Panthers pull off reverse sweep at Drake

Friday, October 29

Des Moines, IA

7 pm

University of Northern Iowa

9-15,4-7MVC

Drake University

8-11,3-8MVC

UNI

Drake

Panthers pull off reverse sweep at Drake

10/29/2021 10:30:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

DES MOINES, Iowa – The UNI Panther volleyball team fought off a match point and escaped a 2-0 deficit Friday en route to a 3-2 road victory against the Drake Bulldogs in the Knapp Center. Friday's set scores were 17-25, 19-25, 26-24, 25-19, and 15-9.

UNI broke its season high in digs and led Drake in the category by a 90-to-80 margin. Both teams had five service aces. The Panthers also earned 12 blocks and season-high-tying totals of 58 assists and 63 kills while hitting .138 for the contest.

Tayler Alden nearly recorded a triple-double with 35 assists, 11 kills, nine digs, and a personal-best five blocks. Jenna Brandt had her own double-double with 16 assists and 11 digs. Megan Witte added a career-high-tying 11 kills with Kaylissa Arndorfer getting 11 terminations as well to match a season high. Carly Spies notched 10 kills on a .368 attack percentage along with two aces. Olivia Tjernagel went 7-of-15 for an errorless .467 clip. Emily Holterhaus topped UNI defensively by posting a career-best 20 digs.

Set 1: Drake broke an early 5-5 tie by scoring eight points in a row and eventually building double-digit leads. UNI faced a 23-11 deficit prior to rattling off a 6-1 run that got some momentum on its side, but the Bulldogs were still able to pick up a 25-17 triumph.

Set 2: The Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 advantage featuring a combined block from Tayler Alden and Inga Rotto and a kill by Megan Witte. However, Drake surged in front and held off another UNI comeback attempt to win by a 25-19 margin.

Set 3: The Bulldogs were two points away from a sweep when the Panthers went on a 6-0 spurt and forced a 23-23 tie. Carly Spies spoiled Drake's match-point opportunity at 24-23 with a huge termination. She was replaced on serve by Kaylee Donner who tallied an ace and followed with another tough serve that the Bulldogs could not return in UNI's 26-24 victory.

Set 4: UNI and Drake were knotted up in nine different ties through the first 20 points of a back-and-forth start. The score was 16-16 before an Emily Holterhaus kill opened a four-point run that put the Panthers ahead for good. After the Bulldogs climbed within 22-20, Bobbi Petersen won a reversal via challenge to flip a point to UNI and open a 3-0 finish for a 25-19 triumph.

Set 5: Multiple kills from Megan Witte and Olivia Tjernagel keyed a tie-breaking 4-1 outburst that gave the Panthers a 6-3 edge. UNI was able to keep Drake at bay the rest of the way, and Kaylissa Arndorfer's match-point termination capped the 15-9 win and the 3-2 come-from-behind victory.

UP NEXT:
The Panthers and the Valparaiso Beacons will square off at 6 pm Monday at the Athletics-Recreation Center in Valparaiso, Indiana. This tilt will wrap up UNI's four-match Missouri Valley Conference road swing.