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University of Northern Iowa
12-6,6-0MVC
Indiana State
2-14,0-6MVC
UNI volleyball rolls past Indiana State for seventh straight win
10/7/2023 5:14:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Panthers dominate at the net and on offense to sweep the Sycamores. UNI hosts Missouri State, Southern Illinois next weekend.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. --- UNI volleyball recorded a season-high 12 blocks and held Indiana State to a -.029 hitting percentage as the Panthers cruised to their seventh consecutive victory in a three-set sweep of the Sycamores on Saturday afternoon in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play.
The Panthers improve to 6-0 in league play and earned their tenth three-set sweep of the season to maintain first-place positioning in the MVC standings. UNI has also won 14 of its last 18 matchups with Indiana State.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
UNI faced any early challenge from the Sycamores, but quickly pulled ahead courtesy of an 8-1 run. With a balanced attack led by Olivia Tjernagel, Emily Holterhaus and Layanna Green, the Panthers forced Indiana State into 11 attack errors in the opening frame, while hitting .281 as a team with 12 terminations, with Erin Powers notching her team-best 20th service ace of the year. Green set a new career-high with four blocks in the first set alone as UNI tallied six blocks in the first stanza in a 25-14 win.
The Panthers led from the first serve to the final point of the second set with a dominant offense performance, recording 18 team terminations on .516 hitting. UNI opened the frame scoring 12 of the first 15 points as Green notched another six kills in the set to reach double-digit terminations for the fifth time this season. Indiana State continued to struggle offensively with just five kills and a second straight set with a negative hitting percentage as UNI cruised to a 25-12 Panther win.
UNI surrendered the first point of the third stanza to the Sycamores, then never looked back in another offensive clinic with Powers and Kira Fallert each serving up one ace each. The Panthers tallied 13 kills in the third set and continued to stuff Indiana State at the net, which included Tjernagel's 200th career block. UNI would hold the Sycamores to a 35.6% sideout percentage on the day and hold its opposition to a negative team hitting percentage for a second consecutive match as the Panthers roared past the finish line in a 25-14 third set win.
Green finished the afternoon with 11 kills and six blocks, with Holterhaus posting a ten kill, three block performance against Indiana State. Tjernagel and Arndorfer both finished with six terminations, with Tjernagel tallying 4 blocks, while Fallert and Powers combined for a match-high 14 digs each. Tayler Alden finished the match with 28 assists.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
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UNI leads the all-time series 67-7 after Saturday's win, and improves to 41-5 against the Sycamores under head coach Bobbi Petersen. The Panthers are also now 31-5 playing at Indiana State.
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The Panthers improve to 10-3 in three-set matches this season. Five of UNI's MVC wins this season have been decided in three sets.
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UNI's 12 blocks are the most recorded in a match since the Panthers recorded 14 blocks in last season's MVC Tournament Championship match against Drake.
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The Panthers have recorded a team hitting percentage of at least .300 in consecutive matches for the first time since October/November of last season when UNI hit over .300 in five straight matches (Evansville, Murray State, Belmont, Illinois State, Bradley).
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Olivia Tjernagel has recorded at least one block in every match this season.
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Tayler Alden played in her 400th career set on Saturday, trailing only Emily Holterhaus (508) in career sets played among active Panthers. Kaylissa Arndorfer is third among active Panthers with 394 career sets played.
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UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action next Friday as they host Missouri State at 6 p.m. CT inside the McLeod Center on Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night. UNI will also welcome the Southern Illinois Salukis to Cedar Falls next Saturday, Oct. 14 at 5 p.m. CT for its annual Pink Out game in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Both matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network.
