University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
14-7,9-0MVC
Bradley
10-11,5-4MVC
UNI volleyball moves to 9-0 in MVC with sweep at Bradley
10/19/2024 7:06:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Panthers remain unbeaten in the MVC at the midway point of the league schedule. UNI hosts Evansville, Indiana State next weekend for homecoming weekend.
PEORIA, Ill. --- The UNI volleyball team reached the midway point of the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) schedule on Saturday night with a dominant three-set sweep over the Bradley Braves at Renaissance Coliseum, moving to 9-0 with its 27th consecutive regular season conference win.
Coming off a 3-1 win at Illinois State on Friday, the Panthers overcame an early challenge from Bradley, but quickly got into its rhythm both offensively and defensively, earning its eighth straight win over the Braves.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Battling a tough and much improved Braves team that was picked 11th in this year's conference preseason poll, the first set featured 15 sets and UNI and Bradley traded points in a hotly contested opening frame. With Northern Iowa racking up 19 team kills on .235 hitting, Kira Fallert led the way for the Panthers with seven early terminations, along with one service ace. Bradley would hang tough and close UNI's lead in the middle of the set and ultimately force bonus ball, where the Panthers would prevail on set point on Lily Dykstra's first collegiate service attempt, finishing the set with a Cassidy Hartman kill to win the opener, 27-25.
UNI would again face another early test from the Braves, but soon pulled away from its opponent as part of a 6-0 scoring run. The Panthers notched 14 team kills on .220 hitting and held Bradley to a .024 hitting clip in the second stanza, breaking a 6-6 tie and never looking back. Cassidy Hartman helped turn up the heat in the frame as the Panthers cruised to a 25-17 second set win and a 2-0 match lead.
Northern Iowa dominated Bradley in the third set with 13 kills on .343 by scoring 13 of the first 14 points, which included an impressive 11-0 scoring run. Both Grace Mikota and Erin Powers each contributed to UNI's stellar third frame with a service ace while the Panther defense also stepped up with five blocks and held the Braves to -.094 hitting with four kills and seven attack errors in the 25-8 set win.
Fallert finished the night with a match-high 16 kills with five digs and two aces, while Cassidy Hartman recorded her fifth career double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs. Olivia Tjernagel and Dykstra each notched six terminations with Tjernagel also adding six blocks, with Kacie Rewerts posting six kills and six blocks. Sydney Golden led the night with 18 assists, while Reese Booth contributed with 16 assists and an ace. Defensively, Erin Powers anchored the Panther back row with 24 digs, eight assists and an ace.
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ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI improves to 74-12 all-time against Bradley with its road win on Saturday, and 43-7 against the Braves under head coach Bobbi Petersen.
- Northern Iowa has now started 9-0 in MVC play in each of the last three seasons, including four of the last seven years and for the 14th time in program history.Â
- The Panthers have now won 27 consecutive regular season MVC matches dating back to last season's undefeated conference schedule, the fourth-longest league winning streak in team history. UNI has also won 31 in a row overall against MVC opponents in the regular season and postseason.Â
- Head coach Bobbi Petersen is now just three wins shy of her 600th career victory, a milestone 57 other coaches have reached at the Division I women's level. Petersen is also looking to become the 18th active head coach to reach the milestone and 19th to do so at one institution.
- Fallert has recorded double-digit kill figures in 16 matches this season, including eight of UNI's previous nine contests. Fallert is also now just three kills shy of 1,300 in her career, and five terminations from tying Ashten Stelken (2005-08) for tenth on the program's all-time kills list.
- Defensive specialist/libero Erin Powers is now 13 digs shy of 2,000 in her collegiate career. Notching 898 digs as a Panther, Powers recorded 1,090 digs during her first two collegiate seasons at UAB (2021-22).
- Powers' 24 digs on Saturday night were the tenth-most in a single three-set match in program history.
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UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action next Friday, Oct. 25 as they welcome the Evansville Purple Aces to the McLeod Center during homecoming weekend. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT with live coverage available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network.
Fans are encouraged to wear purple for both matches as part of UNI's annual homecoming celebration, as well as the program's two-night 50th anniversary season reunion.
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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.
