THIS WEEK IN PANTHER VOLLEYBALL

Fri, Oct 5 at Creighton 7:00 p.m.

Sat, Oct 6 at Drake 7:00 p.m.

PANTHERS HIT THE ROAD TO TAKE ON PAIR OF MVC TEAMS

The University of Northern Iowa volleyball team (13-5) will head back on the road this weekend as they take on a pair of Missouri Valley Conference teams. Panthers will take on second place Creighton University on Friday night at 7:00 in Omaha, Nebraska. The match will be held in the D.J. Sokol Arena on the Creighton campus. UNI will then head to Des Moines, Iowa, where they will face the Drake Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night. This match will be held at the Knapp Center on the Drake University campus.

All 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...

• UNI is now 5-0 in Missouri Valley Conference play. After Creighton's loss to Southern Illinois over the weekend, the Panthers are now the lone team in first place in the MVC.
• The NCAA released the first offical RPI this week, and UNI sits at No. 46 in the nation. The Panthers are in the top 50 in the following categories: kills per set (36th, 14.08), digs per set (36th, 17.02) blocks per set (43rd, 2.56) and assists per set (45th, 13.00).
• UNI remains undefeated in Missouri Valley Conference play. The Panthers earned the 3-0 sweep over Missouri State on Friday night at home. On Saturday, UNI hosted Wichita State and defeated them 26-28, 25-11, 25-18, 25-16. The Panthers have now recorded five straight MVC wins and are currently in first place in the conference.
• UNI volleyball has now won 59 straight MVC regular season matches. This is seven wins away from the school record of 66 straight MVC regular season match wins that was set from 1997-2001.
• UNI's win streak against Valley competition, regular season and tournament play, is at 65 straight matches. The Panthers are only four wins away from the school record of 69 straight matches versus MVC competition that was set from 1998-2001.
• The Panthers have won 29 straight MVC games at home. The last time they lost a home game was against Wichita State on November 15, 2008.
• A couple Panthers set career highs at the Wichita State game on Saturday night. Junior Macy Ubben had a career high 16 kills for the Panthers. Her previous career high was 10 kills against Indiana State on September 22nd. Molly Turk surpassed her previous career high mark of 48 assists against Pittsburgh on September 9th. Turk notched 50 assists in the Panthers 3-1 over the Shockers.

SCOUTING CREIGHTON

• Creighton University enters the weekend with a 13-3 overall record. The Bluejays have a 4-1 record in the Missouri Valley Conference and are in second place. Creighton has defeated Wichita State, Missouri State, Drake and Evansville, but fell to Southern Illinois over the weekend. Creighton is No. 26 in the first official NCAA RPI released this week. The Bluejays currently have a .257 attack percentage on the season, which is 28th in the nation. Leah McNary leads Creighton with 3.03 kills/set and Kelli Browning follows with 2.95 kills/set. Browning also leads with 1.70 blocks/set and this puts her No. 1 in the nation in blocks per set. Megan Bober leads the way for the Bluejays with 9.73 assists/set and Kate Elman has recorded 4.63 digs/set. Bober has been named MVC Female Scholar Athlete of the Week twice this season. UNI leads the overall series against Creighton 40-3. The Panthers defeated the Blue Jays 3-0 on the road and 3-1 at home last season.

SCOUTING DRAKE 

• Drake University enters the weekend with a 1-14 overall record. The Bulldogs have a 0-5 record in the Missouri Valley Conference. Drake currently has a .115 attack percentage on the season. Bently Mancini leads the way for the Bulldogs with 2.50 kills/set and Cassie Effken follows with 2.02 kills/set. Halli Meyer leads Drake with 5.00 assists/set and Sarah Madden has 4.85 digs/set. The Panthers lead the overall series against Drake 68-12-2. UNI defeated the Bulldogs in both matches last season.

PANTHERS 3-0 IN MVC PLAY

• The Panthers had a successful weekend (Sep 21-22) of Missouri Valley Conference play. UNI went up against the Illinois State Redbirds on Friday on the road. There were a couple close sets, but the Panthers prevailed with the 25-16, 25-23, 26-24, win. On Saturday, the Panthers headed to Indiana to take on the Indiana State Sycamores. UNI dominated the match and got the 25-14, 25-9, 25-12, win.

 AMY BRAUN REACHES 1,000 KILLS

• At the Panthers' match against Bradley on Spetember 14th, Amy Braun reached a milestone by recording her 1,000th kill. Braun now belongs to the 1,000 dig and 1,000 kill club. Braun will be honored at the home match against Missouri State on Friday night.

CEFCU CLASSIC

• UNI won their first tournament of the season, the CEFCU Classic, in Peoria, Illinois, Septemeber 14-15. The Panthers opened MVC play by taking on Bradley in the opening match of the tournament. UNI swept Bradley 25-15, 25-22, 25-19. The Panthers fell to Arkansas State 22-25, 25-14, 19-25, 12-25, in the second set of the tournament. UNI wrapped up the CEFCU Classic by defeating Long Beach State 25-18, 25-22, 21-25, 25-20. Candice Burke was named MVP of the CEFCU Classic, and Megan Lehman was an All-Tournament honoree. Burke had 73 digs and four service aces over the weekend, while Lehman recorded 40 kills and 11 digs. Burke had a career high 35 digs against Long Beach State. Her previous career high was 30 against Evansville last season.

PANTHERS WIN HOME OPENER

• The Panthers hosted the Northern Illinois Huskies in their home opener September 11th at the McLeod Center. UNI defeated the Huskies 25-19, 25-15, 11-25, 25-18. Amy Braun led the Panthers with 11 kills and Megan Lehman followed with 10 kills. Molly Turk notched 31 assists and Candice Burke had 29 digs for the Panthers. 

AMBASSADOR HOTEL GOLDEN EAGLE CLASSIC

• UNI finished 2-1 in the Ambassador Hotel Golden Eagle Classic in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, September 8-9. The Panthers won the first match against Wake Forest 25-16, 25-18, 25-16. UNI had to take on No. 23 Michigan in the second game of the invite. This was the third weekend in a row that the Panthers had to take on a Top-25 ranked team. UNI fell to the Wolverines 3-1. Marquette was the final opponent for UNI at the invite. It was a hard fought match but the Panthers won it 3-2. Seniors Amy Braun and Candice Burke were both named to the Ambassador Hotel Golden Eagle Classic All-Tournament team. Braun had 43 digs, 16 assists and 35 digs for the Panthers over the weekend. Burke recorded 47 digs and one service ace for UNI.

CAREER HIGHS AT GOLDEN EAGLE CLASSIC

• A couple Panthers had career highs in the match against the Marquette Golden Eagles. Megan Lehman recorded a career high 19 kills for UNI. Molly Turk had a career high with both 48 assists and 17 digs in that match. Macy Ubben also had a career high 10 digs in the match against Wake Forest.

IOWA STATE TOO MUCH FOR PANTHERS

• The Panthers traveled to Ames, Iowa, on September 5th to take on in-state rival the No. 18 Iowa State Cyclones. UNI played tough but could not keep up with the Cyclones. The Panthers fell 18-25, 25-23, 15-25, 25-27, to Iowa State.

LUXE CITY CENTER TROJAN INVITATIONAL

• The Panthers travelled to Los Angeles, California, Aug 31- Sep 1 for the Luxe City Center Trojan Invitational. UNI first faced the Boston College Eagles and defeated them 25-17, 22-25, 25-22, 25-7. In the second game of the tournament, the Panthers had to face No. 5 USC and fell 18-25, 20-25, 16-25. This was the second weekend in a row that the UNI Panthers had to take on a team ranked in the Top 10. UNI went up against Mississippi State in the final game of the Trojan Invite and they defeated the Bulldogs 25-20, 26-24, 25-20, to take second place in the tournament. Senior Krista DeGeest and junior Shelby Kintzel were named to the Luxe City Center Trojan Invitational All-Tournament Team. DeGeest had 31 kills and two solo blocks for the Panthers. Kintzel also had 31 kills over the weekend.  

BURKE NAMED MVC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

• Candice Burke was named MVC Defensive Player of the Week. Burke recorded 12 digs in UNI's 3-1 win over Boston College at the Luxe City Center Trojan Invitational over the weekend. In the second game of the tournmament, Burke tallied 20 digs and two service aces in the Panther's 0-3 loss against No.5 USC. The final match was against Mississppi State and Burke recorded 18 digs and two service aces to help lead UNI to a 3-0 win. This is the third time in her career that Burke has earned Defensive Player of the Week.

MORTAR BOARD PREMIER

• The Panthers had to take on the No. 7 Purdue Boilermakers in the first day of play in the Mortar Board Premier in West Lafayette, Indiana on Aug 24-25. The Panthers put up a fight, but it was not quite enough. UNI fell to Purdue 23-25, 23-25, 18-25. The next day of play UNI swept Pittsburgh 25-19, 25-21, 25-18 in the morning and went on to defeat George Washington 25-14, 25-12, 25-18, to finish 2-1 in the tournament. Seniors Amy Braun and Megan Lehman both earned spots on the Mortar Board All-Tournament team this weekend. Braun recorded 37 kills, 22 digs and six service aces for the Panthers. Lehman had 29 kills and .370 hitting percentage.

BEST OF THE BEST

• 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.

 PRESEASON HONORS

• Seniors Amy Braun and Krista DeGeest were both named to the MVC Pre-Season All Conference Team.

PICKED TO WIN IT ALL

• 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.

TOURNAMENT REGULARS

• 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.

MVC CHAMPS... AGAIN

• 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.

MVC SCHOLAR ATHLETES

• Amy Braun, Jenny Willms and Shelby Kintzel all earned MVC Scholar-Athlete first team status during the 2011 season.

 ALL-AMERICAN HONORS

• 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.