University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Illinois State
UNI volleyball takes win streak on the road to Illinois State, Bradley this weekend
10/16/2024 1:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Panthers sit a perfect 7-0 atop the MVC standings as they head to Normal and Peoria.
UNI volleyball (12-7 / 7-0 MVC) at Illinois State (11-9 / 6-1 MVC)
- 6 p.m. CT | Oct. 18, 2024
- CEFCU Arena (10,200)
- Normal, Ill.
- ESPN+
- Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhans-Schulz: Play-by-Play / Jay Grassley: Analyst)
- LIVE STATS
UNI volleyball (12-7 / 7-0 MVC) at Bradley (10-9 / 5-2 MVC)
- 5 p.m. CT | Oct. 19, 2024
- Renaissance Coliseum (4,200)
- Peoria, Ill.
- Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhans-Schulz: Play-by-Play / Jay Grassley: Analyst)
- LIVE STATS
Â
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- Coming off a three-win weekend with home victories over Belmont, Murray State and Drake, the UNI volleyball team returns to the road beginning as it visits Illinois State on Friday night at 6 p.m. CT and Bradley at 5 p.m. CT on Saturday in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) action.
Live coverage of Friday's match with the Redbirds can be found on ESPN+ with live radio coverage with Chris Kleinhans-Schulz and Jay Grassley on the Panther Sports Radio Network. Due to broadcast scheduling conflicts, Saturday's match with the Braves will not be televised.
Northern Iowa has won 25 consecutive MVC matches dating back to last season's undefeated conference season and is currently tied for the fourth-longest conference win streak in program history. The Panthers have also won 29 straight matches overall against MVC challengers in both regular season and postseason play.
UNI extended its unbeaten conference record to 7-0 this past weekend with a 3-0 sweep of Belmont last Friday night, a four-set win over Murray State last Saturday and a commanding 3-0 victory over in-state rival Drake in a battle of the last two unbeaten teams in league play. During the breakout weekend of action, Kacie Rewerts recorded her first career double-double with a career-high 12 kills, plus ten blocks against Murray State, while Kira Fallert recorded her 25th career double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs against the Racers.
Fallert leads the UNI offense with 249 total kills through 18 matches, with Cassidy Hartman close behind with 235 terminations. Erin Powers's 18 service aces leads the way for the Panthers while her 309 total digs this year are sixth-most in the MVC this year. Powers is also 49 digs shy of 2,000 digs in her career.
Setters Sydney Golden and Reese Booth have split time on the court with the veteran Golden averaging 6.2 assists per set, with Booth notching 4.7 assists per frame, while Rewerts is second in the MVC with 1.3 blocks per set. Rewerts, who is third in MVC history with 547 career block assists, is the NCAA's active career leader in total blocks (621) across all divisions and is fourth in Division I with 1.34 blocks per set in her career.
Â
SCOUTING ILLINOIS STATE
Having combined with the Redbirds for 32 regular season and 31 MVC Tournament titles, the Panthers will make the trip to CEFCU Arena in Normal looking to snap Illinois State's six-match winning streak, the second-longest active streak in the league behind only UNI.
Illinois State is coming off a thrilling five-set win at Bradley on Monday night and enters the weekend just one-half match back of the MVC lead at 6-1 in league play. The Redbirds finished last season with a 12-19 record and were picked to finish fourth in MVC preseason poll in 2024, with outside hitter Aida Shadewald earning Preseason All-MVC honors.
Led by third year head coach Allie Matters, Illinois State ranks second in the nation with 1,037 team kills, third in team assists (967) and seventh in team digs (1,291). Setter Mekaila Aupiu leads all of Division I volleyball with 795 total assists, with Shadewald posting a league-best 0.42 aces per set and 35 total aces, as well as 290 total kills and 785 attacks, both ranking second in the league.
Â
SCOUTING BRADLEY
The Braves look to bounce back after their five-set home loss to Illinois State on Monday as they seek to continue their strong start to conference play with a 5-2 MVC mark. Bradley will host Drake on Friday night before welcoming the Panthers to Renaissance Coliseum on Saturday.
Coming off a 9-22 season and league-worst 2-16 MVC record in 2023, the Braves were picked second in this year's MVC preseason poll.
Under the leadership of third year head coach Alicia Williams, Bradley leads the nation in total attacks (2,945) and leads the MVC in total service aces (135) and aces per set (1.78). Iva Popovic anchors the Braves' offense with 3.39 kills per set and her team-leading 26 aces, while Irene Mostardini is ninth in Division I in total digs (356).
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.
