UNI volleyball went on a short two-game road trip over the weekend. At first playing at Evansville on Friday, Oct. 6, and then at Indiana State on Saturday, Oct. 7. The Panthers came into this short road trip with a perfect 4-0 conference record, and were able to keep it alive, as they defeated both teams.
The road trip started out with Evansville, and the first set was a game of runs. The Panthers came out of the gates well early, jumping out to a 6-2 lead, but the Purple Aces stormed right back to tie it up at 6-6. The game went back and forth for a little bit, but Evansville put up a huge run later in the set. When they had a slim 15-12 deficit, they scored eight of the next nine points and took a 20-16 lead. The Panthers came back with a huge run of their own to finish off the game. They went on a 9-1 run, which was helped by five kills and an ace. The Panthers took the first set, 25-21.
In the second set, it was fairly even at the start, and Evansville got a narrow lead up to 11-8. It was at this point that the Panthers got things going in a big way. They put together a 12-2 run, and gained a huge 20-13 lead. The lead was too much for the Purple Aces to overcome, and the Panthers took set number two with a score of 25-17.
The Panthers looked to finish things off in the third set, and they were able to do just that. The Panthers started off on an 11-2 run, and they never stopped. The whole set was all UNI, and they finished Evansville off with a 25-8 victory.
Next up for the Panthers was Indiana State. The first set was back and forth in the early going, but the Panthers started to pull away late. With a narrow 13-11 lead, they went on a 12-3 run, and took the first set 25-14.
In the second set, the Panthers came out on fire, jumping out to a 12-2 lead. The start for the Panthers was too much for Indiana State, as the closest they would get was within seven points. The Panthers dominated their way to a 25-12 victory in the second set.
The third set was much of the same for the Panthers, as they dominated once again. They got out to a big lead early, and were able to keep it up with a 25-14 win in the set, and a sweep of the Sycamores.
With these two wins, the Panthers record improved to 12-6 overall, and a conference record of 6-0. The Panthers will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 13, when they play host to conference opponent Missouri State.
