University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
24-6,18-0MVC
Drake
21-9,14-4MVC
Panther volleyball finishes regular season undefeated in MVC play
11/15/2023 9:10:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
UNI outlasts Drake in four-set battle at home. Panthers begin MVC Tournament play next Tuesday in the semifinal round.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- Tayler Alden and Emily Holterhaus both posted double-doubles on Wednesday night as UNI volleyball wrote another chapter in its history with an undefeated Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) season following a 3-1 win over the Drake Bulldogs inside the McLeod Center.
The Panthers, who clinched the MVC's regular season title outright last weekend and who are currently riding the nation's fifth-longest active winning streak at 19 straight wins, avenged their lone conference loss of 2022 to the Bulldogs on their home floor in a thriller, securing the program's 35th win in its last 36 MVC matches. Northern Iowa's win also marks the tenth time the Panthers have gone undefeated against its conference opponents.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Defense was the name of the game in the open set as the Panthers rejected five Drake attacks at the net and forced seven Bulldog attack errors. UNI led from wire-to-wire in the first frame scoring early and often off the block with Emily Holterhaus leading the purple and gold with six kills in the first set and four terminations from Olivia Tjernagel. Hitting .282 as a team with 17 total kills, the Panthers rolled to a 25-14 first frame win.
The Bulldogs would strike back in the second stanza by getting the Panthers out of rhythm and upping the ante on both offense and defense with 17 kills and three blocks. UNI was able to claw back and pull within one point at 13-12 on a Layanna Green kill, but struggled to slow Drake's momentum and .310 team hitting clip, dropping the second set by a score of 25-19.
Wednesday's third set turned into a barn-burner as UNI and Drake split the first 12 points of the frame before the Bulldogs took a three-point advantage with their high-powered attack. Northern Iowa rallied back with a 6-1 run to tie the set up at 16-16 after falling behind by five points to set up a thrilling finish. Notching 20 kills on .432 hitting, took the lead for good after breaking a 21-21 tie to score a 25-23 win over the Bulldogs and take a two sets to one lead in the match.
The fourth set would begin much like the third until Northern Iowa's offense took control at the service line and at the net. Erin Powers would dish out a pair of service aces with Cassidy Hartman serving up another as the Panthers racked up 18 kills on .385 hitting to effectively halt Drake's offense in its tracks. Tied at 7-7, UNI would score six straight points and hold the Bulldogs to just .135 hitting in the fourth frame, pulling ahead late to secure a 25-15 set victory and the match in four sets.
Alden finished the night recording her fifth double-double of the season and 40th of her career with a season-high 53 assists and 14 digs. Holterhaus also notched her first double-double of the year with an 18-kill, 13-dig performance. Kira Fallert tallied 15 terminations, while Green posted 14 kills with three block assists. Defensively, Powers posted a 16-dig, eight-assist and three service ace match, with Grace Mikota recording 12 digs.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- The Panthers grabbed their 90th all-time win against Drake on Wednesday, improving to 90-16-2 all-time against the Bulldogs.
- Northern Iowa's win is its third against a team ranked in the NCAA's RPI top-50 rankings (TCU, Drake [twice]).
- The 2023 Panthers are the 17th team in MVC history to go undefeated in league play, and tenth UNI squad to do so. Northern Iowa has previously gone unbeaten in the MVC in 1987, 1990, 1995, 1998-00 and 2009-11.
- UNI's victory marks the first time since 2010 that the Panthers have gone through the entire MVC schedule and not played a five-set match. All 12 of UNI's 18 conference victories were decided in three-set sweeps with the other six being contested in four sets.
- The Panthers conclude the regular season having gone 16-1 in the first set against MVC opponents.
- Tayler Alden is just 44 assists from passing Mary Bernhardt (1984-87) for seventh on the program's all-time assists list, currently sitting on 3,934.
- Emily Holterhaus 15 kills from moving ahead of current UNI head coach Bobbi (Becker) Petersen (1986-89) for fourth on UNI's all-time kills list having recorded 1,597 career terminations.
- UNI's next victory will be the program's 1,200th in its 49-year history.
UP NEXT
With the regular season in the books, the Panthers will turn their attention to Springfield, Missouri and the MVC Tournament next week. As the top-seed in the field, the Panthers will have a double-bye into the semifinal round and play at 3 p.m. CT on Nov. 21 at the Hammons Student Center against either Southern Illinois, Valparaiso or Belmont. Live coverage for all MVC Tournament matches will be available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network.
