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Friday, November 4
Normal, Ill.
6 p.m.
University of Northern Iowa
at
Illinois State
UNI volleyball travels to Illinois State, Bradley
11/2/2022 1:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Panthers within striking distance of regular season title
UNI volleyball at Illinois State
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The Panthers swept last week's homestand by recording a 3-1 victory over the Murray State Racers and a 3-0 sweep of the Belmont Bruins. Inga Rotto's outstanding October ended with an errorless weekend on attack with 21 kills while hitting .538 across the two UNI wins. Also, Baylee Petersen became the 19th Panther and third member of her own family to surpass 1,000 career digs. Plus, Emily Holterhaus eclipsed 200 career blocks during the previous week.
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ILLINOIS STATE REDBIRDS
• Illinois State trails UNI, 56-30, in head-to-head meetings including a 3-1 loss at UNI in October.
• The Redbirds were the MVC's preseason favorite this year but find themselves in 10th place out of 12 teams.
• Libero Kaity Weimerskirch and outside hitter Sarah Kushner were both 2022 MVC Preseason All-Conference honorees.
• Outside hitter Aida Shadewald paces the Illinois State offense with 3.38 kills per set in conference play.
• In 2021, the Redbirds earned their fourth NCAA Championship berth in a row and their third consecutive MVC Championship crown.
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BRADLEY BRAVES
• Bradley is 12-70 versus UNI with a 3-0 defeat last month in the McLeod Center.
• The Braves were fourth in the 2022 MVC preseason poll and currently sit in a three-way tie for seventh place in the standings.
• Middle blocker Karagan Coggin was tabbed as a preseason all-conference pick this year.
• Outside hitter Doga Topcicek averages 3.33 digs per set and 2.86 kills per set versus league opponents.
• Bradley's previous season ended with its second-ever postseason appearance as the Braves reached the NIVC's second round.
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PANTHER NOTES
• The Panthers are on pace to become the first MVC team ever to win a regular season title after closing the previous year with a losing league record and finishing lower than sixth place in the conference standings.
• UNI's 13-0 conference record is better than all but Loyola (14-0, Atlantic 10) and Wright State (14-0, Horizon League) nationally.
• The Panthers are the country's only team to defeat Iowa State in Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones are 9-1 at home including a recent win over then-undefeated and No. 1 Texas.
• UNI is perfect in fourth sets in MVC play (9-0). The overall record for fourth frames is 13-3 with all 13 of those wins in succession.
• The Panthers are 12-6 in "deuce sets" including 6-2 in extended frames with four wins in a row during stanzas that go into "bonus ball".
• Both Inga Rotto and Emily Holterhaus have never missed any matches in their Panther careers. Rotto has played in 148 consecutive contests – believed to be the best individual streak in Missouri Valley Conference history – and owns UNI's records for total matches played (148) and total sets played (542). Holterhaus is on a 114-contest playing streak to begin her UNI tenure.
• Inga Rotto averaged 3.03 kills per set on a .464 clip in October featuring six tilts at .500 or better and at least eight total kills in all 10 outings with double-digit kills eight times.
• Baylee Petersen has 1,002 digs for the Panthers dating back to 2018. She ranks third within her family behind sister Sydney Petersen (1,421 (2018-21 Texas, 2022 UNI)) and mother and head coach Bobbi Petersen (1,457 (1986-89 UNI)).
• Tayler Alden needs 32 assists to earn her first 1,000-assist season and 37 assists to match Kinsey Caldwell (2,549) for 10th in Panther history. Alden is also UNI's active career leader in double-doubles (31) and triple-doubles (five (tied for third in Panther program history)).
• Payton Ahrenstorff has a current five-match errorless streak on serve receive across 56 total attempts.
- 6 p.m. CT | Nov. 4
- Normal, Ill. | Redbird Arena (9,600)
- 1540 KXEL - Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhans-Schulz: Play-by-Play)
- ESPN3
- Live StatsÂ
- 5 p.m. CT | Nov. 5
- Peoria, Ill. | Renaissance Coliseum (4,200)
- UNIpanthers.com (Chris Kleinhans-Schulz: Play-by-Play)
- ESPN3
- Live Stats
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The Panthers swept last week's homestand by recording a 3-1 victory over the Murray State Racers and a 3-0 sweep of the Belmont Bruins. Inga Rotto's outstanding October ended with an errorless weekend on attack with 21 kills while hitting .538 across the two UNI wins. Also, Baylee Petersen became the 19th Panther and third member of her own family to surpass 1,000 career digs. Plus, Emily Holterhaus eclipsed 200 career blocks during the previous week.
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ILLINOIS STATE REDBIRDS
• Illinois State trails UNI, 56-30, in head-to-head meetings including a 3-1 loss at UNI in October.
• The Redbirds were the MVC's preseason favorite this year but find themselves in 10th place out of 12 teams.
• Libero Kaity Weimerskirch and outside hitter Sarah Kushner were both 2022 MVC Preseason All-Conference honorees.
• Outside hitter Aida Shadewald paces the Illinois State offense with 3.38 kills per set in conference play.
• In 2021, the Redbirds earned their fourth NCAA Championship berth in a row and their third consecutive MVC Championship crown.
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BRADLEY BRAVES
• Bradley is 12-70 versus UNI with a 3-0 defeat last month in the McLeod Center.
• The Braves were fourth in the 2022 MVC preseason poll and currently sit in a three-way tie for seventh place in the standings.
• Middle blocker Karagan Coggin was tabbed as a preseason all-conference pick this year.
• Outside hitter Doga Topcicek averages 3.33 digs per set and 2.86 kills per set versus league opponents.
• Bradley's previous season ended with its second-ever postseason appearance as the Braves reached the NIVC's second round.
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PANTHER NOTES
• The Panthers are on pace to become the first MVC team ever to win a regular season title after closing the previous year with a losing league record and finishing lower than sixth place in the conference standings.
• UNI's 13-0 conference record is better than all but Loyola (14-0, Atlantic 10) and Wright State (14-0, Horizon League) nationally.
• The Panthers are the country's only team to defeat Iowa State in Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones are 9-1 at home including a recent win over then-undefeated and No. 1 Texas.
• UNI is perfect in fourth sets in MVC play (9-0). The overall record for fourth frames is 13-3 with all 13 of those wins in succession.
• The Panthers are 12-6 in "deuce sets" including 6-2 in extended frames with four wins in a row during stanzas that go into "bonus ball".
• Both Inga Rotto and Emily Holterhaus have never missed any matches in their Panther careers. Rotto has played in 148 consecutive contests – believed to be the best individual streak in Missouri Valley Conference history – and owns UNI's records for total matches played (148) and total sets played (542). Holterhaus is on a 114-contest playing streak to begin her UNI tenure.
• Inga Rotto averaged 3.03 kills per set on a .464 clip in October featuring six tilts at .500 or better and at least eight total kills in all 10 outings with double-digit kills eight times.
• Baylee Petersen has 1,002 digs for the Panthers dating back to 2018. She ranks third within her family behind sister Sydney Petersen (1,421 (2018-21 Texas, 2022 UNI)) and mother and head coach Bobbi Petersen (1,457 (1986-89 UNI)).
• Tayler Alden needs 32 assists to earn her first 1,000-assist season and 37 assists to match Kinsey Caldwell (2,549) for 10th in Panther history. Alden is also UNI's active career leader in double-doubles (31) and triple-doubles (five (tied for third in Panther program history)).
• Payton Ahrenstorff has a current five-match errorless streak on serve receive across 56 total attempts.
UNI Panther Football: The Best Pod of your Day (Episode 3)
Wednesday, September 10
Bobbi Petersen Postgame vs. Iowa State, Sept. 9, 2025
Tuesday, September 09
Bobbi Petersen Press Conference, Sep. 8, 2025
Tuesday, September 09
Panther soccer scores second straight shutout against St. Ambrose
Saturday, September 06