UNI volleyball falls to Toledo and Arizona State to open season

Friday, August 26

Tempe, Ariz.

11 a.m.

University of Northern Iowa

0-1,0-0MVC

Toledo

1-0,0-0MAC

UNI

Toledo

UNI volleyball falls to Toledo and Arizona State to open season

8/26/2022 1:14:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Match 1 Stats vs. Toledo Match 2 Stats at Arizona State Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

Panthers fall to Rockets in four sets, Drop five-set thriller to Sun Devils at Webb-Burbridge Classic

TEMPE, Ariz. --- UNI volleyball showed early resolve as it opened the 2022 season at the Webb-Burbridge Classic on the Arizona State University campus on Friday. Despite valiant efforts by the Panthers, UNI dropped its first two matches of the tournament, falling to the Toledo Rockets in four sets late Friday morning (25-18, 21-25, 19-25, 17-25), and dropping a difficult five-set matchup against the Arizona State Sun Devils late Friday night (27-25, 25-23, 24-26, 23-25, 10-15).

TOLEDO | L, 1-3 (25-18, 21-25, 19-25, 17-25)

Emily Holterhaus finished with a team-high 10 kills in the loss, with Inga Rotto notching 9 kills and 4 total blocks, and Carly Spies recording 8 kills. Tayler Alden notched 34 assists in the season opener with 7 kills and 7 digs, while Sydney Petersen led the Panthers with 12 digs in her UNI debut.

Set 1 (UNI, 25-18): The Panthers and Rockets engaged in a tight back and forth battle with nine ties in the opening stanza. Tied at 13 all, UNI pulled away with a 12-5 run thanks to 4 kills and 2 blocks from Spies. UNI forced 8 Toledo attack errors, while posting a .303 attack percentage on offense.

Set 2 (Toledo, 25-21): Toledo's defense stepped up in the second set, recording 13 team digs to UNI's 5. The Rockets would take the lead after a 15-15 tie and close on a 5-0 run for the four-point set win over the Panthers. UNI was held to just 9 kills in the frame with a .067 attack percentage, including 3 by Rotto.

Set 3 (Toledo, 25-19): The Panther offense found some momentum into the third set with 12 team kills, including 4 by Kira Fallert. Spies and Sydney Petersen each notched one service ace, but the Toledo offense committed just 4 attack errors with a .281 attack percentage. A kill at the net by Alden tied the set up at 19 points apiece, but the Rockets capitalized on a 5-0 run to take a 2-1 set lead in the match.

Set 4 (Toledo, 25-17): Megan Witte posted four kills off the bench to contribute to 15 Panther kills in the fourth set, but UNI struggled with 11 attack errors. Toledo led the frame from start to finish with the Panthers pulling within two points twice. The Rockets committed just a single attack error, scoring the final 7 points of the set to take the match in four sets.

ARIZONA STATE | L, 2-3 (27-25, 25-23, 24-26, 23-25, 10-15)

Four Panthers notched double-digit kills against ASU, led by 15 kills each from Inga Rotto and Carly Spies. Rotto recorded 6 blocks for UNI, while Tayler Alden posted 52 assists, 5 blocks and a match-high 3 service aces. Kira Fallert tallied a 12 kill, 11 dig double-double as Olivia Tjernagel posted 10 kills. Sydney Petersen anchored the Panther defense with 18 digs.

Set 1 (UNI, 27-25): UNI overcame early errors to rally from as many as 5 points down. Led by 4 kills apiece from Fallert and Emily Holterhaus, as well as a pair of Alden service aces, the Panthers staved off consecutive ASU set points to extend and ultimately win the opening stanza with a .256 hit percentage on 16 team kills.

Set 2 (UNI, 25-23): Both Panther and Sun Devil defenses came to play as both teams exchanged long point rallies in another back-and-forth frame. Arizona State took a 20-17 lead using a 5-0 run, but UNI would score 8 of the final 11 points to edge the Sun Devils by two points for a second straight set. The Panthers posted a match-high .286 hit percentage in the set on 17 kills.

Set 3 (ASU, 26-24): UNI held the lead of much of the third set, holding on to earn a match-point opportunity at 24-23. Arizona State however would score three straight points, including its final two on consecutive service aces by Claire Jeter. The Panthers recorded 4 total blocks in the third, but also committed a match-high 8 attack errors on offense.

Set 4 (ASU, 25-23): Three straight ASU kills sparked the Sun Devils in the fourth frame as the Panthers would trail for the majority of the set. Capitalizing on 6 ASU attack errors, UNI took a 23-22 lead late into the fourth before the Sun Devils scored three straight points on a Iman Isanovic kill, a Marta Levinska service ace, and an attack error by Holterhaus.

Set 5 (ASU, 15-10): The Panthers fell behind by as many as 7 points to begin the final stanza, the largest deficit for either team all night. UNI recorded a negative hitting percentage in a set for the first time on the season with a -.250 mark after recording 3 hits on 16 attacks with 7 errors. The purple and gold were able to tighten the margin with three late points, but ultimately fell by five.

PANTHER NOTES

UNI is now 1-1 all-time against Toledo with Friday's loss. The only other meeting between the program's came on Sept. 10, 2005 in a 3-0 UNI win in Milwaukee, Wisc.
The Panthers are now 31-17 in program history in the first match of the season, and 16-7 in season openers under head coach Bobbi Petersen.
Olivia Tjernagel made the first start of her collegiate career against the Rockets, recording 5 kills, 2 block assists and one dig in 4 sets.
Friday night's matchup was the third meeting all-time between the Panthers and Sun Devils, and first since 1996. Arizona State now leads the series 3-0.
Friday's loss to ASU marks the first time UNI has lost a match in five sets after initially leading 2-0 since Feb. 28, 2021 against Indiana State. It is also the first time the Panthers have lost a match 3-2 after a 2-0 lead on a neutral/road court since Nov. 27, 2015 at Wichita State.
Tayler Alden's 52 assists against Arizona State were the second most recorded in her career, one shy of tying her career-high of 53 from March 14, 2021 against Valparaiso.
Kira Fallert's 12 kill, 11 dig performance was UNI's first double-double of the season. It is also Fallert's fifth career double-double.
Playing in Friday's match, Inga Rotto and Emily Holterhaus continued their streaks of consecutive matches played for UNI. Rotto has now played in 122 consecutive matches, while Holterhaus has appeared in 90 straight contests.

UP NEXT
UNI wraps up play at the Webb-Burbridge Classic early Saturday afternoon as the Panthers take on CSU Bakersfield. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on the Panther Sports Radio Network via KXEL 1540 and UNIpanthers.com.