UNI volleyball upends Iowa State on the road

Tuesday, September 13

Ames, Iowa

6:30 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

5-5,0-0MVC

Iowa State

5-5,0-0Big 12

UNI

Iowa St.

UNI volleyball upends Iowa State on the road

9/13/2022 9:41:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Match 10 Stats at Iowa State Photo Gallery

Panthers win in Ames for the first time since 2017 to begin final non-conference stretch

AMES, Iowa --- UNI volleyball's defense stepped up to the challenge on Tuesday night as the Panthers defeated the Iowa State Cyclones 3-1 at Hilton Coliseum (25-18, 22-25, 25-20, 25-19). The victory marks UNI's first win over ISU since 2017.

Kira Fallert led the Panthers with a match and season-high 15 kills, with Emily Holterhaus notching 13 kills in the win and season-best two solo blocks. Olivia Tjernagel tied her career-high with 6 total blocks against the Cyclones. Tayler Alden tallied 41 assists for UNI, while Sydney Petersen matched her season-high with 18 digs.

Set 1 (UNI, 25-18): UNI's defense stepped up to the challenge out of the gate, forcing 9 Cyclone errors in the opening frame and holding ISU to a -.062 hitting percentage. The Panthers used a 4-0 run out of the media timeout to take the lead and did not look back as Holterhaus notched 5 kills in the set, and Tjernagel and Spies both tallied a pair of block assists.

Set 2 (ISU, 25-22): The Panthers jumped out to a quick lead, and held a comfortable advantage for much of the second stanza. Iowa State's offense found consistency late with 11 kills on a .250 hitting percentage, rallying from down as many as 5 points for a narrow 3-point win. UNI's offense performed well with 13 kills on a .250 hitting percentage with Fallert totaling 4 kills in the second set, and Alden tallying 12 assists. Tjernagel also added 2 more block assists to her ledger for the night.

Set 3 (UNI, 25-20): UNI pounced early on the Cyclones in the third set, opening up on a 9-3 run. The Panthers led from start to finish in the frame, recording 12 kills with a .189 hitting percentage. UNI continued to pressure the ISU defense, forcing 8 attack errors and holding the Cyclones to a .061 hitting percentage. Tjernagel continued to dominate at the net with another pair of blocks, as Fallert and Holterhaus combined for 7 kills to lead the offense.

Set 4 (UNI, 25-19): After overcoming a slow start, the Panthers jumped out to a healthy lead and didn't look back, building as large as a 9-point advantage. UNI notched a match-high 15 kills in the fourth frame on a .256 hitting percentage, aided by 5 kills from Fallert and 3 from Holterhaus. ISU pulled within 4 points at 22-18, but the Panthers closed strong with a kill by Alden to close the match and secure the win for UNI.

PANTHER NOTES

The Panthers improve to 35-31 against Iowa State with their win on Tuesday. Head coach Bobbi Petersen also improves to 9-13 all-time against the Cyclones.
UNI has now won 4 consecutive matches for the first time since October and November of 2019.
UNI held the Cyclones to a .102 hitting percentage, the second straight match the Panthers have held their opponents under a .150 percentage.
Inga Rotto and Emily Holterhaus both extended their streak for consecutive matches played on Tuesday in Ames. Rotto has now played in 132 straight matches for UNI, while Holterhaus has seen action in 98 consecutive matches.
Inga Rotto surpassed both Jill Arganbright and Molly O'Brien (2000-03) for fifth on UNI's all-time sets played list with 483. Rotto trails Michelle Burow (2008-11) by one set for fourth on the list.

UP NEXT
UNI will conclude non-conference play this weekend at the Hawkeye Invitational at XStream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. The Panthers will take on North Florida on Friday morning, Sept. 16 at 10 a.m. CT, and South Dakota State at 4:30 p.m. CT on Friday. UNI will face Iowa at 2 p.m. CT on Saturday. UNI's match with Iowa will be streamed on Big Ten Network+. All three Panther matches will also be broadcast via radio on the Panther Sports Radio Network on 1540 KXEL and UNIpanthers.com.