UNI wins four-setter Saturday against Illinois State

Saturday, October 8

Cedar Falls, Iowa

7 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

13-6,6-0MVC

Illinois State

8-10,1-6MVC

Illinois St.

UNI

Tayler Alden Inga Rotto Emily Holterhaus

UNI wins four-setter Saturday against Illinois State

10/8/2022 10:30:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Match 19 Stats vs Illinois State

Panthers defeat preseason favorite in 3-1 triumph

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – A season-high home crowd of 2,298 fans in the McLeod Center witnessed the UNI Panther volleyball team take down the Illinois State Redbirds in a 3-1 Saturday victory (21-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-15). The Panthers are now 13-6 overall and 6-0 against Missouri Valley Conference competition. The Redbirds, which were tabbed as the MVC preseason favorite, fall to 8-10 and 1-6, respectively.

UNI, which has won six consecutive matches and 12 of its last 13 tilts overall, topped Illinois State in attack percentage (.242 to .215) and digs (70 to 67). Both teams registered seven service aces while the Redbirds held a nine-to-four block advantage.

Kira Fallert's season-best 20 kills paced the Panther attack, and Inga Rotto, who became UNI's all-time leader in sets played Saturday, added 10 terminations with .474 hitting. Payton Ahrenstorff had a personal-high-tying three aces on errorless service and matched Sydney Petersen at 14 digs each to highlight the UNI defense. Tayler Alden's 39 assists were tied for the contest high.

The Panthers were even or trailing for much of the opening stanza until an Emily Holterhaus kill created a 13-12 lead. UNI gained another advantage at 14-13 on a combined block by Alden and Carly Spies before Illinois State surged back ahead. The Redbirds ultimately won by a 25-21 margin.

Ahrenstorff's first ace put UNI in front, 3-2, in the second frame. Illinois State answered with a big run and built an 18-10 edge. Fallert sparked a Panther comeback on serve and attack, and her go-ahead kill from a 22-22 tie swung the lead to UNI. After the Redbirds pulled even at 23-23, another Fallert termination and another Ahrenstorff ace capped the 25-23 comeback victory.

Strong serving by Grace Mikota in her first-ever McLeod Center appearance helped UNI turn a 1-1 third-set score into a 6-1 advantage. The Panthers led for the rest of the frame while collecting 17 kills on .342 efficiency and tallying 20 digs featuring eight digs from Mikota. The 25-22 triumph lifted UNI to a 2-1 lead in the match.

In the fourth, kills for Fallert bookended UNI's latest five-point run as the early edge grew to 5-1. Illinois State had a chance to force a 5-5 tie but was denied when Olivia Tjernagel teamed up with Rotto for a big block. The Panthers stayed in front for the remainder of the match with a 14-7 outburst creating some breathing room en route to a 25-15 match-ending set win.

This five-contest UNI homestand resumes Tuesday with a visit from in-state rival Drake. First serve of Tuesday's tilt between the first-place Panthers and second-place Bulldogs is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the McLeod Center. Live broadcasts of the action will air on ESPN+ and News/Talk 1540 KXEL.