THIS WEEK IN PANTHER VOLLEYBALL

Mortar Board Premier- West Lafayette, Ind.

Fri, Aug 24 Purdue 6:00 p.m (CT)

Sat, Aug 25 Pittsburgh 9:00 a.m. (CT)

George Washington 4:00 p.m. (CT)

UNI OPENS SEASON AT MORTAR BOARD PREMIER

The University of Northern Iowa volleyball team will open the 2012 season this Friday when it competes in the Mortar Board Premier in West Lafayette, Ind., The No. 21 ranked Panthers will take the No. 9 ranked Purdue on Friday and Pittsburgh and George Washington on Saturday.

The matches will be carried by KWLO 1330 AM with Chris Kleinhans-Schultz calling the action. Audio for all matches is also available on www.unipanthers.com.

PANTHER QUICK SETS...

• The Panthers head into the 2012 season with a No. 21 ranking in the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll . UNI returns four starters from last season when the Panthers went an impressive 33-2 overall and a perfect 18-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• UNI has been selected as the overwhelming favorite to win the Missouri Valley Conference in 2012 as voted on by the Valley's coaches. UNI received all 10 first place votes in the preseason poll. Last year was the third straight season that the Panthers went 18-0 in league play.
• Seniors Amy Braun and Krista DeGeest were both named to the MVC Pre-Season All Conference Team.
• UNI made its sixth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance during the 2011 season.This also marks the 17th time that the Panthers have made it in the program's history. UNI has an 13-17 overall record in NCAA tournament play.
• Head Coach Bobbi Petersen has led the Panthers to nine NCAA tournament trips. UNI is 8-9 in NCAA tourament play under Petersen, including two trips to the Sweet 16.
• In 2011, the Panthers earned their 16th Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title by sweeping Wichita State, 3-0, in the championship match and earned an automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
• Thanks to their 2011 league title, the Panthers now have five MVC regular season championships under head coach Bobbi Petersen and 15 overall. These 15 titles came in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
• Senior Krista DeGeest earned honorable mention 2011 AVCA All-America honors. She and fellow senior Amy Braun were both selcted as first team all-Missouri Valley Conference picks for the 2011 season.
• Amy Braun, Jenny Willms and Shelby Kintzel all earned MVC Scholar-Athlete first team status during the 2011 season.

THIS WEEK'S MATCHUPS

• The Mortar Board Premier will take place in West Lafayette, Ind., at the Halloway Gymnasium on the Purdue campus.
• Friday will be the third time that Purdue and UNI have met. In their last meeting, the Panthers defeated the Boilermakers 3-2 on the road. Purdue is ranked No. 9 in the 2012 AVCA preseason poll. They finished with a 29-5 overall record last season.
• This tournament will mark the first time that Pittsburgh and UNI have played. Pittsburgh finished the 2011 season with an 18-15 overall record.
• Saturday will be the fifth time that UNI has faced George Washington. The Panthers have won all four matches against the Colonials, with the latest win coming in 2009. George Washington had an overall record of 20-10 during the 2011 season.
• The Panthers are currently 10-2 in season openers with Bobbi Petersen as head coach.