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Friday, September 3
Lexington, Kentucky
9:30 am
University of Northern Iowa
vs
University of Southern California
UNI Volleyball Heads to Bluegrass Battle
9/2/2021 12:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
THIS WEEKEND'S ACTION:
Bluegrass Battle (Kentucky, USC, Creighton, UNI)
UNI vs USCÂ | Sept. 3 | 9:30 am
UNI vs Kentucky | Sept. 3 | 6:30 pm
UNI vs Creighton | Sept. 4 | 4 pm
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THE PANTHERS:
- UNI continues the 2021 season at the Bluegrass Battle with matches against USC, Kentucky, and Creighton. This is part of a rotating tournament series that dates back to when Kentucky hosted the 2014 Commonwealth Classic.
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- The Panthers have five victories across the six previous tournaments involving these teams. UNI's best work came in the 2018 Trojan Invitational with a second-place finish following wins over No. 13 Creighton and No. 5 Kentucky.
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- UNI picked up 3-1 triumphs against North Dakota State and Green Bay at the GBD Invite to start the season. The Panthers went 2-1 and trailed only Ball State (4-0) for the best record within the tournament.
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- Kira Fallert and Carly Spies were named to the GBD Invite All-Tournament Team last week. Spies was also selected as the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
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- The Panthers topped all Missouri Valley Conference teams in blocking (2.67 blocks per set) and serving (2.25 aces per set) in the opening week of play. UNI posted 14 blocks against Ball State and 13 aces versus North Dakota State.
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- Carly Spies is the MVC blocking leader at 1.42 blocks per set and 17 total rejections. Spies surpassed 100 career blocks last week and contributed to all three stuffs within the 6-0 run that closed the 3-1 win over North Dakota State.
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- Kira Fallert reached double digits in kills during each tilt during the first week of her college career. Fallert, who was also the only Panther with 10+ terminations in every UNI match, finished two digs shy of a double-double versus Green Bay.
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- UNI is back to a regular nonconference schedule in terms of size and strength. The Panthers will have 13 matches before Missouri Valley Conference play, and six opponents were ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Preseason Poll (No. 3 Kentucky, No. 18 Washington State, RV USC, RV Creighton, RV Marquette, RV Wright State).
- The Panthers will face reigning national champion Kentucky at the Bluegrass Battle. UNI previously squared off with the previous season's title team in 2003 (USC) and 2002 (Stanford).
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- UNI returns 13 women that were with the program for the spring season including 2020-21 All-MVC honorees Emily Holterhaus (First Team), Inga Rotto (Second Team), and Tayler Alden (All-Freshman Team).
- Despite the challenges of the delayed 2020 campaign, the Panthers still qualified for the MVC Championship and made it to the league semifinals. UNI has earned tournament berths and been semifinal qualifiers for a league-record 36 consecutive seasons.
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Bluegrass Battle (Kentucky, USC, Creighton, UNI)
UNI vs USCÂ | Sept. 3 | 9:30 am
UNI vs Kentucky | Sept. 3 | 6:30 pm
UNI vs Creighton | Sept. 4 | 4 pm
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THE PANTHERS:
- UNI continues the 2021 season at the Bluegrass Battle with matches against USC, Kentucky, and Creighton. This is part of a rotating tournament series that dates back to when Kentucky hosted the 2014 Commonwealth Classic.
Â
- The Panthers have five victories across the six previous tournaments involving these teams. UNI's best work came in the 2018 Trojan Invitational with a second-place finish following wins over No. 13 Creighton and No. 5 Kentucky.
Â
- UNI picked up 3-1 triumphs against North Dakota State and Green Bay at the GBD Invite to start the season. The Panthers went 2-1 and trailed only Ball State (4-0) for the best record within the tournament.
Â
- Kira Fallert and Carly Spies were named to the GBD Invite All-Tournament Team last week. Spies was also selected as the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
Â
- The Panthers topped all Missouri Valley Conference teams in blocking (2.67 blocks per set) and serving (2.25 aces per set) in the opening week of play. UNI posted 14 blocks against Ball State and 13 aces versus North Dakota State.
Â
- Carly Spies is the MVC blocking leader at 1.42 blocks per set and 17 total rejections. Spies surpassed 100 career blocks last week and contributed to all three stuffs within the 6-0 run that closed the 3-1 win over North Dakota State.
Â
- Kira Fallert reached double digits in kills during each tilt during the first week of her college career. Fallert, who was also the only Panther with 10+ terminations in every UNI match, finished two digs shy of a double-double versus Green Bay.
Â
- UNI is back to a regular nonconference schedule in terms of size and strength. The Panthers will have 13 matches before Missouri Valley Conference play, and six opponents were ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Preseason Poll (No. 3 Kentucky, No. 18 Washington State, RV USC, RV Creighton, RV Marquette, RV Wright State).
- The Panthers will face reigning national champion Kentucky at the Bluegrass Battle. UNI previously squared off with the previous season's title team in 2003 (USC) and 2002 (Stanford).
Â
- UNI returns 13 women that were with the program for the spring season including 2020-21 All-MVC honorees Emily Holterhaus (First Team), Inga Rotto (Second Team), and Tayler Alden (All-Freshman Team).
- Despite the challenges of the delayed 2020 campaign, the Panthers still qualified for the MVC Championship and made it to the league semifinals. UNI has earned tournament berths and been semifinal qualifiers for a league-record 36 consecutive seasons.
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Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
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