CEDAR FALLS – Facing off against a persistent opponent, UNI volleyball escaped with its 15th consecutive victory on Friday night in a 3-1 win over the Indiana State Sycamores inside the McLeod Center, overcoming challenges at the service line and at the net to remain undefeated in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play.
The win, the 31st win for the Panthers in their last 32 conference outings and 16th straight MVC home win, guarantees a top-two seed for UNI at the MVC Tournament later this month, including a double-bye into the semifinal round.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Sycamores would grab an early advantage on UNI in the first set, but the Panthers wouldn’t stay down for long with a 6-0 scoring run to take the lead. Paced by a strong offensive performance by Kira Fallert and Emily Holterhaus with 13 of UNI’s 18 first frame kills. Erin Powers provided critical backline defense as Indiana State, led by reigning MVC Freshman of the Week Kira Holland, kept the Panthers alive in long rallies, as Layanna Green and Holterhaus both provided the night’s first two service aces. Hitting .357 as a unit, UNI took the opening set by a score of 25-13.
Northern Iowa would struggle out of the gate in the second stanza, giving up the first five points of the set to the Sycamores in the set. Eight attack errors plagued the Panthers as UNI struggled to block at the net despite a quick 4-0 run with Megan Witte giving the purple and gold a quick spark. Indiana State would win a challenge call, reversing a Panther kill ruled in bounds, holding off any attempt of a UNI comeback with a .293 hitting percentage in a 25-18 win over the Panthers, evening the match at one set a piece.
In a highly-competitive, back-and-forth fourth frame, UNI was able to find some offensive consistency with Kaylissa Arndorfer jump starting the Panther attack. While Northern Iowa’s blocking game saw improvement with Kara Oxenknecht and Holterhaus stepping up at the net, the Panthers struggled greatly at the service line with five errors. Despite difficulties in putting the ball in play, UNI was able to rack up 20 kills on .326 hitting to narrowly escape with a 25-23 set win.
Northern Iowa’s blocking defense continued to improve into the fourth set as the Panthers built a 10-5 lead on the Sycamores with stops by Oxenknecht and Holterhaus. Indiana State would crawl back into contention with a 4-0 run to cut UNI’s lead at 14-12, but Holterhaus and Fallert would push the Panthers across the finish line down the stretch. Posting 17 terminations on .324 hitting, UNI would force seven Sycamore attack errors and slow Indiana State’s momentum down the stretch, holding on for a 25-16 victory and the four-set win.
Fallert finished the night with a season-high 24 kills with 11 digs, while Holterhaus tied her season-high with 20 terminations for a third time this year. Arndorfer notched a season-best 12 kills with six sigs, as Alden tallied 48 assists, seven digs and five terminations. Defensively, Powers posted a 25-dig night, one shy of tying a season-high, while Cassidy Hartman and Grace Mikota both contributed to the Panther backline with seven digs each.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
UNI improves to 68-7 all-time against the Sycamores, and 36-1 at home against Indiana State.
The Panthers win on Friday secures the program’s 39th season of 20+ wins in its 49-year history. Head coach Bobbi Petersen leads all UNI volleyball coaches with 20 seasons of 20+ victories, while her predecessor Iradge Ahrabi-Fard led UNI to 17 seasons of 20+ wins.
UNI’s magic number to clinch the MVC’s regular season title for a second straight season is now down to three following the Panther win and Drake win over Evansville on Friday in Des Moines.
Northern Iowa has recorded ten three-set sweeps in league play this year. At 14-0 in MVC play, the Panthers’ other four conference wins this season have come in four sets (UIC, Drake, Murray State, Indiana State).
The Panthers are 14-0 in MVC play for the ninth time in program history (1995, 1998-00, 2009-11, 2022). In each of the prior eight instances, UNI went on to win the MVC’s regular season title, including seven outright championships.UNI remains undefeated in the first set against MVC opponents this year after a 25-13 opening frame win on Friday. The Panthers have also clinched the first set in all 20 of their wins this year.
Indiana State was successful on a pair of challenges during Friday’s match. UNI opponents are 12-for-29 (.413) in challenges this season, while the Panthers are 12-for-18 (.667).Kira Fallert and Emily Holterhaus became the first set of Panthers to each record 20+ kills in a match since Piper Thomas (22) and Jaydlin Seehase (21) on Oct. 13, 2018 at Missouri State.
Fallert’s 24-kill, 11-dig performance marked her eighth double-double of the season, and 17th of her career.
Kara Oxenknecht made her first start as a Panther on Friday night at middle blocker, her first start since Nov. 20, 2022 against UMBC as a member of the New Hampshire volleyball program.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to the McLeod Center on Saturday night as they host the Evansville Purple Aces to conclude their four-match homestand on Military Appreciation Night and Senior Night. Active duty military and veterans can receive free admission by presenting their military ID at the UNITIX office. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT, with live coverage available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network.
