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University of Northern Iowa
Evansville
Panther volleyball visits Evansville, Indiana State in weekend road swing
10/4/2023 10:14:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
UNI looks to stay unbeaten in conference play in road trip to southern Indiana to face Purple Aces, Sycamores.
UNI volleyball (10-6) at Evansville (6-9)
- 6 p.m. CT | Oct. 6, 2023
- Evansville, Ind. | Meeks Family Fieldhouse (1,800)
- ESPN+
- Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhans-Shulz: Play-by-Play)
UNI volleyball (10-6) at Indiana State (2-12)
- 3 p.m. CT | Oct. 7, 2023
- Terre Haute, Ind. | ISU Arena (5,500)
- Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhans-Shulz: Play-by-Play)
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI volleyball looks to remain atop the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) standings this weekend as the first-place Panthers visit Evansville and Indiana State for a pair of road matches to open their October slate.
First serve for UNI's matchup with the Purple Aces is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT at Meeks Family Fieldhouse on Friday in a return to the arena in which it won the MVC Tournament title just 11 months ago. Saturday's match at Indiana State will begin at 3 p.m. CT. Due to a Sycamores' home football game, UNI-Indiana State will not be broadcast on the streaming platforms of ESPN.
The Panthers return to the road after a pair of hard earned conference wins at home last weekend against two of the MVC's top defensive and offensive teams in Valparaiso and UIC. In last Friday's showdown with the Beacons, UNI's stellar backline defense outplayed Valparaiso as the Panthers swept the Beacons in straight sets. Layanna Green recorded a career-best 14 kills in the win, while also posting an unprecedented .824 hitting percentage in the match, the third-highest in program history.
UNI would face a tough challenge from UIC in Saturday night's contest going up against a Flames team that entered the weekend leading the nation in team kills and assists. The Panthers would grab a healthy 2-0 lead before dropping their first set of conference play in the third frame before finishing strong for a four-set victory. Kira Fallert finished the night recording her sixth double-double of the season with 17 terminations and ten digs.
Heading into the third weekend of conference play, the Panthers rank third in Division I in assists per set (13.6) and fourth in kills per set (14.3). UNI also ranks 17th nationally in team attacks per frame (37.3).
Individually, Fallert leads UNI with 189 terminations on the season (3.4 per set), with Emily Holterhaus notching 180 kills (3.3 per set). Tayler Alden, who ranks in the top-60 in the nation in assists per set (9.9), leads the Panthers with 545 assists, while Erin Powers anchors the backline defense with 275 digs. At the net, reigning MVC Tournament MVP Olivia Tjernagel ranks first among her teammates and fourth in the league with 63 total blocks (1.1 per set).
EVANSVILLE PURPLE ACES
The Panthers will look to extend their season-long five-match winning streak on Friday night against the Purple Aces, having won 15 of its last 16 matches at Evansville. The Aces, who finished fifth in the MVC standings last year before falling to UNI in the conference tournament semifinals, are coming off consecutive road losses at Southern Illinois and Missouri State last week and will host the Panthers in their MVC home opener. Evansville earned its lone win in league play on Sept. 23 at Belmont, and also picked up a five-set victory over Central Michigan in a tough non-conference schedule. All-MVC Preseason Team honoree Giulia Cardona leads the Aces offense as one of the nation's top attackers with 5.49 kills and 6.21 points per set through 15 matches. She also ranks in the top-three in the conference with 1.6 service aces per frame.
INDIANA STATE SYCAMORES
UNI looks to continue its dominant stretch of play in Terre Haute on Saturday afternoon with the Panthers visiting ISU Arena. The Panthers lead the all-time series by a commanding 66-7 margin and are 17-4 on the road against the Sycamores under head coach Bobbi Petersen. Indiana State returns home in the midst of a ten-match losing streak as it hosts Drake on Friday night ahead of the Panthers, coming off 3-1 road losses as Missouri State and Southern Illinois a week ago. The Sycamores only two wins this year have come against Alabama State and Louisana-Monroe. Indiana State ranks in the top half of the MVC with 1.58 aces per set with Kira Holland leading a balanced offensive attack with 9.69 attacks per frame. Macy Lengacher anchors the Sycamore defense with 194 total digs on the year.
