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University of Northern Iowa
Bradley
Panther volleyball begins MVC title defense with road swing to Bradley, Illinois State
9/20/2023 9:30:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
MVC preseason favorites enter league play after a 6-6 non-conference slate, battling two longtime conference rivals.
UNI volleyball (6-6) at Bradley (7-6)
- 6 p.m. CT | Sept. 22, 2023
- Peoria, Ill. | McLeod Center (4,200)
- ESPN+
- Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhans-Shulz: Play-by-Play)
UNI volleyball (6-6) at Illinois State (2-10)
- 7 p.m. CT | Sept. 23, 2023
- Normal, Ill. | McLeod Center (10,200)
- ESPN+
- Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhans-Shulz: Play-by-Play)
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI volleyball begins the defense of its 2022 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) regular season championship beginning Friday night as the Panthers head to central Illinois to open league play against Bradley and Illinois State for a weekend series.
Picked as preseason favorites to repeat as league champions, the Panthers are 19-4 in MVC openers under head coach Bobbi Petersen and will look to extend that record when UNI visits Bradley's Renaissance Coliseum on Friday evening. Saturday's matchup in Normal against the Redbirds will pit two of the conference's most decorated programs against one another in the renewal of a classic MVC volleyball rivalry. UNI and Illinois State have combined to win 31 regular season conference titles, 30 MVC Tournament crowns and have earned a combined 22 MVC Player of the Year winners.
UNI went 17-1 in conference play last fall en route to its 20th MVC regular season championship, winning 17 consecutive league matches. The MVC has not had a repeat regular season champion since Missouri State in 2016 and 2017.
The Panthers concluded the non-conference portion of their schedule last weekend with 3-0 sweeps over North Dakota and Northern Illinois in their home tournament, dropping their lone match of the weekend to then-No. 25 Dayton. For their efforts defensively and on the attack, libero Erin Powers and outside hitter Kira Fallert were both named to the UNI All-Tournament Team.
In its three-set sweep of Northern Illinois, UNI hit .299 as a team and recorded 20 terminations in the second set alone, as Fallert recorded her fifth double-double of the season on 15 kills and ten digs. Grace Mikota also made the first start of her career and dished out three service aces for the second time in three matches, while Layanna Green recorded a career-best 12 terminations against the Huskies.
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BRADLEY BRAVES
The Panthers head to Peoria having won 33 of their previous 35 matches against the Braves. Bradley, who was picked seventh in the MVC preseason poll, begins league play after a 7-6 start to the season, but returns home after dropping its previous four matches to Illinois, Wichita State, Northern Colorado and Omaha at the Northern Colorado Classic last week. Under second year head coach Alicia Williams, the Braves look to build off a 10-21 season in 2022 where they also posted a 6-12 record in conference play. A dominant team at the service line, Bradley leads the MVC with 88 aces and has found offensive success from Kendall Minta, who ranks fourth in the league with a .377 hitting percentage, as well as Tendai Titley and her 2.34 kills per set average. Minta also leads the Braves with 39 blocks this year, while Dru Kuck has notched a team-high 177 digs.
ILLINOIS STATE REDBIRDS
The second-longest running series in UNI's 49-year history resumes as the Panthers look for a third straight win against the Redbirds on Saturday. UNI has not won three consecutive matches against Illinois State since winning 16 in a row from 2007 to 2013, the longest streak by any team in series history. The Redbirds, picked sixth in the MVC preseason poll with one first-place vote, have been challenged out of the gate with a difficult schedule, earning their first two wins of the season against St. Thomas and Green Bay last weekend at the Captial Credit Union Classic in northern Wisconsin. Aida Shadewald has led the Redbirds on the attack with 120 kills on the season (3.08 per set), while Emily Weber has dished out 292 assists. On the backline, Mari Hinkle ranks third in the MVC with 4.92 digs per frame, as Hannah Reichensperger has notched a .339 hitting percentage through 12 matches this fall.
