University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
26-8,18-0MVC
Louisville
27-5,17-3ACC
Panther volleyball drops five-set marathon to Louisville in NCAA Tournament
12/7/2024 8:45:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
UNI ends 50th anniversary year with 26-8 record and MVC regular season and tournament crowns.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. --- The UNI volleyball team pushed No. 4 Louisville to its breaking point on Saturday night but would ultimately come up just short in a five-set thriller in a 3-2 loss to the Cardinals in the second round of the NCAA Tournament inside the KFC Yum! Center.
In a rematch from the Cardinal Classic earlier this season, the Panthers captured first and third set victories against the perennial Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) volleyball power, but struggled at the service line late despite double-digit kill figures from four Panthers.
UNI, who has won the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) regular season and tournament championships in each of the last three seasons, ends the 2024 campaign with a 26-8 record.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
UNI and Louisville split the first 20 points of the opening set in a thrilling opening frame that featured 13 ties and five lead changes. Led by six terminations from Olivia Tjernagel and four a piece from Cassidy Hartman and Kira Fallert, Northern Iowa roared back after the Cardinals took a 20-16 lead, tying the set at 21-21 and ultimately forcing bonus ball after staving off a pair of Louisville set points. A Tjernagel kill and attack error from the Cardinals would give the Panthers the 28-26 win after posting a .192 hitting percentage with 18 team kills.
The second stanza once again saw the Panthers and Cardinals jockey for control in another wild set. UNI notched ten terminations, but struggled with ten attack errors. Despite the difficulties, Northern Iowa tied the set at 10-10 on a block assists from Kacie Rewerts and Hartman, and again at 13-13 thanks to an impressive blocking performance with ten total block assists in the set alone. Both squads alternated ten consecutive points, matching one another shot for shot with ties at 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 before the Cardinals finished the set with a 25-22 win to even the match. Hartman led the Panthers with four kills in the set, with Tjernagel adding three to her total and Erin Powers dishing out one service ace.
UNI opened the third frame with a 10-6 lead in a set that saw Lily Dykstra take off with eight kills. With the Panther blocking defense continuing to execute at a high level, the Panthers staved off multiple runs by Louisville while hitting .275 with 18 kills, grabbing a 16-11 advantage. The Cardinals would tie the set up at 21-21 before UNI finished strong with kills from Fallert and Dykstra for a 25-23 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match having never trailed in the set.
Louisville dominated the fourth frame as UNI racked up 15 attack errors and was held to a -.125 hitting clip. The Cardinals stepped up their aggression on both offense and defense with 14 block assists and 13 kills on .206 hitting as the Panthers struggled to climb out of an early hole, dropping the set by a score of 25-13.
The decisive fifth set went down to the wire as the Panthers went ahead early with a 7-5 lead before the Cardinals jumped ahead. Northern Iowa, hitting .237 with 14 kills, staved off five Louisville sets point in an epic back-and-forth finish, which saw the Cardinals narrowly escape with a 22-20 set win over UNI, thanks to a number of late service errors. Hartman recorded seven kills in the final frame with three terminations from Fallert.
Hartman finished the night with a match-high 19 kills with five blocks, while Fallert posted a double-double with 16 kills and 21 digs. Both Tjernagel and Dykstra registered 14 terminations in the loss, as Kaitlyn Sellner notched a team-high nine blocks. Rewerts totalled eight blocks along with four kills, with Sydney Golden posting a career-high 36 assists. Powers, meanwhile, tied her season-high with 25 digs.
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ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI falls to 4-2 all-time against Louisville with Saturday's loss, including 2-2 under head coach Bobbi Petersen. Saturday was also the second NCAA Tournament matchup between the Panthers and Cardinals, with UNI beating Louisville during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament in Minneapolis.
- The Panthers are now 17-26 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches following Saturday's contests.
- Saturday was only the second five-set match the Panthers have played this season. UNI rallied to beat Valparaiso in five sets in early October. UNI's match with Louisville was its first five-set match in the NCAA Tournament since falling to Creighton in the opening round in 2016.
- Northern Iowa's 21 match winning streak was snapped on Saturday, tied for the eighth-longest in team history.
- UNI has recorded at least one service ace in 27 consecutive matches, including all but one match this season.
- Kira Fallert's 16 kills pushed her past Kim Kester (1999-02) for seventh in program history in career kills. Fallert finishes her collegiate career with 1,446 kills.
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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.
