MVC Leader Northern Iowa to Face Bradley, Illinois State on Week 11

Courtesy: UNI Athletics

This Week’s Action:

Friday, November 2 – Peoria, Illinois (Renaissance Coliseum)

• UNI (#25) vs. Bradley, 7 p.m. | ESPN3 | Audio | Stats

Saturday, November 3 – Normal, Illinois (Redbird Arena)

• UNI (#25) vs. Illinois State, 7 p.m. | ESPN+ | Audio | Stats

• The Panthers are slated for a big week of MVC play, taking on the MVC’s #2 and #3 teams in Illinois State and Bradley.

• The Panthers continued their undefeated start to league play last weekend with Friday’s thrilling 3-2 victory Valparaiso and Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Loyola.

• UNI currently leads the Valley in hitting percentage (.283), kills (709), kills per set (15.76), assists (668) and assists per set (14.84).

• Karlie Taylor owns a league-high 4.81 kills per set, Piper Thomas holds a league-high .419 attack percentage while Rachel Koop tops the conference at 11.71 assists per set.

• Within MVC-only action, Karlie Taylor paces all individuals with 4.86 kills per set and leads the league in points per set with 5.39.

• Nationally, Karlie Taylor ranks 8th in kills per set and 7th in total points.

• Nationally, Rachel Koop ranks 7th in assists per set.

• UNI is ranked 15th nationally in the NCAA’s RPI release from October 29. The Panthers are also ranked in the AVCA Top 25, with 86 votes the Panthers are tied at 25th.

• This is the 29th consecutive season that at least 10 Iowa natives are on the UNI roster including the second year in a row that 14 of the 15 Panthers are from Iowa. Each of UNI’s last 8,785 points played dating back through last season have been played with only Iowans on the court.

• UNI returns four of seven starters from last year, including Honorable Mention All-America honorees Karlie Taylor and Piper Thomas, MVC All-Freshman pick Jaydlin Seehase and libero Kendyl Sorge.

• The Panthers rank No. 8 all-time in NCAA Division I winning percentage (.773). UNI trails only Penn State (.863), Hawaii (.852), Nebraska (.843), Florida (.833), Stanford (.813), BYU (.778) and UCLA (.774).

• UNI, Hawaii, Nebraska, Stanford, Penn State, and UCLA lead the nation with 37 consecutive non-losing seasons in NCAA Division I volleyball. UNI has also posted 33 straight NCAA Division I winning seasons – the fifth-longest active streak in the nation behind Hawaii (37), Nebraska (37), Penn State (37) and Stanford (37).

• Head coach Bobbi Petersen is in her 19th year at the helm of the Panther program with a record of 475-147. She has led the Panthers to 13 NCAA Tournament appearances.

UNDEFEATED IN MVC

The Panthers adjusted to Karlie Taylor being out of the lineup and still managed to go 2-0 last week and are now 12-0 in MVC play. The Panthers will take on Bradley (19-6 9-4 MVC) and then take on the 20-5 (12-1 MVC) Redbirds of Illinois State.

RADIO COVERAGE

Live radio coverage of the UNI Panther volleyball team can be found on www.UNIPanthers.com and KXEL (1540-AM) with Chris Kleinhans-Schulz on the call.  All audio this year will be free of charge (no subscription service).

LISTEN HERE

Friday vs. Bradley – KXEL 1540

Saturday vs. Illinois State – KXEL 1540

WATCH LIVE

UNI’s match on Friday will be on ESPN3 while Saturday’s match will be broadcast on ESPN+

BRADLEY BRAVES

The Braves currently sit in third place within the MVC with a 9-4 conference mark. The Braves rank first in digs per set, second in service aces and third in kills per set and fourth in assists in the MVC. The Braves are led by Erica Haslag and Hannah Angeli offensively. Haslag leads the Braves in kills per set will 4.22, good enough for third best in the MVC while Angeli brings in 11.06 assists per set, good enough for fourth best in the MVC.

UNI leads the series, 64-10

ILLINOIS STATE REDBIRDS

Illinois State has put themselves solidly in second place in the conference with their only loss being to the Panthers. The Redbirds rank second in hitting percentage, assists, kills, and digs while ranked third in service aces in the conference. Courtney Pence leads the MVC in digs per set with 6.22 while Ali Line comes in at the #2 spot in attack percentage with a .364 mark. UNI and Illinois State are the only teams with two players in the top ten in hitting percentage.

UNI leads the series, 53-25