Panther volleyball claims share of Missouri Valley Conference championship

Friday, November 11

Cedar Falls, Iowa

6 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

23-6,16-0MVC

Southern Illinois

17-11,10-6MVC

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Southern Ill.	25	18	29	21	15	2
UNI	22	25	27	25	17	3

Panther volleyball claims share of Missouri Valley Conference championship

11/11/2022 9:55:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Match 29 Stats vs. SIU Photo Gallery

UNI starts final home weekend by outlasting Southern Illinois, 3-2

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The UNI Panther volleyball team guaranteed at least a share of this year's Missouri Valley Conference regular season title in a wild 3-2 win (22-25, 25-18, 27-29, 25-21, 17-15) Friday against the Southern Illinois Salukis in front of a season-high home crowd of 2,446 fans in the McLeod Center. UNI (23-6 overall, 16-0 MVC) can clinch an outright championship Saturday during its home finale on Senior Night.

Part of the 2022 league crown was secured Friday by a Panther program that bounced back from a 7-11 MVC record and eighth-place finish in 2021. This is the first time in conference history that a team became a regular season champion just one season removed from a losing record. It also represents the league's first instance of a team climbing from below sixth place into a first-place spot in a single year.

UNI had a season-best 17 blocks against Southern Illinois (17-11 overall, 10-6 MVC) which produced just five rejections. The Panthers also hit .262 and held the Salukis to a .136 attack percentage. Southern Illinois tallied an 82-to-81 dig advantage and a 15-to-1 edge in service aces.

Emily Holterhaus carried the Panther attack with a career-best 22 kills. Carly Spies and Inga Rotto each posted double digits in kills and a match-high eight blocks apiece. Spies notched 13 terminations on .600 hitting while Rotto collected 10 kills on a .450 clip and secured a new personal-high in stuffs. Kira Fallert and Tayler Alden both recorded double-doubles. Fallert posted a career-best 20 digs and added 11 kills. Alden ended with 46 assists, 12 digs, and UNI's only ace. Sydney Petersen totaled a match-high-tying and season-high-tying 24 digs, and Payton Ahrenstorff reached double figures as well with 10 digs.

The Panthers and the Salukis battled to seven ties through 7-7 to begin the contest. A pair of 5-0 UNI runs helped the Panthers push the score to 20-13 in their favor. However, Southern Illinois answered with 11 consecutive points and handled a late UNI comeback in a 25-22 first-set triumph.

Another back-and-forth start came during the second stanza with nine total ties up to a 12-12 deadlock. Holterhaus broke that tie with consecutive kills, and the Panthers led for the rest of the frame. She registered eight terminations via .500 hitting for the set as UNI won, 25-18, to pull level at 1-1.

Southern Illinois was ahead or tied from the start in the third frame until UNI finally surged in front by a 22-21 margin. The Salukis and the Panthers later traded multiple set-point chances before the first Southern Illinois block of the evening gave the visitors a 29-27 victory and a 2-1 lead.

Olivia Tjernagel had a personal 3-0 run with two kills and solo block to lift the Panthers to a 6-4 advantage within the fourth set. After UNI's lead was cut to 7-6, a streak of six points in a row capped by back-to-back tandem rejections from Alden and Rotto gave the Panthers some separation. UNI needed six set-point tries but ultimately forced a decisive frame with its 25-21 triumph.

Neither side led by more than two points at any time in a fifth set that featured 10 total ties. Alden and Spies denied a Southern Illinois match point at 14-13 with a combined block, and a Spies solo stuff followed to give UNI a 15-14 edge. The Salukis turned the Panthers aside once, but in the wake of a Southern Illinois attack error, Spies provided a match-point termination which completed the 17-15 win.

Next up, the Panthers put a bow on their 2022 home slate by hosting the Missouri State Bears for Senior Night at 5 p.m. Saturday. Payton Ahrenstorff, Kaylee Donner, Baylee Petersen, Sydney Petersen, Inga Rotto, and Carly Spies are among the individuals to be honored in Saturday's postgame Senior Night ceremony. Broadcast coverage of the match will be available via News/Talk 1540 KXEL and ESPN3.