University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Southern Illinois
UNI volleyball eyes second straight MVC Tournament title
11/19/2023 10:24:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Panthers look to repeat as MVC Tournament champions for the first time since winning three straight titles in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
UNI volleyball (24-6 / 18-0 MVC) vs. TBD (MVC Tournament Semifinal)
- 3 p.m. CT | Nov. 21, 2023
- Springfield, Mo. | Hammons Student Center (8,846)
- ESPN+ (Greg Halbleib: Play-by-Play / Kelly Burke: Analyst)
- Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhans-Shulz: Play-by-Play)
UNI volleyball (24-6 / 18-0 MVC) vs. TBD (MVC Tournament Championship)
- 4 p.m. CT | Nov. 22, 2023
- Springfield, Mo. | Hammons Student Center (8,846)
- ESPN+ (Greg Halbleib: Play-by-Play / Kelly Burke: Analyst)
- Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhans-Shulz: Play-by-Play)
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI volleyball will look to follow up its undefeated Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) regular season championship with a conference tournament title and automatic NCAA Tournament berth beginning Tuesday afternoon in Springfield, Missouri.
The Panthers will face-off against the winner of fourth-seeded Southern Illinois and either Valparaiso or Belmont in the first of Tuesday's two semifinal matches at 3 p.m. CT at the Hammons Student Center on the Missouri State University campus. A potential championship match would be played on Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. CT. All tournament matches will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Northern Iowa clinched its 21st MVC regular season crown following a road win at Valparaiso on Nov. 11 and completed the league's 17th undefeated conference schedule following a 3-1 win over Drake last Wednesday. It is the tenth time the Panthers have gone unbeaten in league play in their history and fourth time doing so without playing a single five-set match.
The Panthers are the MVC's first repeat regular season champion since Missouri State went back-to-back in 2016 and 2017. UNI will attempt to win consecutive MVC Tournament championships since winning three straight from 2009 to 2011.
UNI is in the midst of a 19 match winning streak, the fifth-longest active streak in the nation and tenth-longest in program history. It is the longest streak of consecutive wins for the purple and gold since winning 24 straight in 2011 and fifth-longest stretch in the Bobbi Petersen era.
The Panthers head to Springfield with a healthy collection of hardware, picking up five All-MVC team selections and two speciality awards. Tayler Alden grabbed her second straight First Team All-MVC nod on Saturday and became the first player in league history to win back-to-back Setter of the Year awards, as well as the first to win the honor multiple times. Emily Holterhaus grabbed her second First Team All-MVC honor as well, with Layanna Green also being named to the conference's first team in her first all-conference selection.Outside hitter Kira Fallert and libero Erin Powers were both named Second Team All-MVC.
Bobbi Petersen, the winningest coach in both UNI and MVC history, made history on Saturday earning her record eighth MVC Coach of the Year award, breaking a tie with her former head coach and predecessor Iradge Ahrabi-Fard for the most in league history. Petersen has guided the Panthers to 11 MVC regular season titles, ten MVC Tournament crowns, NCAA Tournament berths and 581 career wins.
Northern Iowa leads all MVC programs with 52 wins all-time in the MVC Tournament and 18 tournament championships. The Panthers have also picked up a league-high 95 First Team All-MVC selections since 1982, 25 more than the next closest program (Illinois State, 70).
Entering the conference tournament, the Panthers lead the nation in both kills per set (14.9) and assists per set (13.8). Holterhaus leads UNI with 3.7 kills per frame with Fallert posting averaging 3.4 terminations per set and both Green and Olivia Tjernagel posting over two kills per set as well. Alden has notched 10.4 assists per set during her junior campaign, while Powers has led UNI's backline with 498 total digs and a team-high 45 service aces. At the net, Tjernagel, the reigning MVC Tournament MVP, leads the Panthers with 107 total blocks.
