University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
2-2,0-0MVC
SIU Edwardsville
1-3,0-0OVC
UNI volleyball outduels SIU Edwardsville in four sets
9/6/2024 2:14:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Panthers bounce back after tough third frame to defeat the Cougars in first-ever match up. UNI takes on North Dakota and West Virginia on Saturday.
GRAND FORKS, N.D. --- The UNI volleyball team dished out eight service aces and overcame a tough third set performance on Friday to defeat the SIU Edwardsville Cougars in four sets in the opening match of the NDSU/UND Tournament at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
While the Cougars posted an impressive blocking performance on defense, Northern Iowa's offense and serving game proved to pay dividends in the Panthers' second win of the season with 52 team terminations on .217 hitting, plus eight blocks.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
UNI's offense bolted out of the gate with a 5-0 run, capped by a service ace from Cassidy Hartman. Hitting .303 as a team with 16 kills collectively, the Panthers doubled their lead to 17-8 as Kacie Rewerts and Olivia Tjernagel paced the offense. The Cougars, despite a handful of service errors, would close the gap and cut Northern Iowa's lead to five at 21-16, but the Panthers would take advantage of a series of attack errors by SIUE to take the first frame by a score of 25-18.
SIUE tested the Panther early in a tight, back-and-forth start to the second stanza before UNI jumped into the lead on a 9-3 run, aided by a 6-1 stretch with kills from Rewerts, Tjernagel and Fallert. With service errors continuing to plague the Cougars, the Panthers notched 11 team kills with just one attacking error and a .300 hitting percentage, cruising down the stretch to a 25-15 set win and a 2-0 match lead.
The Cougars would not go away quietly, opening the third set on a 5-1 run before UNI responded with a 4-0 run of its own. Hitting just .098 with 12 kills and eight errors, the Panthers struggled to get into a consistent rhythm as SIUE dished up a pair of service aces and four total blocks. Northern Iowa would lead 15-12 but would quickly fall behind on a 9-1 Cougar run and would not be able to rally despite staving off three straight set points in a 25-20 SIUE win.
The first ten points of the fourth set inittally indicated another close frame on hand before the Panthers kicked into high gear on both offense and defense. After a 5-5 tie, kills by Fallert and Kaitlyn Sellner help push UNI into a comfortable lead at 13-9 with the Panthers hitting .206 in the frame. Service aces by Sydney Golden and Erin Powers helped extend the lead even further as Northern Iowa scored 11 of the final 13 points, capped by a 4-0 scoring run to win the final stanza, 25-13.
Fallert finished the day with a match-high 14 terminations along with eight digs, two blocks and one ace, while Tjernagel tallied nine kills, four digs and a block. Rewerts posted nine kills with three blocks, as Hartman totaled nine digs and six kills. Calia Clubb notched a season-high five terminations, with Golden finishing with 23 assists and a pair of aces and Reese Booth posting 16 assists. Powers led the match with three aces and 25 digs on defense.
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ADDITIONAL NOTES
- Friday's match was the first all-time meeting between UNI and SIU Edwardsville in volleyball. The Panthers are now 50-12 against first time opponents under head coach Bobbi Petersen.
- Erin Powers has recorded three service aces in two of UNI's first four matches this season.
- With two block assists against the Cougars, Kacie Rewerts moved up into a tie with Illinois State's Kenda Haselhorst (1997-00) for seventh most career block assists in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) history. Rewerts, who transferred in from Drake in the offseason, notched 469 block assists as a Bulldog and now has 13 with UNI this year.
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UP NEXT
The Panthers will return to action on Saturday morning as it takes on the North Dakota Fighting Hawks at 11 a.m. CT, as well as the West Virginia Mountaineers at 6 p.m. CT. Live coverage of both matches will be carried on the Panther Sports Radio Network, while the North Dakota match will also be live streamed on the Summit League Network through Midco Sports Plus with a subscription.
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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.
