Volleyball Looks to Clinch MVC Tourney Berth

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This Week's Action
Sat., Nov. 5 -- Cedar Falls, Iowa (McLeod Center)
Drake at UNI, 7 p.m. | ESPN3 | AUDIO | STATS
Promotion - Kids Club Night

• The University of Northern Iowa women's volleyball team (18-8 overall, 9-4 MVC) will look to keep pace in the upper half of the Missouri Valley Conference race with a single home match Saturday at 7 p.m. against the Drake Bulldogs (14-13 overall, 5-8 MVC).

• The Drake-UNI match can be viewed live on ESPN3.

• A UNI win on Saturday would clinch a spot for the Panthers in the 2016 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. UNI will serve as the host for the 2016 MVC Tournament on Nov. 24-26 in the McLeod Center. It would be the 32nd consecutive Gateway/Missouri Valley Conference tournament that the Panthers have qualified for.

• UNI has won 39 consecutive matches against the Drake Bulldogs. Drake's last win in the series came Oct. 11, 1996.

• UNI has defeated Drake 31 straight times in Cedar Falls. Drake's last win in Cedar Falls came on Oct. 18, 1983, when the Bulldogs scored a 3-0 win over the Panthers.

• UNI has won an MVC-best five matches against top-50 RPI opponents this season.

• UNI, Hawaii, Nebraska, Stanford, Penn State and UCLA lead the nation with 36 consecutive non-losing seasons in NCAA Div. I volleyball.

• UNI has also posted 32 straight winning seasons – the sixth-longest active streak in the nation behind Hawaii (36), Nebraska (36), Penn State (36), Stanford (36) and UCLA (34).

• UNI ranks No. 1 in the nation in digs/set (18.28). The Panthers also rank No. 3 in the nation in team attacks/set (39.11).

• Heather Hook leads the MVC in assists per set (11.15).

UNI RETURNS HOME FOR SATURDAY MATCH WITH DRAKE
The University of Northern Iowa women's volleyball team (18-8 overall, 9-4 MVC) will face the Drake Bulldogs (14-13 overall, 5-8 MVC) Saturday at 7 p.m. in the McLeod Center. Saturday will also mark Kids Club Night for the Panthers.

ESPN3 FOR THIS WEEK
Saturday's match vs. Drake will be available for viewing on ESPN3.
   Brad Wells (play-by-play) and Barb Randall (analyst) will call the action in 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 will be free of charge (no subscription service).
   Chris Kleinhans-Schulz is in his fifth season as the play-by-play voice of Panther volleyball.

Live Audio Coverage Schedule
Sat., Drake - News/Talk 1540 KXEL

ALL-TIME SERIES
UNI holds a 77-12-2 record all-time against the Drake Bulldogs.
   UNI has won 39 consecutive matches against the Drake Bulldogs. Drake's last win in the series came Oct. 11, 1996.
   UNI has defeated Drake 31 straight times in Cedar Falls. Drake's last win in Cedar Falls came on Oct. 18, 1983, when the Bulldogs scored a 3-0 win over the Panthers.
   Panther head coach Bobbi Petersen has posted a perfect mark of 32-0 vs. Drake.

HEAD COACH BOBBI PETERSEN
Head coach Bobbi Petersen is in her 17th year as the UNI head coach.
   Petersen has posted an impressive 428-130 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 (.767).
   In 2015, Petersen joined the 400-win club allowing her to become only the fourth MVC coach to earn 400 victories. Petersen joined Linda Dollar (758 - Missouri State), Iradge Ahrabi-Fard (503 - UNI) and Melissa Stokes (438 - Missouri State) in that elite class.

PANTHERS LOOK TO CLINCH A SPOT IN MVC TOURNAMENT
A UNI win on Saturday would clinch a spot for the Panthers in the 2016 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
   It would be the 32nd consecutive Gateway/Missouri Valley Conference tournament that the Panthers have qualified for - the longest active streak in The Valley.
   UNI will serve as the host for the 2016 MVC Tournament on Nov. 24-26 in the McLeod Center.

POWER CONFERENCE
UNI is among four MVC schools ranked in the top 65 of the RPI released by the NCAA on Monday.
   Wichita State (No. 35), Missouri State (No. 46), UNI (No. 47) and Southern Illinois (No. 62) are all ranked in the top 65 of the latest NCAA RPI.

5 WINS VS RPI TOP 50
UNI has won an MVC-best five matches against top-50 RPI opponents this season.
   The Panthers are one of 22 teams in the nation with five or more wins against the RPI Top 50.

Five or more wins vs. top-50 RPI
Rk.   Team (Top 50 Wins)
1.   Nebraska (11)
2.    Wisconsin (11)
3.    Texas (8)
4.    Minnesota (9)
6.    BYU (5)
8.    UCLA (7)
9.    Stanford (6)
10.    Washington (5)
11.    Michigan (7)
12.    Michigan State (7)
13.    North Carolina (7)
14.    Kansas State (7)
16.    Kansas (7)
17.    Purdue (7)
20.    Creighton (5)
21.    Utah (5)
24.    Penn State (6)
27.    USC (5)
28.    Washington State (5)
31.    Marquette (5)
37.    Arizona (5)
47.    UNI (5)

EIGHT-MATCH WIN STREAK LONGEST SINCE 2011
UNI saw its eight-match win streak snapped on Saturday at Missouri State. The eight-match win streak was UNI's longest win streak since a 24-match streak in the 2011 season.

PANTHERS SWEEP SEASON SERIES VS SHOCKERS
UNI used a 3-0 victory at Wichita State to secure a season-sweep of the series vs. the Shockers.
   It marks the 17th time since 1992 that the Panthers have won both regular season meetings against the Shockers.
   It also is the sixth season sweep for UNI of Wichita State since 2009.

ON THE OTHER HAND
Missouri State was able to record its first season series sweep of UNI since the teams started playing home-and-home regular season matches in 1992.
   The Bears tallied a 3-2 win over the Panthers in Cedar Falls on Sept. 30, and then the Bears scored a 3-1 win over the Panthers on Saturday in Springfield.

MORE STREAKS OF NOTE
UNI, Hawaii, Nebraska, Stanford, Penn State and UCLA lead the nation with 36 consecutive non-losing seasons in NCAA Div. I volleyball.
   UNI has also posted 32 straight NCAA Division I winning seasons – the sixth-longest active streak in the nation behind Hawaii (36), Nebraska (36), Penn State (36), Stanford (36) and UCLA (34).

AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
UNI ranks No. 3 in the nation in total team attacks per set (39.11).
   UNI ranks No. 4 in the nation in digs per set (18.28).
   The Panthers also rank No. 10 in the nation in kills per set (14.36) and No. 12 in total team kills (1,350).
   UNI's 248 total team attacks is the second-highest single-match total in the nation this season.

HANELINE ECLIPSES 1,000 KILLS
Senior Kayla Haneline ranks No. 20 on UNI's all-time kills list with 1,094.
   Lisa Meeker ranks No. 19 with 1,111 kills from 1983-1986.
   Danielle Brazda ranks No. 18 with 1,124 kills from 2003-2007.
   Shelby Kintzel ranks No. 17 with 1,128 kills from 2009-2013.
   Shari Vermeer ranks. No. 16 with 1,133 kills from 2000-2004.
   Haneline is one of 25 Panthers to have reached 1,000 career kills.

WEBER, HANELINE AMONG BEST ON UNI KILLS/SET ALL-TIME LISTS
Bri Weber ranks No. 11 on UNI's career kills/set list with a 3.00 average in 219 sets.
   Teammate Kayla Haneline ranks No. 13 on UNI's career kills/set list with a 2.92 average in 375 career sets.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE CLUB
Senior Amie Held took over the team lead in double-doubles by posting her 14th double-double of the season at Missouri State. Held was credited with 21 kills and 14 digs against the Bears.
   Bri Weber tallied her 13th double-double this season with 12 kills and 15 digs at Missouri State.
   Heather Hook notched her ninth double-double of the season with 33 assists and 10 digs at Wichita State.

UNI Double-Doubles
14, Amie Held (28 career)
13, Bri Weber (31 career)
9, Heather Hook (20 career)

HOOK IS TOPS IN THE VALLEY
Junior setter Heather Hook leads the MVC and ranks No. 7 in the nation in total assists (1,048).
   She ranks No. 20 in the nation in assists per set (11.15/set).

SORGE DIGS INTO TOP 25
Sophomore Kendyl Sorge ranks No. 25 in the nation in total digs (469).

HELD UP TO NO. 2 ON DIGS CHART
Senior Amie Held ranks second on UNI's all-time digs chart with 1,894.
   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.   Amie Held (2013-pres.)    1,894
3.   Candice Burke (2008-12)    1,737
4.    Amy Braun (2009-12)    1,672
5.    Stephanie May (2003-06)    1,570
6.    Bobbi Becker (1986-89)    1,457
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

HOOK RANKS 9TH ON ASSIST LIST
Junior Heather Hook ranks No. 9 on UNI's all-time assist list with 2,465.
   Jill Arganbright holds the all-time digs mark at UNI with 6,064 from 2000-2003.

UNI's All-Time Assists List
1.   Jill Arganbright (2000-03)   6,064
2.   Shannon Perry (1996-99)   4,881
3.   Bre Payton (2008-11)   4,752
4.   Kara Galer (1992-95)   4,265
5.   Kristin Belzung (2003-07)   4,256
6.   Mary Bernhardt (1984-87)   3,977
7.   Bobbie Kreple (1987-90)   2,780
8.   Kinsey Caldwell (2013-14)   2,549
9.   Heather Hook (2014-pres.)   2,465
10.   Katie Crowley (1988-91)   1,895

11 CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF APR RECOGNITION, PERFECTION
For the past 11 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 11 years.
   In fact, the UNI volleyball team has had a perfect score of 1,000 in each of the 11 years.
   UNI volleyball is one of 110 programs in the nation to have earned the recognition in each of the 11 years teams have been honored.

AVCA Team Academic Award
The UNI volleyball team compiled a 3.40 cumulative GPA during the 2015-16 season.
   It marks the fifth 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 (.776). UNI trails only Penn State (.865), Hawaii (.856), Nebraska (.841), Florida (.829) and Stanford (.812) 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.

19 NCAA APPEARANCES
In its 19 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.

FAN FAVORITES
The Panthers consistently have ranked among the national leaders in attendance, including ranking No. 17 with 2,055 fans per home match.
   Last season, UNI ranked No. 13 in the nation in average home attendance at 2,277 per match.

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.

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