University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
25-7,18-0MVC
UIC
23-10,13-5MVC
UNI volleyball rallies in fourth set to win MVC Tournament championship
11/26/2024 7:34:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Panthers take down the Flames with a 12-2 closing run in fourth set to win third straight conference tournament crown. UNI punches automatic berth to NCAA Tournament.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI volleyball stunned the UIC Flames with a comeback for the ages on Tuesday night as the Panthers captured their third consecutive Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Tournament championship with a 3-1 win in the title match inside the McLeod Center.
After struggling to contain the Flames' high-powered offense in the third and fourth frames, Northern Iowa rallied from down eight points and closed with a 12-2 scoring run, securing the league's automatic berth to the 2024 NCAA Volleyball Tournament, set to begin in a week and a half.
The win marks UNI's 20th conference tournament title in program history and third time the Panthers have won the tournament three years in a row (1998-2003, 2009-2011).
Kacie Rewerts was named the MVP of the tournament, with Kira Fallert and Olivia Tjernagel also earning all-tournament honors. Additionally, Fallert was named the recipient of the MVC's Elite 18 Award for a third straight year, given to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average competing in the championship match.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
UIC gave the Panthers all they could hand in the first set in an opening frame that featured 15 ties and four lead changes. Both Northern Iowa and UIC's offenses looked sharp matching point for point, with the purple and gold taking a 20-18 lead on a Grace Mikota ace before the Flames evened the set again at 20-20. UNI would finish strong however, thanks to five first set kills by Cassidy Hartman and four terminations each for Kacie Rewerts and Kaitlyn Sellner, outlasting the Flames for a 25-22 win with 17 team kills on .308 hitting.
Northern Iowa led from start to finish in the second stanza, continuing to execute at a high level offensively with 17 kills on .333 hitting. The Panthers built a lead as large as six points and held off a late run by the Flames, who cut UNI's lead to 14-13. A key 5-0 scoring run that featured a pair of service aces by Kira Fallert, two kills by Lily Dykstra and a combined block from Dykstra and Sellner helped push the Panthers over the top and take the set 25-20 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Flames came out of the intermission and grabbed an early lead on UNI, dominating the Panthers in the third set with 15 kills on .448 hitting and just two attack errors. Northern Iowa meanwhile struggled to slow UIC's high-powered attack and struggled itself on offense with eight attack errors for an .083 hitting clip. UNI would cut the Flames lead down to 15-12 on a Reese Booth ace, but couldn't stop UIC down the stretch as the Flames took the frame by a score of 25-16.
UIC grabbed another early lead on the Panthers in the fourth set and looked to be on the path to force a fifth set, before UNI stormed back from being down 23-15. Northern Iowa used a 9-1 run to tie the set at 24-24, which included a Mikota ace, key kills by Fallert and Tjernagel and elite blocking from Sellner and Tjernagel. The Panthers finished with 19 kills on .317 hitting to finish the match strong with a 27-25 win to win the contest in a thrilling four sets.Â
Dykstra finished the match with a career-high 14 kills, while Hartman also registered 14 terminations with five digs in the win. Tjernagel tallied a season-high 13 kills, as Sellner posted a career-best nine kills and five total blocks. Rewerts finished with eight kills, as Fallert posted a six-kill match. Sydney Golden registered 32 assists and six digs, while Booth finished with 24 assists and two aces. Powers led the Panther back line with 22 digs.
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2024 MVC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
- Kacie Rewerts (UNI) [MVP]
- Kira Fallert (UNI)
- Olivia Tjernavel (UNI)
- Antonie Kelnarova (UIC)
- Zahria Woodara (UIC)
- Jada Wills (Drake)
- Caitlyn Little (Illinois State)
- Sam Warren (Valparaiso)
- Maddy Bushnell (Missouri State)
- Bailey DeMier (Murray State)
- Iva Popovic (Bradley)
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ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI improves to 17-3 all-time against the Flames with Tuesday's win, including 8-1 under head coach Bobbi Petersen. It was also the first MVC Tournament meeting between the two programs.
- The Panthers' win on Tuesday was their 56th MVC Tournament victory all-time, extending their own league record. Northern Iowa also improves to 20-8 all-time in the MVC Tournament title match.
- UNI has now won 42 consecutive matches against MVC opponents in both the regular season and postseason dating back to the 2022 conference tournament. The Panthers' last loss to an MVC challenger came in the 2022 regular season finale at Drake.
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UP NEXT
The Panthers will await their NCAA Tournament fate with the announcement of the official tournament bracket on Sunday, Dec. 1. The tournament field and matchups will be announced live on ESPN at 5 p.m. CT.
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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.
