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University of Northern Iowa
11-6,5-0MVC
Evansville
6-10,1-4MVC
Holterhaus, defense dominate in Panther volleyball sweep of Evansville
10/6/2023 8:19:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
UNI wins sixth consecutive match and remains undefeated in MVC competition. Panthers face Indiana State on Saturday afternoon.
EVANSVILLE, Ind. --- Emily Holterhaus posted a career-high .704 hitting percentage as the Panthers rolled to a sixth consecutive victory on Friday night in a three-set sweep of the Evansville Purple Aces in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play.
UNI improves to 5-0 in league play with its 58th all-time win against the Purple Aces, and 30-2 against Evansville on the road. The win also marks the Panthers' fourth sweep in MVC play this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Panthers built an early advantage after getting Evansville out of system before the Aces stormed back to tie the opening frame up at 8-8. In a set where UNI hit .270 from the floor, the Panthers roared back thanks to three blocks and a persistent defensive effort on the backline after trailing 20-16, tying the set up at 20-20 on a Grace Mikota service ace. The Panthers would close on a 9-1 run to take the opening stanza by a score of 25-21 with 17 team kills.
UNI's offense kicked into high-gear in the second frame as the Panthers hit .318 with 11 kills, effectively shutting down any opposing attacks at the net. Libero Erin Powers notched a pair of aces in the set as UNI used a 6-0 run to grab the lead for good, holding Evansville to -.030 hitting as team in a 25-17 win.
The Panthers continued to dominate and led from wire-to-wire in the third set, holding the Purple Aces to just four kills in the frame, the fewest by a UNI opponent all season. UNI's defensive efforts at the night led to the Panthers' first ten block game of the season and helped fuel an 11-2 run to open the set by the purple and gold, who cruised to a commanding 25-8 rout in the final frame.
Holterhaus capped her career-night by tying her season-high with 18 terminations, along with a season-best four blocks, while Kira Fallert finished with eight kills and six digs. Tayler Alden posted 29 assists, complemented by a five-kill and three block performance, with Kaylissa Arndorfer tallying five terminations as well. Olivia Tjernagel notched five blocks on the night, with Layanna Green posting three blocks. Powers anchored the backline defensive with a match-high 14 digs.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
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UNI improves to 60-3 all-time against Evansville with Friday's win. The Panthers are now 30-2 against the Purple Aces on the road, and have won seven straight matches at Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
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Friday night marked the first match of the season where the Panthers held an opponent to single-digit scoring in a set.
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Emily Holterhaus surpassed 4,200 career attack attempts against Evansville, pulling within 395 attacks of breaking Karlie Taylor's (2016-19) school record of 4,599 attempts.
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Olivia Tjernagel's five block assists against Evansville puts her three blocks shy of 200 on her career.
UP NEXT
UNI returns to the court on Saturday afternoon as the Panthers visit the Indiana State Sycamores in MVC play. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT at ISU Arena, with live coverage available on the Panther Sports Radio Network.
