992, UNI has posted 11 or more conference wins in every season.

• Freshman Bri Weber is 10 attacks away from the top-freshman attacks mark in school history.

• Junior Amie Held has tallied 1,456 career digs and ranks No. 6 on UNI's all-time digs list. She needs one more dig to tie Bobbi (Becker) Petersen for No. 5 on UNI's digs list.

• Sophomore Heather Hook is the top setter in the MVC as she is averaging 11.00 assists per set in league matches. Hook also ranks No. 18 in the nation in total assists (1,130).

• Freshman Bri Weber has recorded a team-best 15 double-doubles. Junior Amie Held has tallied nine double-doubles. Sophomore Heather Hook has been credited with eight double-doubles.

UNI SET FOR SATURDAY MATCH IN DES MOINES VS. DRAKE
The University of Northern Iowa women's volleyball team (15-13 overall, 9-6 Missouri Valley Conference) will look to snap a two-match losing skid on Saturday in Des Moines vs. the Drake Bulldogs.
   UNI and Drake will square off in the Knapp Center at 7 p.m.

THE VALLEY ON ESPN3
Saturday's match will be shown live on The Valley on ESPN3.

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
Sat., at Drake - KXEL (1540-AM)

SCOUTING DRAKE
Drake enters Saturday's contest having dropped three straight matches.
   The Bulldogs have an overall mark of 14-18 on the season. Drake is 5-10 in Missouri Valley Conference action. Drake is 2-5 in home matches.

UNI LOOKS TO CONTINUE ITS DOMINANCE OF DRAKE
UNI has 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's 3-0 sweep of Drake on Oct. 17 marked the 37th straight win for the Panthers over the Bulldogs.
   Drake's last victory over UNI came Nov. 23, 1996.

PANTHERS CLINCH A SPOT IN MVC TOURNEY
UNI has clinched one of six spots for the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference volleyball tournament.
   It marks the 31st straight Gateway/MVC tournament that the Panthers have qualified for. The Panthers will be joined by Wichita State, Southern Illinois, Illinois State and Missouri State.
   Loyola's magic number to clinch a spot in the MVC tournament is one with four MVC matches remaining. The 2015 MVC Tournament will take place Nov. 26-28 in Springfield, Mo.

11 OR MORE LEAGUE WINS
Since the first season of MVC volleyball in 1992, UNI has posted 11 or more conference wins in every season.
   UNI's mark for fewest MVC wins in a season came in 1992 when the Panthers tallied 11 league victories.
   UNI's record of most league losses came in 2005, when the Panther recorded an MVC mark of 12-6.

SORGE SURGES
Freshman libero Kendyl Sorge averaged 5.00 digs/set in a pair of road matches for the UNI Panthers.
   Sorge racked up 28 assists in a four-set match at Missouri State on Friday. Her 28 digs ranked as the second-highest single-match total in her career.
   Sorge added seven more digs in a 3-0 loss at Wichita State on Saturday. Sorge ranks No. 7 in the MVC in digs/set (league matches only) at 4.24 per set.

WEBER INCHES TOWARD UNI'S FRESHMAN ATTACKS MARK
Freshman Bri Weber is 10 attacks away from the top-freshman attacks mark in school history. Weber has been credited with 1,071 attacks this season, which is 10 shy of UNI's freshman record for attacks set by Alex Auker with 1,081 in 1997.

HOOK RANKS 18TH NATIONALLY
Sophomore setter Heather Hook ranks No. 18 nationally in total assists with 1,130.

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 kills. Held has posted 146 kills (3.40 kills/set) in UNI's last 14 matches.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE TALK
Freshman Bri Weber has recorded a team-best 15 double-doubles. Junior Amie Held has tallied nine double-doubles. Sophomore Heather Hook has been credited with eight double-doubles.

NO. 7 IN THE NATION IN DIGS
UNI ranks No. 7 in the nation in digs/set as the Panthers are averaging 17.48 digs/set this season.

GREAT FAN SUPPORT
UNI is ranked No. 13 in the nation in average home attendance. UNI is averaging 2,319 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. 55 in the latest release of the NCAA's RPI listing. UNI has already played 11 top-58 teams in the RPI.
   UNI has collected four wins over top-58 RPI teams season with victories over No. 23 Creighton, No. 40 Missouri State, No. 52 Southern Illinois, No. 58 Illinois State.
   Five MVC schools are ranked in the top 58 including Wichita State (No. 33), Missouri State (No. 40), Southern Illinois (No. 52), UNI (No. 55), Illinois State (No. 58).

UNI's Top-100 RPI Opponents
2. USC (L, 3-0)
13. Kentucky (L, 3-1)
14. Iowa State (L, 3-0)
20. Western Kentucky (L, 3-1)
23. Creighton (W, 3-1)
31. Colorado State (L, 3-0)
33. Wichita State (L, 3-0 | L, 3-0)
37. Baylor (L, 3-2)
40. Missouri State (W, 3-2 | L, 3-1)
52. Southern Illinois (W, 3-1 | L, 3-1)
58. Illinois State (L, 3-0 | W, 3-1)
95. Loyola (W, 3-0)

ONE OF THE TOUGHEST SLATES
UNI's schedule strength is ranked No. 17 in the nation according to the latest NCAA statistical release.
   UNI's opponents this season have posted a mark of 349-214 (.620), which puts the Panthers's 2015 schedule as the toughest in the Missouri Valley Conference.
   Wichita State has the second toughest schedule in the MVC with its opposition's record at 342-246 (.582), which ranks No. 48 in the nation.

HELD RANKS NO. 6 ON DIGS LIST
Junior Amie Held ranks No. 6 on UNI's all-time digs chart with 1,456 entering this week's action at Drake.
   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.)   1,456
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

HEAD COACH BOBBI PETERSEN
Head coach Bobbi Petersen is in her 16th year as the Panthers head coach.
   Petersen has posted an impressive 406-119 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.

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.