UNI Volleyball Ready For Final MVC Road Trip

This week's action:
Friday, November 16 – Evansville, IN (Meeks Family Fieldhouse)
UNI (RV) vs. Evansville, 7 p.m. | ESPN3| AUDIO | STATS

Saturday, November 17 – Terre Haute, IN (ISU Arena)
UNI (RV) vs. Indiana State, 6 p.m. | ESPN+| AUDIO | STATS

Full Game Notes

The Panthers
• After two three-set sweeps last weekend, the Panthers hit the road for the final weekend of the regular season, taking on Evansville and Indiana State. The Panther defeated both teams in their first matchup in the McLeod Center.
• The Panthers took care of business last weekend with sweeps over Missouri State and Southern Illinois to rebound from their only conference loss two weeks ago.
•UNI not only clinched a spot in the MVC tournament but have locked down a spot as the #1 or #2 seed.
• UNI currently leads the Valley in, kills per set (15.59), assists (865) and assists per set (14.66), and rank second in the Valley in hitting percentage (.269) and kills (920).
• Karlie Taylor owns a league-high 4.69 kills per set, Piper Thomas is second in the league with a .350 attack percentage while Rachel Koop tops the conference at 11.76 assists per set.
• Within MVC-only action, Karlie Taylor paces all individuals with 4.63 kills per set and leads the league in points per set with 5.10. Piper Thomas leads the league with a .414 hitting percentage.
• Nationally, Karlie Taylor ranks 10th in kills per set.
• Nationally, Rachel Koop ranks 5th in assists per set.
• Panthers rank 3rd in the NCAA in assists per set.
• Panthers rank 4th in the NCAA in kills per set
• UNI is ranked 16th nationally in the NCAA's RPI release from November 12. The Panthers are also receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25, receiving 49 votes.

BACK IN THE WINNERS CIRCLE
The Panthers rebounded after suffering their first conference loss with sweeps of two MVC opponents. The Panthers will take on Evansville (9-20, 3-13 MVC) and then take on Indiana State (10-18, 3-13 MVC).

RADIO COVERAGE
Live radio coverage of the UNI Panther volleyball team can be found on www.UNIPanthers.com and KXEL (1540-AM) with Chris Kleinhans-Schulz on the call. All audio this year will be free of charge (no subscription service).

LISTEN HERE
Friday vs. Evansville – KXEL 1540
Saturday vs. Indiana State – KXEL 1540

WATCH LIVE
UNI's match on Friday will be on ESPN3 while Saturday's match will be broadcast on ESPN+

EVANSVILLE PURPLE ACES
The Purple Aces sit in ninth place in the MVC and have been eliminated from post-season play. Evansville ranks near the bottom of the league in most statistical categories this season but leads the league with1.23 service aces per set and is second in total service aces with 85. The Purple Aces are led by Rachel Tam with 229 kills this season. Tam ranks fourth in the league with 4.09 kills per set while Kerra Cornist ranks sixth in the league with a .295 attack percentage. UNI leads the series, 50-1

INDIANA STATE SYCAMORES
The Sycamores currently sit at eight places in the MVC with a 3-13 conference record and have been eliminated from postseason play. Like Evansville, the Sycamores rank in the bottom of the league in most statistical categories but rank fifth with 123 total blocks and average 2.12 blocks per set in league play. Indiana State's Damadj Johnson leads the team in their blocking efforts, averaging 1.03 blocks per set. UNI leads the series, 60-5

MVC CLINCHED
UNI, Illinois State and Bradley have all secured a spot in the six-team MVC Volleyball Tournament. With UNI and Illinois tied with 1 loss apiece the tiebreaker goes to UNI with a 5-3 set differential.

MVC SEEDS
UNI: 1 or 2 Seed
Illinois State: 1 or 2 seed
Bradley: Locked up #3 seed
Valpo: 4 or 5 seed
Missouri State: 4, 5, 6 seed
Loyola: 5, 6, or out
Drake: 6 or out

NCAA RPI REPORT
The latest edition of the NCAA RPI has UNI at #16 with Illinois State coming in at #30, Valpo at #72 and Bradley cracks to top 100 coming in at #99. The Panthers are just one of twenty teams to have eight or more matches against teams in the top 25 of the RPI. UNI is also one of 29 teams to have at least two top 25 RPI wins.

DOMINANT OFFENSE
UNI has dominated MVC opponents this year and the numbers prove it. The Panthers rank third in the country in assists per set and fourth in the country in kills per set.

KARLIE TAYLOR
Karlie Taylor may be one of the most dominant players in the country this year, leading the MVC in attacks, kills per set, and points per set. Taylor also ranks nationally in those categories coming in 17th in attacks per set (12.04), 10th in kills per set (4.69), and 13th in points per set (5.10)

RACHEL KOOP
Koop has provided the consistent play from the setter position need to succeed at this level. This season Koop leads the league in assists per set and ranks 5th nationally with 11.76.

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Rachel Koop

Karlie Taylor

Piper Thomas

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