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University of Northern Iowa

University of Northern Iowa

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The UNI volleyball team recovered from early deficits in the second and third sets to edge the Belmont Bruins by three sets in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) on Friday night at the McLeod Center after a strong offensive and strong defensive performance.

Northern Iowa, which improves to 5-0 in league play for the third straight season, held the Bruins to just a .074 hitting percentage while Belmont’s defense was stifled all night long with 53 team completions and a .375 hitting percentage. UNI also recorded 49 team assists on Friday, which was its second-most in a game this season and just two shy of its season high.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Panthers benefited early from Belmont’s block with a .282 hitting percentage and 19 team kills, holding the Bruins to a .061 hitting percentage with just seven completions. Kaitlyn Sellner would bring in a service ace for Northern Iowa to help build a healthy lead for UNI Cassidy Hartman And Kira Fallert Each got five kills. With the Panthers recording four service errors, the Bruins cut UNI’s lead to just three points at 23-20 before the Panthers closed out the first frame with consecutive kills Olivia Tjernagel and Fallert for a 25:20 win.

Belmont opened the second stanza, scoring four of the first five points before Northern Iowa stormed back in impressive fashion, hitting .441 with 18 kills and just three attack errors. Hartman added six additional completions to her match total, three apiece Lily Dykstra And Kacie RewertsThe Panthers used a dominant 10-0 scoring run to take the lead and sprint to the finish line, carving up the Bruin defense. Supported from Assen Reese Booth and Fallert, the Panthers scored a 25-12 win and a two-set lead in the game.

UNI broke an early 4-4 tie against Belmont in the third set before outrunning the Bruins with 16 kills and a .419 hitting percentage down the stretch. Erin PowersUNI’s all-time leader in aces this season, dished out her team-best 17th ace of the year through the Bruin defense as the purple and gold used a 7-0 run to increase the lead over their Tennessee challengers. Fallert and Hartman added four and three kills, respectively, to their totals in the final frame, while Sellner recorded four blocks.

Hartman finished the night with a team-high 14 kills on 26 attempts with five digs and two blocks, while Fallert posted a double-double performance with 11 kills and 13 digs. Rewerts recorded a total of seven kills with three blocks, Dykstra also recorded seven kills and Tjernagel recorded six kills and a season-high five blocks. Both Sydney Golden and Booth each had 19 assists, with Powers posting a season-best nine assists in 13 figures.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

  • UNI improves to 3-0 in volleyball with Friday’s win over the Bruins.

  • Northern Iowa has started MVC play 5-0 in each of the last three seasons, including six of the last eight years. UNI has now also won four of its first five conference games in consecutive seasons.

  • The Panthers have now won 23 straight MVC regular-season games, dating back to last season’s undefeated conference season, the fifth-longest league winning streak in team history. UNI has won a total of 27 consecutive times against MVC opponents in the regular season and postseason.

  • Kira Fallert recorded her fifth double-double of the season and the 25th of her career on Friday. Fallert is UNI’s active leader in career double-doubles.

  • After a three-block performance against Belmont, Kacie Rewerts She is two more block assists shy of tying Creighton’s Jessica Houts (2005-09) for fourth place on the MVC’s all-time block assist list. Rewerts, who transferred to UNI from Drake in the offseason, has 534 block assists in her college career.

NEXT
The Panthers return to action tomorrow night when they host the Murray State Racers at the McLeod Center at 5:00 p.m. CT. Live coverage of the game can be found on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network. Fans are encouraged to wear pink as part of the team’s annual Pink Out game to raise breast cancer awareness.

UNI Volleyball action can be followed throughout the season on social media on Facebook (UNI Volleyball), X (@UNIVolleyball) and on Instagram (@univolleyball). The complete 2024 schedule and roster, as well as the latest Panthers news and information, can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.