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University of Northern Iowa
TCU
UNI volleyball seeks to corral challengers at Texas A&M Invitational
9/5/2023 9:10:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Panthers look to build off a strong weekend of play in Omaha with another competitive slate of opponents in College Station.
UNI volleyball (3-3) vs. TCU (2-5)
- 4:30 p.m. CT | Sept. 7, 2023
- College Station, Tex. | Reed Arena
- Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhans-Shulz: Play-by-Play)
UNI volleyball (3-3) at RV Texas A&M (5-0)
- 5:30 p.m. CT | Sept. 8, 2023
- College Station, Tex. | Reed Arena
- SEC Network+
- Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhans-Shulz: Play-by-Play)
UNI volleyball (3-3) vs. RV Utah State (5-1)
- 11 a.m. CT | Sept. 9, 2023
- College Station, Tex. | Reed Arena
- Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhans-Shulz: Play-by-Play)
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI volleyball heads south for its final non-conference road tournament of the season as the Panthers face a pair of NCAA Tournament qualifiers and two opponents receiving AVCA poll votes at the Texas A&M Invitational in College Station.
The Panthers will open the tournament on Thursday afternoon against Texas Christian (TCU) at 4:30 p.m. CT before taking on the host school, undefeated Texas A&M on Friday at 5:30 p.m. CT at Reed Arena. UNI will close the three-day event against Utah State on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.
UNI heads to Texas following its best-ever finish as runners-up at Creighton's Bluejay Invitational in Omaha last week. The Panthers swept both LSU and Ball State in straight sets before dropping a hotly-contested four-set battle to No. 20 Creighton. Outside hitter Kira Fallert and libero Erin Powers were both recognized for their stellar play by being named to the Bluejay Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Four Panthers reached key milestones in UNI's trip to Omaha, headlined by setter Tayler Alden becoming the eighth player in program history to reach 3,000 career assists. Emily Holterhaus cracked UNI's top-ten list for career kills with 1,290, while Powers notched her 1,200th career dig. At the net, opposite Kaylissa Arndorfer recorded her 250th career block, the most among active Panthers.
Six matches into the 2023 season, UNI has proven to be one of the nation's top attacking teams, ranking seventh in Division I in both kills per set (14.8) and attack attempts per set (38.6). Individually, Fallert ranks second in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) in attacks per set (11.0) and fifth in kills per set (3.6), while middle blocker Olivia Tjernagel is second in the league with 1.3 blocks per set.
TCU HORNED FROGS
The Panthers will look to stay undefeated against a TCU squad coming off its first two victories of the year after competing at the Coastal Carolina Tournament last week in Conway, South Carolina. The Horned Frogs swept Georgia and defeated North Florida in four sets, but was unable to defeat Coastal Carolina in a 3-1 loss. Having never dropped a set to TCU, the Horned Frogs bring a strong offensive attack led by outside hitter Jalyn Gibson, who leads TCU with 69 kills on the young season. Riley Buckley has dished out 166 assists in six matches, with Cecil Bramschreiber recording 60 digs and Brianna Green notching 19 blocks. The Horned Frogs also return a key attacker in Audrey Nalls, who led the Big 12 Conference with 424 kills last season.
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
UNI will attempt to knock off an undefeated Texas A&M team that returns home receiving votes in the latest AVCA poll. Meeting for just the second time in history, the Panthers will look for their 22nd win all-time against an SEC opponent, having picked up their 21st last week against LSU. The Aggies won all three matches at Bowling Green's Falcon Invitational in Ohio a week ago, narrowly slipping past Wright State in five sets, and sweeping both Loyola-Chicago and Bowling Green. Caroline Meuth leads a balanced Texas A&M offense with 69 kills this season and Margot Manning dishing out nine service aces. The Aggies also bring a balanced defense with Lauren Hogan recording 50 digs and Cos-Okpalla Ifenna notching 28 blocks through five matches, third-most in the SEC.
UTAH STATE AGGIES
The Panthers will face their fifth different opponent who made the NCAA Tournament in 2022 in the finale of the Texas A&M Invitational. Meeting for the first time since 2009, UNI will attempt to even the all-time series at one win a piece after a four-set victory by Utah State 14 years ago. The Aggies, the reigning Mountain West Conference (MWC) Tournament champions, come to College Station having won their last five consecutive matches, including three straight home wins over Utah, Weber State and Loyola Marymount. Adna Mehmedovic and Shelby Caplonch spearhead a two-headed attack for Utah State with 60 and 59 kills respectively on the season, while setter Leah Wilton-LaBoy has dished out 123 assists. Defensively, Kambree Rodriguez leads the Aggie backline with 69 digs, as Kennedi Boyd has blocked 28 attacks at the net, the third-highest total in the MWC.
