UNI Volleyball Sweeps Drake to Open MVC Play

Friday, September 21

Des Moines, Iowa

7 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

7-6 (1-0MVC)

Drake

11-4 (0-1MVC)

UNI

Drake

UNI Volleyball Sweeps Drake to Open MVC Play

9/21/2018 10:31:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

DES MOINES, Iowa – The UNI Panther volleyball team powered to a 25-21, 25-18, 25-22 sweep of Drake in the Missouri Valley Conference opener.

"It was nice to be able to start the conference season off with a win on the road against a strong Drake team," head coach Bobbi Petersen said. "We did good things tonight, especially on the defensive side. I would like to see our hitting efficiency continue to improve as a team."

Piper Thomas was dominant in the middle of the net for the Panthers, knocking down 16 kills with just two errors for a .560 attack percentage.

"Piper was a workhorse tonight at the net," Petersen said. "She was effective offensively in both serve receive and transition and continues to make strides in her blocking."

The Panthers also had a strong match from the service line, racking up four aces. UNI outscored the Bulldogs 58-38 for the match and tallied 49 kills to 33 for Drake.

Along with Thomas, Karlie Taylor tallied 13 kills and Jaydlin Seehase notched 11. Rachel Koop tallied 40 assists and Kendyl Sorge led the defense with 16 digs.

The Panthers hit .216 as a team while holding Drake to .133.

SERIES DOMINATION
The win was the 44th-straight win for UNI in the series with the last loss coming in the 1996 MVC Championship match. It was also the fifth-straight sweep for the Panthers against the Bulldogs.

UP NEXT
The Panthers host Indiana State Monday in the Missouri Valley home opener at the McLeod Center. The game is slated for 6 p.m. it will be Gold night and the first contest on the new court which was installed a few weeks ago.