Panther volleyball started off the weekend against the Murray State Racers. The first started off back-and-forth between the two teams where UNI would break a 10-10 tie by going on a 5-0 scoring run before Murray State made their way back. The Racers had a lead at 22-21, but the Panthers rallied to force bonus points and take the set 27-25.
In the second set, Erin Powers started off hot with an ace for Northern Iowa. Aces by Kaitlyn Sellner and Sydney Golden also assisted the Panthers to take the lead to 18-10. The Racers would again make an effort to try and cut the lead from the Panthers, but kills from Kira Fallert, Cassidy Hartman and Lily Dykstra would secure the second set for UNI with a 25-19 win, putting the Panthers up 2-0.
The Panthers would head into the third set scoring the first five points and eight of the first 10 points total. Murray State would cut Northern Iowa’s lead at 10-7, but a strong final set from Kacie Rewerts as well as an ace by Hartman would help to secure the set for UNI with a 25-18 win and a 3-0 match win.
The team would then go on to face the Belmont Bruins on Saturday. In the first set, the Panthers would start off hot thanks to Fallert, who had eight kills in the set. Powers had eight digs in the back row as well as an ace that helped boost UNI to a first set 25-17 win despite the Bruins efforts to make a comeback.
Belmont came out strong in the second set, giving Northern Iowa a run for their money. The Panthers would do their best to battle thanks to efforts from Powers, but the Bruins would be too much for them as they took the set 25-21 making it 1-1 overall. UNI quickly found their groove going into the third set as they grabbed an early lead and kept it going. Hartman had six kills in the match, while Golden had an ace that boosted the team to a 25-17 win.
In the fourth set, UNI scored the first seven of eight points in the set. Powers notched her sixth ace of the match with Fallert adding four kills to her total, while Rewerts and Olivia Tjernagel each had three kills a piece. The Panthers would go on to get a strong 25-14 win.
