University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
17-7,12-0MVC
Murray State
12-9,7-5MVC
Petersen earns 600th career win as Panther volleyball wins at Murray State
11/1/2024 8:14:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Five Panthers finish with ten or more kills as UNI sweeps the regular season series from the Racers. Northern Iowa visits Belmont on Saturday, still unbeaten in MVC play.
MURRAY, Ky. --- UNI head volleyball coach Bobbi Petersen added to her historic legacy on Friday night as the Panthers swept the Murray State Racers in a 3-0 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) matchup in Kentucky, earning the longtime head Panther her 600th career victory.
Petersen, the all-time winningest coach in UNI and MVC women's volleyball history, is the 17th active coach in Division I to reach the historic milestone and the 19th coach in Division I history to win at least 600 matches at a single school.
Northern Iowa took advantage of excellent ball movement, holding the Racers to just 23 total assists. The Panthers racked up 61 team kills on 156 attacks with a .244 hitting percentage, with Murray State hitting .155 with 30 kills.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Much like their October 12 matchup in Cedar Falls, the Panthers and Racers took the first set down to the wire in a rapid back-and-forth. UNI would break a 10-10 tie with a 5-0 scoring run before the Racers roared back to cut into the Panther lead. With Murray State hitting .106 in the opening frame, the Racers grabbed a short lead at 22-21, but not before Northern Iowa stormed back to force bonus ball and score three straight points for a 27-25 set win with 23 kills on .174 hitting and 17 assists.
Erin Powers jump started a strong second stanza for the Panthers with UNI's first service ace of the night as Northern Iowa racked up 17 kills on .238 hitting, along with 13 assists. Additional aces by Kaitlyn Sellner and Sydney Golden would stretch the Panther lead to 18-10 with the Racers rallying back to cut the Panther lead to five down the stretch on .179 hitting. UNI would score its final four points on kills by Kira Fallert, Lily Dykstra and Cassidy Hartman to complete a 25-19 set win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Northern Iowa scored the first five points of the third set and eight of the first ten in a strong offensive showing with 21 team kills on .356 hitting, while holding the Racers to .190 hitting. Murray State would cut into UNI's early lead at 10-7, but a strong final set from Kacie Rewerts, along with another ace by Hartman helped push the Panthers over the finish line in a 25-18 win for the three-set sweep.
Rewerts and Dykstra led the quintet of Panthers with ten or more kills with 13 terminations each, new career-high marks for both. Tjernagel posted 11 terminations with Hartman tallying ten kills, while Fallert finished the night with a ten-kill, ten-dig double-double. Golden recorded 25 assists, while Reese Booth notched 16 assists, as Powers posted a match-high 19 digs.
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ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI improves to 4-0 all-time against Murray State following Friday's win, including 2-0 at Racer Arena.
- Northern Iowa has now started 12-0 in MVC play in each of the last three seasons, including four of the last seven years and for the 11th time since 1995.
- The Panthers have now won 30 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 34 in a row overall against MVC opponents in the regular season and postseason.Â
- Kira Fallert has recorded double-digit kill figures in 19 matches this season, including ten of UNI's previous 11 contests. Friday's double-double performance was her sixth of the season and 26th of her collegiate career.
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UP NEXT
UNI returns to action on Saturday as it takes on the Belmont Bruins at the Curb Event Center in Nashville. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT with live coverage available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network.
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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.
