UNI volleyball claims home tournament title after wins over SEMO and Grand Canyon

Saturday, September 10

Cedar Falls, Iowa

12 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

3-5,0-0MVC

Southeast Missouri State

3-5,0-0OVC

Southeast Mo. St.

UNI

UNI volleyball claims home tournament title after wins over SEMO and Grand Canyon

9/10/2022 3:12:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Match 8 Stats vs. SEMO Match 9 Stats vs. Grand Canyon Photo Gallery

Panthers finish first homestand 3-0 with a pair of wins on Saturday

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- It was a Saturday of season-bests and thrilling comebacks for UNI volleyball as the Panthers swept the Redhawks of Southeast Missouri State (SEMO) on Saturday afternoon (25-14, 25-20, 26-24), before roaring back for a 3-2 victory over Grand Canyon on Saturday night (22-25, 24-26, 25-8, 25-12, 15-8) to clinch the UNI Tournament team title.

Completing a 3-0 weekend, Emily Holterhaus was named tournament MVP with 45 total kills for the three-match event. Setter Tayler Alden and middle blocker Olivia Tjernagel were also selected to represent UNI on the All-Tournament Team after their performances on the court.

SEMO | W, 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 26-24)

Emily Holterhaus notched a match-high 16 kills for the Panthers to reach 900 total kills in her career, as Tayler Alden and Kaylissa Arndorfer each recorded a season-best 11 kill performance. Alden also led UNI with 34 assists and 6 block assists. Kira Fallert and Baylee Petersen also recorded season-highs on defense with Fallert tallying 12 digs, and Petersen 10 digs. Sydney Petersen tied her career-high with 4 service aces in the UNI win, complimented by 12 digs.

Set 1 (UNI, 25-14): The Panthers pounced out of the gate scoring the match's first 6 points, including 8 of the first 10. Forcing 7 Redhawk attack errors, UNI led the opening set from start to finish, despite a short-spurted SEMO rally to pull within four. Sydney Petersen notched a pair of service aces, as the Panther defense, led by a pair of block assists by Olivia Tjernagel and Holterhaus, shut down the SEMO attack, helping UNI cruise to an 11-point win.

Set 2 (UNI, 25-20): UNI faced a stiff challenge from the Redhawks at the net in the second set as SEMO notched 4 total blocks. Despite the test, SEMO recorded only 8 kills in the frame with a .167 hitting percentage, while the Panther offense continued to step up with 18 team kills with a .250 hitting percentage. Holterhaus led UNI with 6 kills in the second stanza, with Ahrenstorff notching 5 digs. Baylee Petersen and Fallert both also recorded a service ace to close out the frame.

Set 3 (UNI, 26-24): UNI entered the third frame against a focused SEMO offense determined to extend the match, recording 14 team kills on a .229 hitting percentage. The Redhawks led for much of the set before the Panther offense chipped away at the SEMO lead to tie the set late. UNI scored 6 of the final 8 points in the come-from-behind effort, led by 5 kills from Holterhaus, as well as a pair of aces from Sydney Petersen. Kaylissa Arndorfer and Tjernagel combined for 5 block assists in the third stanza, including a tag-team blocking effort on match point.

Grand Canyon | W, 3-2 (22-25, 24-26, 25-8, 25-12, 15-8)

Holterhaus and Carly Spies each posted double-digit kill numbers to lead the Panthers in the 3-2 win, with Holterhaus leading with 14 kills and Spies with 10. Alden notched 42 assists for UNI, while Baylee Petersen tied a career-high with 5 service aces. Kira Fallert tallied three aces for the purple and gold with 14 digs, with Sydney Petersen recording a team-high 16 digs.

Set 1 (GCU, 25-22): Aided by three consecutive service aces by Baylee Petersen, the Panthers were able to challenge Grand Canyon down the stretch, but fell short in taking and holding the lead. Recording 13 team kills with a .294 hitting percentage, UNI forced 4 GCU receiving errors in a narrow three-point loss. Inga Rotto led the way with 4 kills in the set, as Sydney Petersen notched 6 digs.

Set 2 (GCU, 26-24): After falling behind 4-2 in the second set, UNI rattled off a 7-0 run to grab a quick lead on the Antelopes. The Panthers tallied 10 kills, but committed 10 attack errors in the frame as both UNI and GCU recorded hitting percentages of .135. UNI staved off back-to-back set points late, but was unable to capitalize on late momentum, dropping the second stanza by 2 points. Holterhaus and Alden each recorded 4 kills in the set, while Alden and Spies combined for 4 block assists.

Set 3 (UNI, 25-8): The Panthers flipped the switch in the third frame with a dominating effort on offense, forcing 10 Antelope errors and holding the GCU offense to a -.154 hitting percentage. After being tied at 4 points apiece, UNI took off and led the rest of the way with 11 kills on a .562 hitting percentage, highlighted by 5 kills from Holterhaus and a solo block. Sydney Petersen notched 7 digs, with Fallert also blocking one attack.

Set 4 (UNI, 25-12): UNI's hot hand from the third set carried over into the fourth as the Panthers opened on a 7-1 run to open the frame. UNI held GCU to a negative hitting percentage for a second straight stanza at -.133, while racking up 8 kills on offense with a .333 hitting percentage. Tjernagel notched 3 kills for the Panthers, plus a pair of block assists, as Spies recorded 2 block assists of her own.

Set 5 (UNI, 15-8): After falling behind 4-3 to open the fifth set, the Panthers sprinted across the finish line, outscoring the Antelopes 11-4 down the stretch. With 9 kills on a .533 hitting percentage, UNI forced 4 GCU errors to complete the comeback from down two sets to none. Holterhaus and Spies pushed the Panthers across the line with 3 kills each, with Holterhaus also adding her second solo block to her ledger.

Final Tournament Standings

UNI (3-0)
Grand Canyon (2-1)
SEMO (1-2)
Western Michigan (1-2)

All-Tournament Team

Emily Holterhaus, OH (UNI) [MVP]
Tayler Alden, S (UNI)
Olivia Tjernagel, MB (UNI)
McKenzie Wise, OH (Grand Canyon)
Melaine Brecka, OH (Grand Canyon)
Tara Beilsmith, L (SEMO)
Maggie King, OH (Western Michigan)

PANTHER NOTES

UNI improves to 3-1 all-time against SEMO with the victory. Saturday's meeting was the first time the two teams met on a non-neutral court.
Saturday night's UNI-GCU match was the first all-time meeting between the two programs.
Inga Rotto and Emily Holterhaus each extended their respective streaks of consecutive matches played on Saturday. Rotto has now played in 131 straight matches for the Panthers, while Holterhaus has seen action in 97consecutive matches.
UNI's 8 points allowed in the third set against Grand Canyon were the fewest allowed by the Panthers in any set this season.
UNI's 11 total blocks against GCU are the second most recorded in a match this season. The Panthers notched 14 blocks on Aug. 26 at Arizona State during the opening weekend of the season.
Sydney Petersen's lone service aces against the Antelopes gives her 93 on her career, inching closer to the 100-career ace milestone. Petersen notched 82 aces playing at Texas from 2018-21.
Baylee Petersen's 7 digs vs. GCU move her 13 career digs away from 900.

UP NEXT
The Panthers will have a quick turnaround as they head to Ames on Tuesday, Sept. 13 to take on the Iowa State Cyclones at Hilton Coliseum. First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT, with the match being streamed live on ESPN+, and on the Panther Sports Radio Network 1540 KXEL.