University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Drake
UNI volleyball battles Drake for MVC lead on Monday night
10/15/2023 12:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Panthers square off against in-state rival for first-place in the league standings. Live coverage available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network.
UNI volleyball (14-6 / 8-0 MVC) at Drake (14-6 / 7-1 MVC)
- 6 p.m. CT | Oct. 16, 2023
- Des Moines, Iowa | Knapp Center (7,152)
- ESPN+
- Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhans-Shulz: Play-by-Play)
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- First-place in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) volleyball standings will be on the line on Monday night as the UNI Panthers visit Des Moines to take on in-state rival Drake in the first of two regular season matchups this season.
First serve between the Panthers and Bulldogs is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT at the Knapp Center, with live coverage available on ESPN+ and Panther Sports Radio Network.
Monday night's matchup will be the first between the MVC's top two team since last fall's epic MVC Tournament championship match where UNI rallied from down two sets to one to clinch a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The longest running series in Panther volleyball history, UNI leads the all-time series 88-16-2, although the Panthers and Bulldogs have split their last eight meetings.
UNI has won 25 of its last 26 conference matches, with the lone loss during that stretch being the 2022 regular season finale at Drake, which the Bulldogs won in four sets.
Currently riding a nine-match winning streak, the Panthers continue to rank in the top-five nationally in assists per set (13.5) and kills per set (14.3), while also posting a top-30 ranking in Division I in digs per set (16.3).
The Panthers hit the road on a quick turnaround, coming off home sweeps over Missouri State and Southern Illinois this weekend. Against the Bears, UNI stifled Missouri State offensively by forcing 15 attack errors and recording seven blocks. The defensive domination continued on Saturday against the Salukis and the Panthers tallied a season-high 18 block assists and dished out six service aces for the program's 14th straight win against SIU.
After notching 30 total kills this weekend, Emily Holterhaus leads the purple and gold with 238 total kills on the year (3.61 per set), with Kira Fallert having racked up 222 terminations (3.31 per set). Olivia Tjernagel leads the Panther block with 80 total stops at the net (1.19 per set), while Layanna Green has blocked 40 attacks. On the backline, libero Erin Powers, fresh off her 1,400th career digs during the weekend, leads with 330 total digs (4.93 per set). Tayler Alden averages just under ten assists per set (662 total), while Powers has notched 23 service aces, along with 19 aces from Fallert and 16 from Grace Mikota.
DRAKE BULLDOGS
Wrapping up a three-match homestand on Monday, the Bulldogs have been a force in the MVC once again, jumping out to a 7-1 start in conference play. Drake's lone MVC loss came on Sept. 29 in a five-set home loss to UIC. Like the Panthers, the Bulldogs swept both Southern Illinois and Missouri State in straight sets this weekend, looking to keep pace with their in-state conference rivals. Despite missing the NCAA Tournament last fall, Drake made a deep postseason run in 2022, reaching the NIVC Tournament championship after a 30-5 season. The MVC has had one of its teams reach the NIVC final in each of the last two seasons (Valparaiso, 2021). Highly touted on both offense and defense, Jada Willis enters Monday's match second in the nation with 6.04 digs per frame and third in total digs (405). Kacie Rewerts ranks in the top-ten nationally with 1.48 blocks per set, while three Bulldogs are averaging over three kills per set, including Taylor Oberpriller (4.04), reigning MVC Player of the Year Haley Bush (3.21) and Macy Daufeldt (3.15).
