University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Belmont
UNI volleyball rolls past Belmont in straight sets to open October homestand
10/11/2024 8:18:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Panther offense cruises past Bruins to stay perfect in MVC play. UNI hosts Murray State on Saturday in annual Pink Out match.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The UNI volleyball team rallied from early deficits in the second and third sets and cruised to a three-set sweep over the Belmont Bruins on Friday night inside the McLeod Center in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play on the backs of a strong night offensively and stout defensive effort.
Northern Iowa, who improves to 5-0 in league play for a third consecutive season, held the Bruins to just a .074 hitting percentage while stifling Belmont's defense throughout the night with 53 team termination and a .375 hitting clip. UNI also recorded 49 team assists on Friday, tied for second-most in a match this season and just two off its season-high.
ÂHOW IT HAPPENED
The Panthers capitalized early off Belmont's block with a .282 hitting percentage and 19 team kills, holding the Bruins to just seven terminations on .061 hitting. Kaitlyn Sellner would pick up a service ace for Northern Iowa to help build a healthy lead for UNI, while Cassidy Hartman and Kira Fallert racked up five kills each. With the Panthers recording four service errors, the Bruins would cut UNI's lead to just three points at 23-20 before the Panthers closed out the first frame with back-to-back kills from Olivia Tjernagel and Fallert for a 25-20 win.
Belmont would open the second stanza scoring four of the first five points before Northern Iowa stormed back in impressive fashion, notching 18 kills on .441 hitting with only three attack errors. With Hartman adding six additional terminations to her match total and three a piece from Lily Dykstra and Kacie Rewerts, the Panthers used a dominant 10-0 scoring run to take the lead and sprint to the finish line, carving up the Bruin defense in the process. Aided by aces from Reese Booth and Fallert, the Panthers rolled to a 25-12 win and a two set lead in the match.
UNI broke an early 4-4 tie with Belmont in the third set before running away from the Bruins down the stretch with 16 kills and a .419 hitting clip. Erin Powers, UNI's leader in aces this season, dished out her team-high 17th ace of the year through the Bruin defense as the purple and gold used a 7-0 run to widen the gap against their challengers from Tennessee. Fallert and Hartman each added four and three kills respectively to their totals in the final frame, as Sellner tallied four blocks.
Hartman finished the night with a team-high 14 kills on 26 attempts with five digs and two blocks, while Fallert notched a double-double performance with 11 kills and 13 digs. Rewerts recorded seven total kills with three blocks, as Dykstra recorded seven kills as well and Tjernagel posting six kills and a season-high five blocks. Both Sydney Golden and Booth tallied 19 assists each, with Powers posting a 13-dig match with a season-best nine assists.
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ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI improves to 3-0 all-time in volleyball against the Bruins with Friday's win.Â
- Northern Iowa has now started 5-0 in MVC play in each of the last three seasons, including six of the last eight years. UNI has also now swept four of its first five conference matches in consecutive seasons.
- The Panthers have now won 23 consecutive regular season MVC matches dating back to last season's undefeated conference schedule, the fifth-longest league winning streak in team history. UNI has also won 27in a row overall against MVC opponents in the regular season and postseason.
- Kira Fallert recorded her fifth double-double of the season on Friday and 25th of her career. Fallert is UNI's active leader in career double-doubles.
- After a three-block showing against Belmont, Kacie Rewerts is two block assists shy of tying Creighton's Jessica Houts (2005-09) for fourth on the MVC's all-time block assists list. Rewerts, who transferred to UNI from Drake in the offseason, has notched 534 block assists in her collegiate career.
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UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action tomorrow night as they host the Murray State Racers at 5 p.m. CT inside the McLeod Center. Live coverage of the match can be found on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network. Fans are encouraged to wear pink as part of the team's annual Pink Out match in support of breast cancer awareness.
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UNI volleyball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Volleyball), X (@UNIVolleyball) and on Instagram (@univolleyball). The full 2024 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
