University of Northern Iowa
1-1,0-0MVC
Dayton
1-0,0-0Atlantic 10
UNI volleyball comes up short at No. 22 Dayton
8/30/2024 9:27:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Panthers battle reigning Atlantic-10 champions on opening weekend, but fall to Flyers in five sets. UNI takes on Ohio State tomorrow morning.
DAYTON, Ohio --- Cassidy Hartman posted a career night on offense, but the UNI volleyball team would come up just short as it fell to 22nd ranked Dayton on Friday in five sets during the the second match of the opening day of the 2024 season.
Looking to avenge their only home loss from a season ago, the Panthers went after the Flyer defense aggressively through Hartman and Kira Fallert, while also showing off a strong early blocking game. Despite grabbing a two sets to one lead, Northern Iowa could not slow down a Dayton team looking to repeat its success following a 32-win campaign last year, along with regular season and tournament championships in the Atlantic-10 Conference.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Net defense was key for the Panthers in the opening set in an entertaining back-and-forth with the Flyers as Kacie Rewerts tallied three blocks early. Hartman provided a spark for Northern Iowa offensively with six first set terminations with four from Fallert as both teams alternated control of the lead as the Panthers gradually pulled ahead to a 15-11 lead. Dayton fought back and tied the frame up at 15-15 and again at 20-20, but it would be UNI who scored the final five points of the set, including a service ace by Erin Powers to secure a 25-20 win.
The Panthers grabbed an early 4-1 lead with an ace from Hartman in the second set, but could not slow down the Flyers going forward in the frame as Dayton's middle blockers stepped up on offense and defense. With seven blocks in the second frame, the Flyers held the Panthers to just an .031 hitting percentage and forced nine UNI errors. Despite never trailing by more than three points, Dayton closed the frame out on a 5-1 run for a 25-21 set victory to even the match at one set a piece.
Northern Iowa flipped the script in the third frame with an impressive offensive performance with 18 team kills and a .361 hitting percentage. After a successful first two challenges of the season on the first and last points of the set, the Panthers led from start to finish thanks to solid transitional passes from the backline to the attack, which continued to be led by Hartman and Fallert up front. Closing the set on a 7-2 run, UNI took the third stanza by a commanding 25-15 advantage for a 2-1 match lead.
The Flyers remained resilient in the fourth set, quickly breaking a 9-9 tie after a Sydney Golden service ace, nearly doubling up UNI on a 16-7 run to close the frame. With the Panthers being held to a .143 hitting percentage and the Flyers hitting .483 with 14 kills, Northern Iowa struggled with service errors and to overcome Dayton's attack as the Flyers forced a fifth set.
Dayton's momentum carried into the decisive final frame as the Flyers turned a one-point lead into six on a 7-2 run on the backs of a nine-kill set with just one error. UNI would cut the lead down to four points and stave off consecutive match points, but ultimately came up short in a 15-11 battle.
Hartman finished the night with a match-high 22 terminations with a .333 hitting percentage, along with a career-best 12-dig performance and two aces. Fallert notched a season-high 19 kills with 11 digs and tied a career-high with four assists, while both Reese Booth and Golden both finished with over 20 assists. On the backline, Powers led the way with a match-high 18 digs plus two aces, while Rewerts tallied seven blocks and a pair of aces.
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ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI falls to 1-3 all-time against Dayton following Friday night's loss. The Panthers have not beaten the Flyers since the first meeting between the two programs in 1991.
- Northern Iowa is now 25-87 against opponents ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association's (AVCA) top-25 poll. UNI's last top-25 win came in Aug. 2018 in a five-set victory over No. 5 Kentucky in a tournament in Los Angeles.
- The Panthers have split their first two matches of the regular season to start five of the previous seven years (2018, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024).
- Kira Fallert's 19-kill, 11-dig performance was her 21st career double-double, the most among active Panther players.
- Cassidy Hartman's 22-kill, 12-dig outing was the first double-double of her collegiate career.
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UP NEXT
The Panthers will close out play at the Dayton Flyer Classic tomorrow morning against Ohio State at 10 a.m. CT. Live coverage of the match can be found exclusively on 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.
