UNI volleyball to open spring season at Iowa State

UNI volleyball at Iowa State Spring Tournament

10 a.m. CT | April 2
Ames, Iowa | Hilton Coliseum (14,356)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI volleyball will open its spring slate of competition this weekend as the Panthers travel to Ames for three matches on the Iowa State campus.

The Panthers will face off against all three in-state programs, beginning with Iowa at 10 a.m. at Hilton Coliseum. UNI will take on Iowa State at 11:15 a.m., followed by Drake at 1:30 p.m. All matches are free and open to the public.

"It has really been great to get back into the gym during a spring season," said head coach Bobbi Petersen. "We have really missed the opportunities to train and develop individual skills over the past few years. Our student-athletes have been working really hard in many different aspects and we are looking forward to the chance to actually compete. Having only one setter this spring, we have not been able to do a lot of 6-on-6 training, so we are very excited about being able to compete against opponents this weekend."

UNI returns much of its roster from the 2021 fall season, including Second Team All-MVC middle blocker Carly Spies, who led the team with 111 total blocks last season. Offensively, Emily Holterhaus, who notched a team-high 320 kills for the Panthers in the fall also returns, as does setter Tayler Alden, UNI's leader in assists (697) and service aces (35) from last season.

The Panthers finished the 2021 season with a 12-19 record overall and 7-11 mark against MVC competition.

THE HAWKEYES

Iowa comes to Ames with a pair of spring wins under its belt against Bradley last weekend. The Hawkeye defeated the Braves 3-1 and 3-0 in consecutive matches last Saturday in Iowa City.
The Hawkeyes are coming off a 6-24 season last fall with a 4-16 mark in Big Ten play.
First year head coach Jim Barnes is getting his first look at his team this spring after being hired to lead the Hawkeyes this past December. Barnes bring 20 years of head coaching experience to the Iowa program after previously leading teams at Wyoming, Baylor and Tulane.
Iowa returns leading outside hitter Addie VanderWeide to the roster after 214 kills in 2021. Setter Bailey Ortega also returns for the Hawkeyes following an 838-assist campaign last fall, while Mari Hinkle returns on defense after posting 336 digs.

THE CYCLONES

Iowa State hosts this weekend's action after a 3-1 win over Omaha last Friday night in Atlantic, Iowa to open the spring season.
The Cyclones finished 16-12 and 8-8 in the Big 12 last season, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the 14th time in the last 17 years. ISU fell to #18 Stanford in the opening round in four sets.
Head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch will enter her 18th season at the helm of the Iowa State program this coming season. The Cyclones have reached postseason play 15 times under her leadership, which has included 14 NCAA Tournament berths and the 2018 NIVC championship.
Eleanor Holthaus returns for the Cyclones after leading ISU with 291 kills last season. Holthaus also notched 234 digs and 68 blocks last fall.
Setter Jaden Newsome will return for another season for the cardinal and gold after notching a team-high 1,000 assists in 2021, as well as 24 service aces.

THE BULLDOGS

Drake joins UNI in making its spring season debut this weekend in Ames.
The Bulldogs finished the 2021 season with a mark of 11-15 overall and 6-12 in MVC play. UNI split the regular season series with Drake last fall, falling at home in straight sets, while coming back on the road to win 3-2 in Des Moines.
Haley Bush returns for Drake as the Bulldogs leading attacker with 290 kills last fall.
Jada Wills anchored the Bulldog defense a season ago with 274 digs. Kacie Rewerts and Ashlynn Kuhn both ranked in the top 10 in the MVC with 124 and 118 total blocks respectively.

Calendar

Upcoming Events