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University of Northern Iowa
8-7,3-0MVC
Valparaiso
9-6,1-2MVC
UNI volleyball rallies in stunning reverse sweep at Valparaiso
10/4/2024 9:32:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Panthers stay unbeaten after trailing 2-0 in road match in northwest Indiana. UNI battles UIC in Chicago late Saturday afternoon.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The UNI volleyball team turned the tables in the third set and overcame a tough 2-0 deficit on Friday night to defeat the Valparaiso Beacons in five sets at the Athletics-Recreation Center in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play.
After struggling to contain the Beacon offense and establish consistency in its attack, Northern Iowa flipped the switch with improved defense play at both the net and on the back line for a thrilling come-from-behind win to move to 3-0 in league play and extend its MVC regular season winning streak to 21 consecutive matches. Saturday was the first time UNI pulled a reverse sweep on an opponent since 2021 at Drake.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The Panthers struggled out of the gate in containing Valparaiso's offense and putting their own attacks together, committing ten attack errors for a match-low .075 hitting percentage in the opening set. With the Beacons clicking with 12 kills on .292 hitting, Valparaiso used an 8-0 scoring run to tie the set up at 19-19 before cruising to a 25-20 win, the first set the Panthers have dropped in conference play this year.
Northern Iowa was able to build a healthy lead after another close start in the second stanza to build a 20-13 lead thanks to completed attacks by Kira Fallert, Olivia Tjernagel, Cassidy Hartman and Kacie Rewerts. Reese Booth gave UNI a seven-point lead on a service ace, but the Beacons once again roared back and cut the lead to 20-18 with a 5-0 scoring run. Valparaiso would ultimately score seven of the final eight points and escape with a 25-22 set win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
UNI's defense kicked into gear in a must win third frame as Rewerts and Tjernagel stuffed the Beacons at the net as part of five team blocks in the set. Cutting their attack errors down and notching 15 kills on .333 hitting, the Panthers rolled in the third set, quickly jumping out to an 11-4 lead and denying Valparaiso the ability to get into rhythm. With the Beacons stifled to .167 hitting and the Northern Iowa offense, led by Hartman and Fallert picking up steam, UNI extended the match with a 25-14 win.
In the fourth stanza, UNI opened up a four-point lead at 11-7 but would soon have to stave off the Beacons', who forced ten ties and four lead changes in the set. Trading points back-and-forth late and tied at 20-20, the Panthers who hit .241 with 19 terminations, scored five of the last eight points, including the final three to escape with a narrow 25-23 set victory to force a decisive fifth set.
After the Panthers scored two of the first three points of the fifth set, Valparaiso stormed back with a 4-0 run to prompt a UNI timeout. With five ties and two lead changes in the race to 15 points, Northern Iowa broke an 8-8 tie on a kill by Hartman and never looked back, finishing the set on a 6-3 run to win the final frame, 15-11. The Panthers hit .238 in the fifth set with eight kills, while the Beacons were held to .042 hitting with seven kills and six errors.
Hartman, Booth and Sydney Golden all finished the night with double-double performances with Hartman recording 22 kills with new career-highs in attacks (50) and digs (13). Booth posted 19 assists and 12 digs for her double-double, while Golden recorded her first career double-double with 32 assists and 11 digs.
Fallert tallied 16 kills, plus eight digs in the win, as Rewerts notched a career-high with 11 terminations, along with eight total blocks. Tjernagel finished with eight kills, four blocks and seven digs, as Calia Clubb's off-the-bench effort in the middle sets resulted in seven terminations, five digs and one block. Kaitlyn Sellner posted a pair of service aces with six block assists and one kill, while Grace Mikota's 12 digs were a new season-high
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ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI improves to 19-4 all-time against Valparaiso following Friday's win, including 13-4 under head coach Bobbi Petersen. The Panthers have also won their last five matchups with the Beacons.
- Northern Iowa is now 3-0 in MVC play for the third consecutive season, and fourth time in the last six seasons.
- Friday's match was the first time the Panthers played a five-set match in league play since their 2022 MVC opener at Valparaiso.
- The Panthers are now 7-2 in their last nine five-set matches since 2022.
- UNI extended its MVC regular season winning streak to 21 straight matches with Friday's come-from-behind win. The Panthers have also won 25 consecutive matches overall against MVC opponents, including regular season and postseason play.
- Cassidy Hartman recorded her fourth double-double of the season and of her career on Friday. Reese Booth's double-double performance was also the second of her young college career.
- After an impressive eight-block showing against Valparaiso, Kacie Rewerts is now just three block assists shy of tying Missouri State's Mindy Stuckhoff (1985-88) for fifth-most block assists in MVC history. Rewerts, the NCA's active career leader in total blocks is also four total stops away from 600 on her career.
- Kira Fallert surpassed 1,200 career kills on Friday and moved to 16th on the program's all-time terminations list, passing Amy Braun (2009-12). Fallert is the 17th player in school history to record at least 1,200 kills in their UNI career.
- Defensive specialist/libero Erin Powers recorded her 1,900th career dig in Friday's win. Powers, a senior transfer from UAB, has notched 803 digs in 48 matches with UNI.
- Olivia Tjernagel also passed 700 kills in her career on Friday.
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UP NEXT
UNI returns to action on Saturday afternoon as it takes on the UIC Flames. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago with live coverage also available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network.
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.
