UNI volleyball wins two to open Hawkeye Invitational

Friday, September 16

Coralville, Iowa

10 a.m.

University of Northern Iowa

6-5,0-0MVC

North Florida

1-8,0-0ASUN

UNI

North Florida

UNI volleyball wins two to open Hawkeye Invitational

9/16/2022 12:04:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Match 11 Stats vs. North Florida Match 12 Stats vs. South Dakota State Photo Gallery

Panthers roll past North Florida and rally in thrilling win over South Dakota State

CORALVILLE, Iowa --- UNI volleyball rolled past North Florida and rallied late against South Dakota State in a marathon finish to earn a pair of wins on the opening day of the Hawkeye Invitational at Xtream Arena. The two victories extend the Panthers' current win streak to 6 matches.

North Florida | W, 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-13)
Kira Fallert led UNI with a match-high 13 kills and 9 digs, while also tying a career-high with 4 service aces. Emily Holterhaus notched 10 kills in the Panther victory, with Tayler Alden tallying 29 assists. Baylee Petersen recorded 3 aces for the purple and gold, as Inga Rotto blocked 4 attacks to complement 8 kills.

Set 1 (UNI, 25-16): UNI bolted out of the starting gate dominating from the service with 6 aces in the opening frame, led by 3 from Fallert, who tied her season-high in the opening frame. Building a healthy lead on an impressive 9-0 run, the Panthers notched 9 total kills on a .200 hitting percentage, forcing 7 Osprey attack errors and holding North Florida to a .042 hitting percentage.

Set 2 (UNI, 25-22): The Panthers continued their strong service game with 3 more aces in the second stanza. The Panthers led by as many as 6 points before UNF pulled within 2 points at 19-17. Despite improved defense at the net by North Florida, UNI led from start to finish in the set, racking up 18 total kills on a .289 hitting percentage. UNF's offense saw improvement with 13 kills on a .286 hitting percentage.

Set 3 (UNI, 25-13): After falling behind early 3-1, the Panthers flipped the switch and didn't look back in a commanding third set victory. Fallert and Holterhaus combined for 14 kills in the 12-point victory, highlighted by 8 kills from Fallert. UNI notched 19 total kills as a team, tying the high-water mark for kills in a single set this season with a .485 hitting percentage. Alden recorded 12 assists and Sydney Petersen recorded UNI's 10th service ace of the match.

South Dakota State | W, 3-1 (25-18, 17-25, 25-21, 35-33)

Fallert recorded her 8th career double-double leading the Panthers with 13 kills and 11 digs in UNI's thrilling win, while Rotto and Holterhaus notched 13 and 11 kills respectively. Alden tallied 46 assists for the Panthers, as Payton Ahrenstorff tied her career-high with 3 service aces.

Set 1 (UNI, 25-18): UNI and South Dakota State exchanged the first 14 points before the Panthers took control, sparked by a Sydney Petersen ace. Forcing the Jackrabbit defense into 10 first set attack errors, UNI was able to build and hold a comfortable lead for most of the frame, thanks to 4 kills by Holterhaus, and 2 kills a piece from Olivia Tjerngael, Fallert and Rotto. Sydney Petersen anchored the Panther defense with 5 kills.

Set 2 (SDSU, 25-17): The Jackrabbit defense stepped up in the second set and used a 7-0 run to put UNI in an early deficit. Able to string together 6 consecutive points, the Panthers rallied and pulled back within 2 points at 18-16, but struggled to slow down SDSU down the stretch, who notched 16 kills on a .353 hitting percentage. Rotto and Alden each notched 3 kills in the second stanza, with Sydney Petersen recording 4 digs.

Set 3 (UNI, 25-21): UNI responded well to the tough second set loss, building an early lead on the Jackrabbits. SDSU would rally and tie the set at 13 and briefly take the lead. In a pivotal frame, the Panthers notched 15 kills on a .195 hitting percentage, forcing 5 opponent attack errors. The Jackrabbits would stave off four straight Panther match points, but UNI would close strong to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Holterhaus recorded 4 kills, with Alden tallying 11 assists. Sydney Petersen notched 4 digs, with Fallert and Ahrenstorff both recording a service ace.

Set 4 (UNI, 35-33): The Panthers faced another tough challenge from the Jackrabbits in the fourth, staring down the possibility of winner-take-all fifth frame. SDSU jumped out to a 12-6 lead with a strong blocking performance before UNI rallied, setting up a back-and-forth finish for the ages. The Panthers and Jackrabbits would exchange points with UNI serving on 7 match points before closing the deal on consecutive attack errors by SDSU. Fallert rattled off 6 kills in the marathon final set, with Tjernagel recording 5 kills. Alden posted 20 assists, with Sydney Petersen tallying 9 digs and Ahrenstorff notching her third ace of the afternoon.

PANTHER NOTES

UNI improves to 2-0 all-time against the Ospreys in the first meeting between the programs since 2008. The Panthers are now 4-0 all-time against Atlantic Sun Conference opponents.
The Panthers remain unbeaten against South Dakota State, improving to 10-0 all-time against the Jackrabbits. UNI is now 83-17-1 all-time facing opponents from the Summit League.
UNI's 6-match winning streak is its longest since winning 11 in a row in October/November 2019.
UNI's 35 points scored in the fourth set are the most recorded in a winning effort since scoring 40 points in the second set against Iowa State on Sept. 13, 2016 at home.
Inga Rotto and Emily Holterhaus both extended their consecutive matches played streaks on Friday. Rotto has now played in 134 straight matches, while Holterhaus has seen action in 100 straight matches.
Inga Rotto is now 3rd on UNI's all-time list of career sets played with 490, passing Krista DeGeest (2008-12) on Friday afternoon.
Baylee Petersen picked up her 900th career dig against the Jackrabbits after a 5-dig performance against SDSU.
Sydney Petersen is now 5 aces shy of 100 in her career. Petersen has notched 13 aces this season for UNI after previously notching 82 aces at Texas (2018-21)

UP NEXT
UNI will conclude non-conference play tomorrow afternoon as the Panthers take on the Iowa Hawkeyes at 2 p.m. CT at Xtream Arena. Fans can follow the action live on Big Ten Network+ and on the Panther Sports Radio Network via UNIpanthers.com.