UNI Volleyball Host Creighton, Kentucky and USC

THIS WEEKEND'S ACTION:

Friday, September 6 – Cedar Falls, Iowa (McLeod Center)
#23 Creighton vs #12 Kentucky – 10:30 a.m.
#15 USC vs #12 Kentucky – 5:00 p.m.
(RV) UNI vs #23 Creighton – 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, September 7 – Cedar Falls, Iowa (McLeod Center)
(RV) UNI vs #15 USC – 10:30 a.m.
#23 Creighton vs #15 USC – 5:00 p.m.
(RV) UNI vs #12 Kentucky – 7:30 p.m.

UNI TOURNAMENT
The UNI volleyball team will host one of the premier volleyball tournaments of the year when they host #12 Kentucky, #15 USC, and #23 Creighton in the McLeod Center September 6-7. The Panthers have a long history with Creighton, first meeting in 1994, the Panthers hold a 42-10 series lead.

USC comes to the McLeod Center with a 1-1 record, like UNI, the Trojans fell to #3 Texas last weekend 1-3. The Panthers have only defeated the Trojans once, the lone victory was a 3-1 win back in 2017.

Kentucky enters the tournament with a 2-1 record, with wins over #23 Cal Polly and Saint Mary's College of California. Their lone lose came in a 3-0 match with the University of Utah. The Panthers are 2-4 all-time against the Wildcats with wins in 2016 and a five set thriller in 2018.

THE PANTHERS
• The Panthers return home after going 2-1 in the opening weekend of the season, falling to Texas but defeating Liberty and Texas State.

• Karlie Taylor picks up where she left off in 2018, recording kills left and right. Taylor has 53 kills (4.82 K/S) in three matches.

•Kate Busswitz and Inga Rotto have formed a brick wall in the front row, each recording 8 total blocks in three matches.

• The Panthers return five starters including First Team All-MVC selections Rachel Koop and Karlie Taylor and Second Team All-MVC selections Kate Busswitz and Jaydlin Seehase.

• The Panthers received 16 votes in the AVCA poll, with 16 votes the Panthers rank 35th in Division I volleyball.

• Bobbi Petersen enters the season with a career 485-151 record, 15 wins away from 500 and 18 wins away from becoming the UNI all-time wins leader. Bobbi Petersen's 485 wins ranks 28th in NCAA Division I coaching victories. Petersen's .763 winning percentage is the 8th highest in active Division I coaches.

• The Panthers earned their 10th AVCA Academic Award in the 2018-19 season with a 3.41 team cumulative GPA.

• Rachel Koop returns to set the Panther offense after averaging 11.97 assist per set in 2018, leading the conference and ranking 5th nationally. Rachel Koop ranks 10th in career assists per set with a 9.19 average.

• Karlie Taylor returns for her senior season after recording 4.77 kills per set in 2018, ranking 6th nationally. Karlie Taylor ranks 2nd all-time at UNI in kills per set with a career average of 3.86. Taylor is the only player in UNI history to record multiple 500 kill seasons.

FAMILY AFFAIR
Sydney Petersen came out on top of the UNI-Texas match on 8/30/19. The Panthers fell 1-3 to the #4 Longhorns.

OPENING WEEKEND
After falling to eh Longhorns the Panthers picked up back to back wins against Liberty and Texas State to finish the first weekend of competition at 2-1.

BIG BLOCKS
A newly formed wall has formed in the Panthers front row with Kate Busswitz and Inga Rotto combining for 16 total blocks in three matches.

EFFICIENCY
Kate Busswitz has opened the season with 40 kills, and a .326 hitting percentage, the highest on the team.

HEAVY HITTER
Karlie Taylor continues to pound the ball in 2019. Taylor leads the Panthers with 53 kills, averaging 4.82 kills per set.

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Players Mentioned

Kate Busswitz

Rachel Koop

Inga Rotto

Jaydlin Seehase

Karlie Taylor

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