University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
26-7,18-0MVC
Illinois
18-13,10-10Big Ten
UNI volleyball advances in NCAA Tournament with first round win over Illinois
12/6/2024 7:11:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Panthers punch ticket to second round after four-set victory over Big Ten challenger. UNI will play the winner of Louisville and Chicago State on Saturday afternoon.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. --- The UNI volleyball team rolled in the first two sets and finished strong in the fourth frame on Friday as the Panthers advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday with a 3-1 win over the Illinois Fighting Illini at the KFC Yum! Center.
Using strong backrow defense and an impressive offensive performance off the Illini block, the Panthers grabbed a 2-0 match lead on Illinois before dropping the third set and holding off the Illini late in the fourth to grab its first NCAA Tournament victory since 2022.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
UNI opened their 26th NCAA Tournament appearance with an impressive first set, forcing the Illini into five attack errors and holding Illinois to a .188 hitting clip. After an early 2-2 tie, the Panthers grabbed the lead and never looked back, ripping off a 15-7 scoring run thanks to five kills each from Cassidy Hartman and OIlivia Tjernagel to boost a .467 hitting clip for the Panthers. Kacie Rewerts added three blocks in the opening frame, along with a pair of aces from Grace Mikota and Erin Powers to win the first set, 25-16.
The Illini gave Northern Iowa an early run in the second stanza before pulling away from an 8-8 tie. Paced by six second set kills by Hartman and four by Kira Fallert, UNI notched a .243 hitting percentage with 14 kills to build another healthy lead. With Illinois continuing to struggle with nine attack errors and a hitting clip of .000, Rewerts added two more blocks to her ledger as the Panthers took the second frame by a 25-16 score and a 2-0 match lead.
Illinois defense shut down the UNI offense in the third set, holding the Panthers to nine kills with six attack errors and a .094 hitting clip. The Illini's blocking defense registered four total blocks while its offense notched 18 kills on .471 hitting despite UNI's attempts of a comeback. Tjernagel led Northern Iowa with three terminations in the third set, with Hartman and Lily Dykstra each registering two kills, while Powers added another ace in a 25-16 loss.
The fourth set saw the Panthers grab an early 7-4 lead and establish early momentum with Powers adding her fourth ace of the match and Booth her first in her NCAA Tournament debut. While UNI hit .378 in the frame, the Illini cut Northern Iowa's 18-11 lead down to three at 20-17 before the Panthers closed the match with three kills from Tjernagel for a 25-21 win.
Hartman finished the night with a match-high 21 kills, while Tjernagel tallied 13 kills and four blocks. Fallert recorded her seventh double-double of the season and 27th of her career with 12 terminations and ten digs, as Dykstra posted six kills. Rewerts finished with five kills and seven total blocks in her NCAA Tournament debut, as Sydney Golden registered a team-high 23 assists, while Booth posted 19 assists. Powers, also making her NCAA Tournament debut, led UNI with 17 digs and four aces.
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ADDITIONAL NOTES
- Friday's victory was UNI's first-ever against Illinois, who leads the series 3-1-1. It was also the first time the Panthers and Illini have met in the NCAA Tournament since 1986 when Northern Iowa made its tournament debut.
- UNI improves to 17-25 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches, grabbing its first tournament victory since defeating Florida State in the first round in 2022 in Minneapolis.
- The Panthers' win was their first over a Big Ten opponent in the NCAA Tournament since rallying to defeat Minnesota in the second round of the 2001 tournament in Cedar Falls.
- UNI has now won 21 consecutive matches, tied for the eight-longest winning streak in school history.
- UNI has recorded at least one service ace in 26 consecutive matches, including all but one match this season.
- After a 12-kill performance on Friday, Kira Fallert is just ten kills from passing Kim Kester (1999-02) for seventh on the program's all-time kills list.
- Erin Powers has recorded three or more service aces in seven matches this year.
- Kacie Rewerts surpassed 600 career block assists on Friday, joining UNI's Danielle Brazda (2004-07) and Molly O'Brien (2000-03) as the only players in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) history to do so.
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UP NEXT
The Panthers will face the winner of Louisville and Chicago State on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT at the KFC Yum! Center 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.
