University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
12-7,7-0MVC
Drake
10-8,6-1MVC
Panther volleyball sweeps Drake in Monday night clash of unbeatens
10/14/2024 8:26:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
UNI firmly seizes control of first place in the MVC standings at 7-0. Panthers visit Bradley, Illinois State this weekend.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI volleyball overpowered its in-state rival on Monday night as the Panthers swept the Drake Bulldogs in straight sets inside the McLeod Center in a battle of the Missouri Valley Conference's (MVC) last two unbeaten teams in league play.
Northern Iowa racked up an impressive 48 team kills and a .340 hitting percentage and a stifling 11 team blocks in a rematch of last season's MVC Tournament championship match, firmly securing sole possession of first place in the MVC standings. The Panthers also extended their regular season conference winning streak to 25 matches dating back to last season.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
After splitting the first 12 points of the first set, the Panthers ripped off an impressive 12-1 run, which included eight straight points to quickly build a double-digit lead at 17-7. Northern Iowa notched 15 team kills on .406 hitting while holding the Bulldogs to .103 hitting in the opening frame, aided by service aces from Kira Fallert, Sydney Golden and Kaitlyn Sellner and a strong defensive effort at the net led by four blocks a piece by Sellner and Lily Dykstra. UNI would go on to win the first set by a score of 25-14 with Cassidy Hartman posting six terminations.
Northern Iowa carried its momentum into the second stanza with a 6-1 run to open the set. Hartman tallied seven kills in the second set as the Panthers racked up 17 terminations on .306 hitting, while the UNI defense held Drake to a .030 hitting clip. Despite the Bulldogs rallying and cutting the Panther lead to single digits, UNI's blocking defense continued to shine with four stops at the net by Sellner and three for Rewerts in her first match against her former team in a 25-19 set win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Drake would test Northern Iowa early in the third frame before UNI's offense kicked into gear with a commanding finish to the night. Led by five kills from Fallert and a stellar eight dig set by Erin Powers in the backrow, the Panthers jumped out to an 18-9 advantage with a 9-0 scoring run as the Bulldogs struggled to establish its offense with a -.059 hitting percentage. With 16 team terminations on .316 hitting, UNI rolled to a 25-14 set win to take the match in straight sets.
Hartman led the Panthers with a match-high 16 kills on 30 attempts and a .500 hitting clip, as Fallert notched nine terminations and nine digs. Dykstra and Rewerts both tallied seven kills and five blocks each with three terminations from both Sellner and Olivia Tjernagel. Golden posted a match-high 19 assists with Reese Booth dishing out 15 assists, while Powers posted 15 digs.
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ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI has now won the last five matchups with Drake, which has included three regular season matchups and the previous two MVC Tournament championship matches. The Panthers extended their all-time series lead over the Bulldogs to 92-16-2 and 48-4 under head coach Bobbi Petersen.
- Northern Iowa has now started 7-0 in MVC play in each of the last three seasons, including six of the last eight years.Â
- The Panthers have now won 25 consecutive regular season MVC matches dating back to last season's undefeated conference schedule, tying the fourth-longest league winning streak in team history. UNI has also won 29 in a row overall against MVC opponents in the regular season and postseason.Â
- Monday's match featured Kacie Rewerts' first match against her former team, who she played four seasons with from 2020 to 2023. Rewerts' who is the NCAA active career leader in total blocks, set Drake's all-time blocks record last season.
- Monday night also saw the return of former Panther Megan Witte to the McLeod Center for the first time. Witte appeared in 78 matches for UNI from 2020 to 2023 and currently ranks second in kills for the Bulldogs this season as a graduate transfer.
- Defensive specialist/libero Erin Powers is now 40 digs shy of 2,000 in her collegiate career. Notching 862 digs as a Panther, Powers recorded 1,090 digs during her first two collegiate seasons at UAB (2021-22).
- Setter Sydney Golden is two assists shy from 500 in her career.
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UP NEXT
UNI returns to the road this weekend as it visits Illinois State on Friday night in Normal at CEFCU Arena at 6 p.m. CT, and Bradley on Saturday at Renaissance Coliseum in Peoria at 5 p.m. CT. Live coverage of both matches can be found on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network.Â
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.
