UNI Wins at Southern Illinois Saturday

Saturday, October 9

Carbondale, IL

7 pm

University of Northern Iowa

Southern Illinois University

UNI Wins at Southern Illinois Saturday

10/9/2021 9:50:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

CARBONDALE, Ill. – The UNI volleyball team overcame travel issues and a resilient effort by the homestanding Southern Illinois Salukis as the Panthers finished the week with a 3-2 victory Saturday at Davies Gym. The Panthers won with set scores of 25-18, 25-17, 15-25, 23-25, and 15-11.

UNI's scheduled trip for Friday night from Springfield, Missouri to Carbondale, Illinois was cancelled due to circumstances beyond its control, and the Panthers needed to make a long day-of drive to the match which was delayed from 5 pm to 7 pm to allow UNI enough time to arrive and warm up for the contest.

The Panthers had a .206 attack percentage, seven service aces, 65 digs, and a season-high 15 blocks. Emily Holterhaus tallied a season-best 19 kills while Tayler Alden added a career-high 16 kills along with 28 assists and nine digs. Both led the way in aces with two apiece. Kira Fallert topped UNI with a personal-high-tying 16 digs. Carly Spies notched 11 blocks which represented the best total in a match since Shelby Kintzel's 11 rejections November 22, 2013 versus Bradley.

Set 1: Following a back-and-forth start, Inga Rotto forced an 11-11 tie with a kill. Rotto's termination opened a 6-1 go-ahead run. The Salukis later sliced their deficit to 19-18, but Tayler Alden and Emily Holterhaus combined for six consecutive kills to secure the 25-18 victory.

Set 2: UNI jumped out to an 8-1 advantage featuring multiple kills from Tayler Alden along with two blocks from Carly Spies. Southern Illinois could only get back to within four points for the remainder of the frame as UNI pulled away for a 25-17 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.

Set 3: The Panthers and the Salukis exchanged several early ties before Southern Illinois broke a 4-4 score with a 6-2 spurt. After UNI closed the difference to 12-10, the Salukis tallied the next six points and held on for a 25-15 triumph.

Set 4: Southern Illinois claimed a quick 3-1 edge and fought off UNI each time that the Panthers had a chance to pull even. UNI trailed by as many as five points prior to coming back within 23-22 and 24-23. Unfortunately, the Salukis pulled out the 25-23 victory that leveled the contest at 2-2.

Set 5: UNI snapped a 1-1 tie with two kills from Emily Holterhaus and a combined block by Tayler Alden and Carly Spies to build a 4-1 lead. The Panthers never trailed in the decisive final frame, and Payton Ahrenstorff finally ended the match with a service ace to complete a 15-11 win.

UP NEXT:
The Panthers will be in the McLeod Center next week to host the Evansville Purple Aces and the Indiana State Sycamores. Friday's match is the annual Pink Game with first serve at 6 pm and video coverage via ESPN3. Saturday's tilt will be at 6 pm with exclusive audio coverage on unipanthers.com.