University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
5-4,0-0MVC
Rice
4-3,0-0AAC
Panther volleyball cruises past Rice in Cardinal Classic finale
9/15/2024 11:12:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
UNI emerges victorious in head coach Bobbi Petersen’s 800th career match. Panthers return home to host Texas A&M on Thursday.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. --- UNI volleyball racked up a season-high nine service aces on Sunday morning as the Panthers wrapped up play at the Cardinal Classic with a 3-0 sweep of the Rice Owls at the KFC Yum! Center.
Coming off consecutive losses to American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) top-25 opponents in the last two days, the Panthers dominated offensively with a .277 hitting percentage and just two service errors, a healthy improvement at the service line after struggles on Saturday against No. 4 Louisville. Northern Iowa also celebrated a key milestone for head coach Bobbi Petersen, who coached her 800th career match as part of her 25th season at the helm of the UNI program.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Northern Iowa dominated from the service line with six first-set aces, including a pair each from both Sydney Golden and Reese Booth. The Panther offense cruised to the tune of 14 team kills on .357 hitting, using several key runs to grab an early lead and not look back. With a pair of 5-0 runs under its belt, UNI rode the momentum of four kills from Kira Fallert and three terminations each from Olivia Tjernagel and Kaitlyn Sellner to a commanding 25-12 first-set win.
The second stanza would begin with a tightly contested back-and-forth before the Panthers kicked down the door and finished with an impressive 17-5 scoring run after an 8-8 tie. UNI .312 in the set with 13 team kills, taking advantage of a struggling Owls' offense that committed eight attack errors. Carrying a balanced load on offense, Cassidy Hartman, Tjernagel and Fallert helped pull the Panthers across the finish line in dominating fashion with a 25-13 set victory and a two set lead in the match.
Rice tested Northern Iowa early in the third set before continued struggles on offense for the Owls. With Rice committing ten attack errors and the Panthers racking up 12 team terminations, UNI quickly broke a 3-3 tie and never looked back en route to a 25-18 set win to complete the straight set sweep. Booth picked up another service ace to tie her career-high, while Fallert surpassed double-digit kills in the match.
Fallert finished the morning with a match-high ten kills, along with three digs, a pair of aces and one block. Hartman and Tjernagel each recorded eight terminations, while Sellner ended the day with five kills. Rewerts and Lily Dykstra both tallied three kills, with Rewerts notching six total blocks, as Erin Powers posted 19 digs with one ace along with Grace Mikota notching a season-high nine digs. Golden finished with a match-high 15 assists and two aces, while Booth totaled 13 assists and three aces.
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ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI improves to 4-0 all-time against Rice following the win. Sunday's match was the first meeting between the two programs since 2002.
- Northern Iowa's nine service aces on Sunday were the most in a match since dishing out ten aces at Murray State last October in a four-set win.Â
- Graduate middle blocker Kacie Rewerts' surpassed 500 career block assists on Sunday with six block assists against the Owls. Rewerts' who transferred in from Drake University in the offseason, is now the sixth player in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) history to reach that milestone. She also ranks all-time in block assists in league history with 503.
- After recording three digs against the Owls, Kira Fallert is now just 26 digs shy of 1,000 in her career, and becoming the 20th player in school history to reach that milestone. She can also become the 13th Panther in team history to join the double grand club with 1,000 career kills and digs and tenth Panther player to do so in kills and digs specifically.
- Erin Powers recorded her 1,700th career dig on Sunday, as well as her 700th dig as a Panther.
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UP NEXT
The Panthers will return home for their final three non-conference matches of the season, starting with the Texas A&M Aggies on Thursday, Sept. 19. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT at the McLeod Center with live coverage available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network. UNI students are encouraged to arrive early as the first 100 students through the gate will receive free hot dogs.
Tickets for UNI's home opener can be purchased at unipanthers.com or by contacting the UNI Ticket Office at 319-273-4849, or by email at tickets@uni.edu.
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.
