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University of Northern Iowa
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Western Michigan
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UNI volleyball comes up short of comeback at Western Michigan
8/26/2023 8:41:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Panther rally comes up short in four set loss to Broncos. UNI returns to action next weekend at the Bluejay Invitational in Omaha.
KALAMAZOO, Mich. --- After a slow start to their final match of the weekend, UNI found momentum in the third set, but was unable to force the contest to a fifth frame as the Panthers fell to the Western Michigan Broncos on Saturday night, 3-1 at University Arena.
Falling behind two sets to none, the Panther offense clicked into gear with a resounding third set victory and battled in a wild back-and-forth fourth set, coming up shy of a major early season comeback. With the loss, UNI is guaranteed to finish in third place at the Western Michigan Tournament, with the final matches of the four-team event scheduled for Sunday.
ÂHOW IT HAPPENED
Opening in a tight back-and-forth for much of the first frame, Western Michigan took advantage of nine UNI attacking errors and four service errors off a 6-2 run in the middle of the set. Out of a timeout, the Panthers rallied and were able to tie the match at 21-21 off consecutive kills by Lily Dykstra. Despite service aces by Erin Powers and Cassidy Hartman, UNI was blocked at the net four times and held to a .093 attack percentage, dropping the first stanza 25-22.
Western Michigan continued its dominance in the second set at the net with three blocks as UNI struggled to establish its offense with ten attack errors. The Panthers pulled within one point at 5-4 on a Kira Fallert service ace, but would be unable to fully recover from the Broncos' attack. UNI managed to rally to within two points of Western Michigan at 10-8 and 14-12 before the Broncos closed on an 11-5 run to close the frame en route to a 25-17 win.
Despite falling into a 2-0 hole in the match, the Panthers flipped the switch in the third set, building a quick 9-4 lead courtesy of a 6-0 UNI run. Largely fueled by multiple Western Michigan errors, UNI extended its lead to double digits thanks to kills by Dykstra, Emily Holterhaus, Kira Fallert and Grace Mikota. The Broncos would make a late push to pull within five points, but Mikota would close the door on Western Michigan with a set point service ace to secure the 25-16 victory.
The Panthers and Broncos would bring everything they had to the fourth set, exchanging points in a frame that featured 18 ties. Momentum shifted in UNI's favor on a 7-2 run after being tied at 13-13, butting the Panthers in a prime position to extend the match. Western Michigan however would rally and tie the stanza at 22-22 and ultimately force the set into extra points. Despite multiple opportunities to force a fifth frame, the Broncos staved off four UNI set points before finishing off the fourth frame with a 30-28 win.
Fallert concluded the night with a 13-kill, 12 dig double-double in the loss, as Tjernagel totalled ten kills for the Panthers. Alden led UNI with 22 assists, while Sydney Golden set a new career-high with 14 assists, and Mikota matched her career-best mark with eight digs.
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ADDITIONAL NOTES
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Saturday night's loss is UNI's first to the Broncos, falling to 5-1 in the all-time series.
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Emily Holterhaus passed both Molly O'Brien (2000-03) and Laura Rowen (2004-07) to move into fourth on UNI's all-time attack attempts list with 3,794. Kate Galer (1993-96) sits in third with 3,817 attacks.
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Setter Tayler Alden is now just 16 assists away from moving ahead of Rachel Koop (2015-19) for eighth on the program's career assists list. Alden, who has recorded 2,967 assists as a Panther, is also 33 assists away from becoming the eighth UNI player to reach 3,000 career assists.
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UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action next Friday afternoon to begin a three-match weekend tournament at Creighton's Bluejay Invitational at D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha. UNI will open against LSU at 3:30 p.m. CT on Friday, before facing Ball State on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The Panthers will close the tournament against No. 18 Creighton at 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 3. All matches will be streamed with a subscription to FloVolleyball, and will also be available via radio on the Panther Sports Radio Network.
