VALPARAISO – The UNI volleyball team took on Valparaiso on Sunday afternoon, falling in five sets with set scores of 24-26, 17-25, 27-25, 25-23, 13-15. The match marked the 5th 5 set match for the Panthers, going 2-3 in those contests.
Set 1: The Panthers started strong in the opening set, leading by as many as 7 at 14-7. Valparaiso then went on a 6-0 to cut the lead to one at 14-13. Valparaiso managed to take the lead 17-16 before both teams traded leads in th4 final points but it was Valparaiso who managed to close out the set 26-24. The Panthers finished the set with 14 kills and 1 ace while hitting just .087 as a team.
Set 2: Valparaiso went out to an early lead in the second set, leading 14-5. The Panthers stormed back midway through the set, going on a 5-0 run to get within one point at 17-16. But Valparaiso finished with a 7-1 run to take the set 25-17. UNI finished the set with 10 kills and 1 ace.
Set 3: UNI scored the first 4 points of the third set and led 6-1 before Valparaiso called their first timeout. The Panthers extended that lead to 8 at 10-2. Valparaiso made a mid-set push to get within two at 17-15. The Panthers led 21-20 before taking a timeout, UNI pushed ahead and took the set 27-25. UNI recorded 16 kills and 2 aces while hitting .204 as a team.
Set 4: A tight fourth set saw 11 ties but it was the Panthers that managed to take the set 25-23. UNI hit a match high .417 with 19 kills on 26 attacks with only 4 errors.
Set 5: Valparaiso got out to an early 6-0 lead from 4 UNI attack errors. UNI fought back to 4-8 before Valparaiso called timeout. The Panthers moved closer at 12-10 with help from 2 Valparaiso attack errors. UNI was unable to slow the Valpo attack and fell in the final set 15-13. UNI recorded 7 kills on 27 attacks for a .037 hitting percentage.
NORTHERN IOWA
-UNI recorded 66 kills while hitting .152 as a team.
-Emily Holterhaus lead the Panthers with 17 kills followed by Yagmur Cinel with 14.
-UNI recorded 63 assists with Tayler Alden finishing with 53 assists.
-UNI finished with 14 team blocks for the second match in a row.
-UNI is now 14-1 all-time against Valparaiso.
VALPARAISO
-Valpo recorded 59 kills while hitting .167 as a team.
-Jillie Grant finished with a team high 17 kills followed by Jaclyn Bulmahn with 14.
-Valpo finished with 56 assists led by Victoria Bulmahn with 47.
-Rylee Cookerly finished with a match high 27 digs.
-This is the first win for Valparaiso in the series.
UP NEXT
The Panthers, now 6-9 overall and 6-5 in MVC play, will be back at the Athletics Recreation Center for a 4 pm match with Valparaiso on Monday, March 15. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
