Panther volleyball takes unbeaten record to Murray State, Belmont

UNI volleyball (16-7 / 9-0 MVC) at Murray State (12-8 / 7-4 MVC)

6 p.m. CT | Nov. 1, 2024
Racer Arena
Murray, Ky.
ESPN+
Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhans-Schulz: Play-by-Play / Jay Grassley: Analyst)
LIVE STATS

UNI volleyball (16-7 / 9-0 MVC) at Belmont (8-15 / 3-8 MVC)

5 p.m. CT | Nov. 2, 2024
Curb Event Center
Nashville, Tenn.
ESPN+
Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhans-Schulz: Play-by-Play / Jay Grassley: Analyst)
LIVE STATS

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The UNI volleyball team will kick off the final month of the regular season on Friday night as the Panthers head south to take on the Murray State Racers and Belmont Bruins in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) action.

Northern Iowa is slated to battle the Racers on Friday, Nov. 1 at 6 p.m. at Racer Arena, and the Bruins on Saturday, Nov. 2 in Nashville at the Curb Event Center. Both matches will be broadcast on ESPN+, as well as the Panther Sports Radio Network with Chris Kleinhans-Schulz and Jay Grassley on the call.

UNI was victorious in its previous matchups with Murray State and Belmont back on Oct. 11 and 12 in Cedar Falls, with the Panthers sweeping the Bruins and taking down the Racers in four sets.

The Panthers return to the road after a pair of dominant homecoming weekend performances in 3-0 sweeps against Evansville and Indiana State. In UNI's win over Evansville, the Panthers tallied a .311 hitting percentage and held the reigning MVC Player of the Year Guilia Cardona to only six kills and the Purple Aces as a whole to less than ten points in the first two sets. Northern Iowa cruised again the following night with 45 team kills and a .311 hitting clip with Cassidy Hartman recording her fifth double-double of the season, while Erin Powers recorded the 2,000th dig of her college career.

UNI continues to ride a historic streak of victories in MVC play having won its last 29 regular season conference matches dating back to last season, the fourth-longest streak in program history. The Panthers have also won 33 straight matches overall against MVC challengers in both regular season and postseason play.

Kira Fallert continues to lead the UNI offense with 309 total kills through 23 matches, with Hartman close behind with 273 terminations. Fallert recently surpassed 1,300 career terminations and cracked the program's top-ten all-time list. Powers's 27 service aces leads the way for the Panthers while her 375 total digs this year are sixth-most in the MVC this year.

Setters Golden and Reese Booth have split time on the court with the veteran Golden averaging 6.3 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 572 career block assists, is the NCAA's active career leader in total blocks (647) across all divisions, and is also fourth in Division I with 1.37 blocks per set in her career.

In addition to another pair of conference victories, head coach Bobbi Petersen will look to reach a new milestone, sitting just one win shy of her 600th career victory heading into the weekend. The all-time winningest coach in UNI and MVC volleyball history, Petersen looks to become the first coach in conference history to win 600 matches, as well as become the 17th active coach in Division I volleyball to reach the milestone, including the 19th to reach 600 wins at a single school.

SCOUTING MURRAY STATE
The Racers have rattled off three wins in their last four matches since falling at UNI three weeks ago in Cedar Falls. Murray State was victorious on the road last week with a 3-1 win at Missouri State and five-set victory at Southern Illinois.

Murray State ranks 36th nationally with 1,362 total digs this season, as well as 38th in digs per set (16.4). Setter Bailey DeMier leads the MVC with 9.7 assists per set, with Dahlia Miller rankings fifth in Division I with 5.3 digs per frame. Ella Vogel meanwhile leads the Racer offense with 3.9 kills per set.

SCOUTING BELMONT
The Bruins have struggled in MVC play this season, dropping six of their last seven matches, and three of their last four since falling to UNI on the road on Oct. 12. Belmont won at Southern Illinois in four sets last week, but were swept the following night at Missouri State.

Belmont ranks in the top-50 nationally with 3,119 total attacks. The Bruins are also top-70 in team digs (1,281). Luilly Lutz is 19th in Division I volleyball with 407 total digs and 34th wiht 4.7 digs per set. Brooke Gilleland meanwhile leads Belmont with 3.1 kills per frame.

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.

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