Sat., Sept. 6:
Clemson vs. Northern Illinois, 10 am
UNI vs. Marquette, 12:30 pm
Northern Illinois vs. Marquette, 5 pm
UNI vs. Clemson, 7:30 pm

After a season-opening tournament championship at the FAU Invitational, the University of Northern Iowa volleyball team opens its 2008 home schedule, by hosting the UNI Invitational at the McLeod Center this weekend. Northern Illinois, Marquette and Clemson come to the Cedar Valley for two days of volleyball action.

PANTHER QUICK SETS...

- Junior outside hitter Shannon Aschoff was named the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week Sept. 2.  Aschoff was named Most Valuable Player of the FAU Invitational, leading the Panthers to a perfect 3-0 record, sweeping each of its opponents.  She had a career-best 11 digs against Bethune-Cookman, and a career-high 19 kills in the championship match versus Florida Atlantic.  Aschoff averaged 4.56 kills, 2.11 digs and 5.17 points per set, while hitting an impressive .507 (41-7-67) over the three matches.

- The Panthers have won their first three matches of the year for the first time since the 2001 season.  That year, in head coach Bobbi Petersen's first year as permanent head coach (she also was interim head coach for the 1997 season), the Panthers won their first 18 matches of the season.

- UNI won all three matches at the FAU Invitational in 3-0 sweeps.  That is the first time since the 1990 season that the Panthers won their first three matches of the season, all by 3-0 counts.

- Senior middle blocker Ashten Stelken joined Aschoff on the FAU Invitational All-Tournament Team.  Stelken had 11 kills against North Florida, and averaged 3.75 kills and 1.00 blocks per set, while hitting a team-best .556 (30-5-45) over the three matches.

- The Panthers service game was outstanding over the three matches at the FAU Invitational.  UNI recorded 18 service aces for the weekend (2.00 aces per set), but only allowed five service aces against it over the three matches (0.56 reception errors per set).

SCOUTING THIS WEEKEND'S OPPONENTS

Clemson is 2-1 on the season, after winning two of three matches at its own tournament last weekend.  The Tigers swept both Syracuse and Charleston Southern, while dropping a four-set match to Florida International.  Clemson, which was ranked 19th in the preseason top 25 poll, is led by Danielle Hepburn (4.10 kills per set, 1.40 blocks per set) and Lia Proctor (3.70 kps).  UNI is 1-1 all-time against Clemson, and this is the first meeting between the two schools in Cedar Falls ... Marquette is 1-2 on the season, having defeated Chattanooga and dropped decisions to Tennessee and Houston, this past weekend at the Marquette Kickoff Tourney.  Ashlee Fisher averages a team-best 4.00 kills per set, while Rabbecka Gonyo averages 2.56 kills and 1.44 blocks per set.  UNI and Marquette are tied 1-1 in the all-time series, but the two schools have not met since 1980 ... Northern Illinois is 2-2 on the season, having defeated Chicago State and Cleveland State, while losing to Connecticut and Illinois State. Meag Schoenrock averages 4.89 kills per set, while Allison McGlaughlin averages 3.22 kps.  UNI holds a 7-3 lead in the all-time series with Northern Illinois, including having won the last four times the schools have met.

RADIO INFORMATION
No less than 14 of UNI's volleyball matches will be carried live on KWLO 1330-AM (Star 1330), with Eric Braley and Brad Wells calling the action throughout the season.  In addition to the regular-season schedule, Star 1330 will also carry all of the Panthers' matches from the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference tournament, to be hosted by Wichita State Nov. 27-29.

ON THE WEB
All of UNI's home volleyball matches can be viewed and listened to on the World Wide Web by going to www.unipanthers.com.  UNI has partnered with Stretch Internet to provide live video and audio streaming of each of the Panthers volleyball tilts from the McLeod Center.  This subscription-based service also provides audio coverage of selected volleyball road matches, as well as both video and audio of a number of other UNI sports.  In addition, all Panther home matches have free live stats, courtesy of GameTracker. 

A DEFENSIVE PRESENCE
Sophomore libero Ellie Blankenship had an impressive freshman year for the Panthers, as she set UNI numerous school records -- including most digs in a season (624) and digs per set (5.43).  Well, she certainly got the 2008 season off to the right start, as she averaged 6.67 digs per set at the FAU Invitational.  She had 15 digs against North Florida, 23 versus Bethune-Cookman, and 22 in the championship match against Florida Atlantic.  That continues Blanekenship's perfect streak of having recorded double-digits in digs in all 36 matches of her UNI career. 

BIG HITTERS OFFENSIVELY...
UNI hit better than .350 as a team in each match this past weekend, posting a .383 hitting percentage for the weekend.  The Panthers recorded a season-best .434 hitting percentage (41-8-76) in their season-opening win over North Florida, with a miniscule eight hitting errors.  UNI hit better than .350 in each of its other two matches (.352 vs. Bethune-Cookman and .370 versus Florida Atlantic), with 48 kills against FAU.

... AND TOUGH ON THE OPPONENTS, TOO
In addition to its impressive offense at the FAU Invitational, UNI held each of its three opponents to less than .200 hitting as a team.  The Panthers held two of their foes to less than .100 hitting, in North Florida (.065) and Bethune-Cookman (.033).  In fact, BCU managed just 18 total kills as a team in the match. 

SPLITTING TIME AT SETTER
With the graduation of three-year starter Kristin Belzung, the Panthers are breaking in a new setter this year.  Two players are battling for playing time this season, and both saw the court last weekend at the FAU Invitational.  Redshirt freshman Bre Payton and sophomore Jessa Benson each ran UNI's offense in the opening three matches, and each should see action this weekend as well.  Both Payton and Benson appeared in all three matches in Florida, with Payton starting two and Benson one.  Payton averaged 11.33 assists per set in six sets, and Benson averaged 8.50 assists per set in four sets of action.

STRONG START FOR DISCHER
Sophomore outside hitter Beth Discher started all three matches for the Panthers last weekend, averaging 1.89 kills and 0.78 blocks per set.  Discher had her best match in the season opener against North Florida, recording eight kills and hitting .438 (8-1-16), with three block assists.  She also had seven kills and two block solos versus Bethune-Cookman. 

BUROW ERROR FREE IN OPENING WEEKEND
Redshirt freshman Michelle Burow started all three matches for the Panthers at middle blocker in the opening weekend at the FAU Invitational.  And she had an error-free weekend offensively, as she recorded 13 kills with zero hitting errors in 24 total attacks (.542 hitting percentage) over the three matches.  Against Bethune-Cookman, she had seven kills in 12 attacks (.583).  She also had five block assists over the weekend, with zero blocking errors. 

KARSTEN OUT FOR THE YEAR
UNI sophomore outside hitter Kali Karsten, expected to compete for court time this season, has been lost for the year after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her knee during preseason practice.  Karsten appeared in five games as a redshirt freshman in 2007. 

AN NCAA REGULAR
Last year was UNI's 13th appearance in the NCAA tournament.  The Panthers have made the NCAA tourney two straight years and eight of the last 10 seasons, and has won its NCAA first round match six of the last seven times it has made the tournament, including advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1999, 2001 and 2002.  The Panthers have lost their NCAA first round match just five times 

PANTHERS 13TH IN NATION IN ATTENDANCE IN 2007
Over the years, UNI volleyball has annually ranked among the nation's leaders in attendance, and once again last year, the Panthers were in the nation's top 20.  UNI averaged 1,864 fans per home match, which ranked it 13th nationally.  In fact, the 5,124 fans that attended the UNI-Iowa State match at the McLeod Center Sept. 5, 2007 was the 40th largest volleyball crowd in the nation last year. 

UNI PICKED SECOND IN MVC PRESEASON POLL
The Panthers were picked to finish second in the MVC preseason poll of the league's head coaches.  UNI received a pair of first-place votes and 84 total points, to finish behind only preseason favorite Wichita State (four first place votes, 91 points).  UNI returns four starters from last year's club that finished 22-11 overall, 14-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference, and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the eighth time in the last 10 years.  Both Ashten Stelken and Shannon Aschoff were preseason all-conference selections.

20 WINS AGAIN
UNI posted 22 victories last season, which marked the 10th straight season the Panthers have won at least 20 matches.  In fact, UNI has recorded at least 20 wins in 21 of the past 23 years, with 11 of those seasons garnering at least 28 victories.