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Tuesday, November 22
Evansville, Ind.
3 p.m.
University of Northern Iowa
at
Evansville (MVC Semifinal)
Top-seeded UNI volleyball heads to conference tournament
11/20/2022 12:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Panthers have No. 1 seed, skip opening two rounds with double bye
UNI volleyball vs. TBD (MVC Semifinals)
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Eight MVC teams qualify for the new four-round format with teams seeded fifth through eighth competing in the opening round. The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds receive byes into the second round, and the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds get double byes. After the first three rounds, the two remaining teams will play in the championship final.
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Prior to the tournament, Tayler Alden, Sydney Petersen, Inga Rotto, Carly Spies, and head coach Bobbi Petersen received All-MVC awards plaudits. Alden is UNI's third different Setter of the Year pick (Rachel Koop (2019), Heather Hook (2017)). Sydney Petersen joins Ellie Blankenship (2010) as the only other Panther to be Libero of the Year. Bobbi Petersen matches her former head coach Iradge Ahrabi-Fard as a record-tying seven-time MVC Coach of the Year honoree. All-MVC First Team nods were earned by Alden, Sydney Petersen, Rotto, and Spies. These are the first selections to the All-MVC First Team for all four individuals.
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PANTHER NOTES
• Prior to UNI's championship this year, no MVC team had ever won the regular season title one year removed from either a losing league record or a finish below sixth place in the conference standings.
• Under head coach Bobbi Petersen, the Panthers fought off a match point to earn a victory on 14 occasions including four times in a window of 12-plus months (Nov. 11, 2022 against Southern Illinois, Sept. 23, 2022 at Valparaiso, Nov. 13, 2021 at Evansville, Oct. 29, 2021 at Drake).
• UNI had no reception errors on 90 attempts in its regular season finale at Drake featuring Sydney Petersen receiving 50 passes on her own. It was the first Panther match of at least four sets with no aces allowed since a 3-2 upset of No. 5 Kentucky in August 2018.
• Inga Rotto has not missed a single match during her UNI career with 153 consecutive contests played – believed to be the Missouri Valley Conference record – and owns the UNI career records for total matches (153) and total sets (561). She is 14 terminations shy of becoming the 30th Panther in program history to register 1,000 career kills and 11 rejections away from 400 career blocks. Her .371 attack percentage in 2022 would rank as the best single-season mark for any Panther with at least 200 kills in UNI history.
• Emily Holterhaus (119), Tayler Alden (84), and Kira Fallert (62) also have career-opening playing streaks for the Panthers including starts for Fallert in all of her outings.
• Sydney Petersen has not missed a match in 144 chances between her time at UNI and Texas, and she can claim her first 500-dig season with 11 more digs this year.
• Tayler Alden needs two more kills to reach a career total of 500 and sits 60 assists shy of Bobbie Kreple (2,780) for ninth in UNI history.
• Emily Holterhaus is 27 attacks away from matching Piper Thomas (3,628) for ninth in Panther history.
• Kira Fallert is averaging 4.33 kills per set when playing in Meeks Family Fieldhouse featuring a career-high 25 terminations in her first visit back in 2021.
• Bobbi Petersen is 10-for-23 in challenge attempts for 2022. In comparison, Panther opponents are a combined 15-for-36.
• The Becker-Petersen family has a grand total of 4,981 digs. Sydney Petersen (1,516) tops mother Bobbi (Becker) Petersen (1,457), twin sister Baylee Petersen (1,045), and aunts Jennifer (Becker) Hansen (533) and Michelle (Becker) Bolte (430).
- 3 p.m. CT | Nov. 22
- Evansville, Ind. | Meeks Family Fieldhouse (1,164)
- 1540 KXEL - Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhans-Schulz: Play-by-Play)
- ESPN+
- Live Stats
- 4 p.m. CT | Nov. 23
- Evansville, Ind. | Meeks Family Fieldhouse (1,164)
- 1540 KXEL - Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhans-Schulz: Play-by-Play)
- ESPN+
- Live Stats
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Eight MVC teams qualify for the new four-round format with teams seeded fifth through eighth competing in the opening round. The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds receive byes into the second round, and the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds get double byes. After the first three rounds, the two remaining teams will play in the championship final.
Â
Prior to the tournament, Tayler Alden, Sydney Petersen, Inga Rotto, Carly Spies, and head coach Bobbi Petersen received All-MVC awards plaudits. Alden is UNI's third different Setter of the Year pick (Rachel Koop (2019), Heather Hook (2017)). Sydney Petersen joins Ellie Blankenship (2010) as the only other Panther to be Libero of the Year. Bobbi Petersen matches her former head coach Iradge Ahrabi-Fard as a record-tying seven-time MVC Coach of the Year honoree. All-MVC First Team nods were earned by Alden, Sydney Petersen, Rotto, and Spies. These are the first selections to the All-MVC First Team for all four individuals.
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PANTHER NOTES
• Prior to UNI's championship this year, no MVC team had ever won the regular season title one year removed from either a losing league record or a finish below sixth place in the conference standings.
• Under head coach Bobbi Petersen, the Panthers fought off a match point to earn a victory on 14 occasions including four times in a window of 12-plus months (Nov. 11, 2022 against Southern Illinois, Sept. 23, 2022 at Valparaiso, Nov. 13, 2021 at Evansville, Oct. 29, 2021 at Drake).
• UNI had no reception errors on 90 attempts in its regular season finale at Drake featuring Sydney Petersen receiving 50 passes on her own. It was the first Panther match of at least four sets with no aces allowed since a 3-2 upset of No. 5 Kentucky in August 2018.
• Inga Rotto has not missed a single match during her UNI career with 153 consecutive contests played – believed to be the Missouri Valley Conference record – and owns the UNI career records for total matches (153) and total sets (561). She is 14 terminations shy of becoming the 30th Panther in program history to register 1,000 career kills and 11 rejections away from 400 career blocks. Her .371 attack percentage in 2022 would rank as the best single-season mark for any Panther with at least 200 kills in UNI history.
• Emily Holterhaus (119), Tayler Alden (84), and Kira Fallert (62) also have career-opening playing streaks for the Panthers including starts for Fallert in all of her outings.
• Sydney Petersen has not missed a match in 144 chances between her time at UNI and Texas, and she can claim her first 500-dig season with 11 more digs this year.
• Tayler Alden needs two more kills to reach a career total of 500 and sits 60 assists shy of Bobbie Kreple (2,780) for ninth in UNI history.
• Emily Holterhaus is 27 attacks away from matching Piper Thomas (3,628) for ninth in Panther history.
• Kira Fallert is averaging 4.33 kills per set when playing in Meeks Family Fieldhouse featuring a career-high 25 terminations in her first visit back in 2021.
• Bobbi Petersen is 10-for-23 in challenge attempts for 2022. In comparison, Panther opponents are a combined 15-for-36.
• The Becker-Petersen family has a grand total of 4,981 digs. Sydney Petersen (1,516) tops mother Bobbi (Becker) Petersen (1,457), twin sister Baylee Petersen (1,045), and aunts Jennifer (Becker) Hansen (533) and Michelle (Becker) Bolte (430).
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
MB/O
/ Women's Volleyball
MB/O
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