Coming off their first conference loss, the 12-9 Panther volleyball team looked to turn things around as they celebrated Family Weekend by hosting the Drake Bulldogs in a conference battle on Friday, Oct. 18.

“Always with that inter-state match, we always have a really good match with Drake,” head coach Bobbi Petersen said.  “Really competitive battle and we’re looking forward to being at home and defending our home court.”

The Panthers did just that as they swept the Bulldogs in three sets. The victory extended UNI’s win streak over Drake to 46 consecutive games dating back to 1997.  This match also puts coach Petersen only two wins away from the 500 win milestone, and just five wins away from tying Iradge Ahrabi-Fard as UNI’s winningest volleyball coach.

The Panther women took the Bulldogs down in the first set with a seven-point win 25-18. The action picked up in the second and third sets with UNI edging out two close victories, 27-25 in the second and 26-24 in the third. 

Senior Karlie Taylor and freshman Kaylissa Arndorfer led the Panthers, combining for 36 kills throughout three sets.

Abbi Staack gave the Panthers 28 digs on the night, and Taylor added a double-double with 19 digs.

Senior setter Rachel extended her 35+ assist streak to 12 games. Koop leads the nation in assists with 856, a 13 assist advantage over second place, and used a 48-assist game to pass 900 on the season. 

Up next, UNI will take their show on the road to Chicago to face off against Loyola on Monday, Oct. 21.  The Panthers and Ramblers each only have one conference loss, both to Illinois State, making the game a battle for first place in the conference standings.

The Panthers will return to the McLeod Center on Friday, Nov. 1 to face Southern Illinois.