UNI VB Faces Stern Tests at MSU, WSU This Weekend

Friday, November 6

Springfield, Mo.

7 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

Missouri State

Photo by: Mike Dunlop

UNI VB Faces Stern Tests at MSU, WSU This Weekend

11/3/2015 3:03:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

COMPLETE NOTES (PDF)

This Week's Action
Sat., Nov. 6 - Springfield, Mo.
UNI at Missouri State, 7 p.m. - The Valley on ESPN3

Sat., Nov. 7 - Wichita, Kan.
UNI at Wichita State, 7 p.m. - The Valley on ESPN3

• The University of Northern Iowa women's volleyball team (15-11 overall, 9-4 Missouri Valley Conference) will hit the road for a pair of contests.

• The Panthers will take on the Missouri State Bears on Friday at 7 p.m. in Springfield, Mo.

• UNI will then head over to Wichita, Kan., and match up against the Wichita State Shockers on Saturday at 7 p.m.

• Both matches will be shown live on The Valley on ESPN3.

• UNI has won two in a row and five of its last six matches at Missouri State in Springfield, Mo.

• UNI has produced six consecutive road wins at Koch Arena against the Wichita State Shockers.

• UNI has won six of its last seven matches and has surged up the league standings into third place with five MVC matches remaining on the slate.

• UNI is looking to secure a top-two seed in the MVC Tournament for the seventh consecutive season.

• Piper Thomas has been named the MVC Freshman of the Week for the second time this season.

• Junior Amie Held has tallied 1,438 career digs and ranks No. 6 on UNI's all-time digs list.

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

• Sophomore Heather Hook is the top setter in the MVC as she is averaging 11.06 assists per set in league matches.

UNI HITS THE ROAD FOR STERN MVC TESTS
The University of Northern Iowa women's volleyball team (15-11 overall, 9-4 Missouri Valley Conference) will hit the road for a pair of contests.
   The Panthers will take on the Missouri State Bears on Friday at 7 p.m. in Springfield, Mo.
   UNI will then head over to Wichita, Kan., and match up against the Wichita State Shockers on Saturday at 7 p.m.

THE VALLEY ON ESPN3
Both matches this weekend 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
Fri., at Missouri St. - KXEL (1540-AM)
Sat., at Wichita St. - UNIPanthers.com

SCOUTING MISSOURI STATE
Missouri State enters the weekend in sixth place in the MVC standings with a league mark of 7-5. The Bears posted a 3-0 win at Evansville on Monday.
   MSU is led by Lily Johnson, who has posted a team-high 418 kills (4.22/set).
   UNI scored a 3-2 win over Missouri State in the McLeod Center (Oct. 10).

SCOUTING WICHITA STATE
Wichita State leads the MVC with a 10-2 mark heading into this weekend's set of matches. The Shockers dropped a five-set thriller at Southern Illinois on Monday.
   The loss at SIU snapped an eight-match win streak by Wichita State. The Shockers's other league loss came Oct. 2 at home against Missouri State.
   The Shockers posted a 3-0 win over UNI in Cedar Falls (Oct. 9).

ROAD SUCCESS IN WICHITA, SPRINGFIELD
The Panthers will look to extend its road success this weekend with matches at Missouri State (Friday) and Wichita State (Saturday).
   UNI has won two in a row and five of its last six matches at Missouri State in Springfield, Mo.
   UNI has produced six consecutive road wins at Koch Arena against the Wichita State Shockers. UNI's last loss at Wichita State came Oct. 17, 2008 when the Shockers scored a five-set victory over the Panthers.

PANTHERS ARE HITTING THEIR STRIDE
UNI has won six of its last seven matches after starting league play at 3-3.

TOP-TWO SEED WITHIN REACH
The Panthers are looking to secure a top-two seed in the MVC Tournament for the seventh consecutive season.
   Overall, UNI has either been a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in 21 MVC/Gateway Tournaments.

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 127 kills (3.53 kills/set) and 157 digs (4.36 digs/set) in UNI's last 10 matches.

SCHULZ IS A BIG CONTRIBUTOR
Junior Lindsey Schulz is a big reason the Panthers were able to score a pair of league wins this past weekend.
   Schulz tallied 13 kills and tied for team-high honors with eight blocks in the two victories. But she also recorded a team-best .481 hitting percentage with zero attack errors in 27 attempts in the two matches.
   Schulz posted eight kills, a .615 hitting percentage and three blocks in a 3-1 win over Illinois State.
   She also tallied five kills, a .357 hitting percentage and four blocks in a 3-0 sweep of Indiana State on Saturday.

THOMAS NABS 2ND MVC FROSH OF THE WEEK HONOR
For the second time this season, freshman middle middle Piper Thomas has been named the MVC Freshman of the Week.
   Thomas averaged 3.29 kills/set with a .271 hitting percentage. Thomas also averaged 1.00 blocks/set in helping UNI to a pair of victories.
   Thomas collected 13 kills (.154 hitting percentage) and three blocks in a 3-1 win over Illinois State on Friday.
   She then scored a match-high 10 kills (.500 hitting percentage) and four blocks in a 3-0 win over Indiana State on Saturday.

UNI Volleyball's Multiple
MVC Freshman of the Week Honorees
Danielle Brazda, UNI (4 times - 2004)
Ashten Stelken, UNI (4 times - 2005)
Amy Braun, UNI (2 times - 2009)
Amie Held, UNI (2 times - 2013)
Piper Thomas, UNI (2 times - 2015)
Bri Weber, UNI (2 times - 2015)

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 eight double-doubles apiece.

NO. 4 IN THE NATION IN DIGS
UNI ranks No. 4 in the nation in digs/set as the Panthers are averaging 17.68 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 12 top-95 teams in the RPI.
   UNI has collected five wins over top-95 RPI teams season with victories over No. 23 Creighton, No. 44 Missouri State, No. 54 Southern Illinois, No. 61 Illinois State and No. 95 Loyola.
   Six MVC schools are ranked in the top 72 including Wichita State (No. 34), Missouri State (No. 44), Southern Illinois (No. 54), UNI (No. 55), Illinois State (No. 61) and Loyola (No. 95).

UNI's Top-100 RPI Opponents
1. USC (L, 3-0)
13. Kentucky (L, 3-1)
17. Iowa State (L, 3-0)
22. Western Kentucky (L, 3-1)
23. Creighton (W, 3-1)
34. Wichita State (L, 3-0)
36. Colorado State (L, 3-0)
38. Baylor (L, 3-2)
44. Missouri State (W, 3-2)
54. Southern Illinois (W, 3-1 | L, 3-1)
61. 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. 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 1,438 entering this week's action at Missouri State and Wichita 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.)   1,438
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 406-117 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.