University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
3-3,0-0MVC
Creighton
5-1,0-0Big East
Panther volleyball drops top-25 matchup at Creighton in four sets
9/3/2023 5:49:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
UNI finishes as runners-up of the Bluejay Invitational. Panthers head south for Texas A&M Invitational starting Thursday.
OMAHA, Neb. --- UNI volleyball slugged out a gritty win in a marathon second set, but could not slow down the No. 20 Creighton Bluejays on Sunday afternoon, dropping its final match of the 2023 Bluejay Invitational to the host school in a 3-1 loss at D.J. Sokol Arena.
Recording their best finish ever at the Bluejay Invitational as runners-up with a 2-1 record, outside hitter Kira Fallert and libero Erin Powers were both named to the All-Tournament Team after their impressive performances this weekend. Creighton finished the weekend 3-0, with LSU in third (1-2) and Ball State in fourth (0-3).
HOW IT HAPPENED
Sunday's opening frame featured seven early ties before Crieghton pulled ahead with a five-point advantage at 16-11. The Panthers applied pressure on the Bluejays down the stretch thanks to kills by Emily Holterhaus and Fallert to cut the Creighton lead down to just two. The Bluejays however would finish strong and secure a first set win by a score of 25-21, aided by seven errors by the Panthers.
The second stanza would be one to remember as UNI overcame a slow 7-3 deficit thanks to 17 team kills and 14 errors by Creighton. Trading points back-and-forth, the second set would become a battle as both teams exchanged points with 13 set points throughout. Emily Holterhaus would end the marathon frame with three consecutive terminations to give the Panthers a 36-34 win in the longest played set by points in seven seasons to even the match at one set a piece.
UNI's offense continued its pressure into the third set, but also struggled with ten errors as Creighton dominated the blocking game at the net. The Panthers led 11-10 midway through the frame, but would struggle down the stretch as Creighton scored the final seven points of the set for a 25-20 win.
In the fourth stanza, UNI again overcame a slow start and soon wrestled in a tug-of-war with the Bluejays for control of the lead early. After tying the set at 16-16 on a Creighton attack error, the Panthers would give up four of the next five points, allowing the Bluejays to jump ahead by four. A pair of kills and a service ace by Fallert helped UNI crawl back in the final stretch, but it would not be enough as Creighton's high-powered offense scored three of the final five points for the 25-23 win to secure the match in four sets.
Fallert finished the afternoon with her third double-double of the season, recording season-highs in kills (18) and digs (17). Tayler Alden also notched her first double-double of the year with 42 assists and 19 digs to go along with a season-high seven terminations. Holterhaus posted double-digit kills for the fourth time this year with 18, with Layanna Green notching eight kills and Kaylissa Arndorfer posting six. Defensively, Powers tallied a season-best 24 digs, as Grace Mikota set a new career-high with 11 digs.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
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UNI leads the all-time series against Creighton 42-15 after Sunday's loss. The Bluejays have now won the previous six meetings.
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Creighton dominated the Panthers at the net, out-blocking the Panthers 15-8 in the contest.
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UNI's 36-34 win in the second frame marked the longest set the Panthers have played since winning the second set against Iowa State at home 40-38 on Sept. 13, 2016.
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Emily Holterhaus took sole possession of tenth on the program's all-time kills list with 1,290, breaking a tie with UNI Athletics Hall of Famer and current Panther assistant coach Kim (McCaffrey) Davis (1997-01). Holterhaus can become the tenth Panther to reach 1,300 career terminations in UNI's next match and pass Ashten Stelken (2005-08) for ninth on the list with just 13 more kills.
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Kaylissa Arndorfer recorded her 250th career block on Sunday.
BLUEJAY INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
- Norah Sis (Creighton) [MVP]
- Ava Martin (Creighton)
- Kendra Wait (Creighton)
- Kira Fallert (UNI)
- Erin Powers (UNI)
- Jurnee Robinson (LSU)
- Aniya Kennedy (Ball State)
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to the road later this week as they head south to College Station for the Texas A&M Invitational, facing TCU, Texas A&M and Utah State. First serve for UNI's opening match against the Horned Frogs on Thursday is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CT with live coverage available on the Panther Sports Radio Network.
