The University of Northern Iowa’s Women’s Volleyball team had a strong showing in the NCAA Tournament with a commanding first-round win against Illinois out of the Big 10 and an incredible thriller five-set match against Louisville in the second round that ultimately ended in a loss.
Play started against the Illini and the Panthers made a string showing in the first set, setting the pace for the match. After an early tie, UNI took off and never looked back going on a 15-7 scoring run thanks to five kills from Cassidy Hartman and Olivia Tjernagel. Kacie Rewerts had three blocks to help the lead as well as a pair of aces from Grace Mikota and Erin Powers to take the first set 25-16.
In the second set UNI and Illinois went back and forth to reach an 8-8 tie before the Panthers pulled away thanks to six kills by Hartman and four from Kira Fallert. Rewerts added two blocks that helped boost the Panthers to a set two win over the Illini at 25-16 and a 2-0 match lead.
Illinois’s defense showed out in the third set shutting down UNI’s offense by attaining four blocks and 18 kills, it was too much for the Panthers to handle. Tjernagel led UNI with three kills as Hartman and Lily Dykstra both had two each, while Powers also added an ace in a 25-16 set three loss.
The fourth set saw Northern Iowa grab an early 7-4 lead with Powers adding her fourth ace of the match and Reese Booth adding one as well. The Panthers were up 18-11, but not before Illinois cut the lead down to three at 20-17. UNI closed out the set with three kills from Tjernagel to go on to win the set 25-21. They secured the match victory to move on to the next round to play No. 1 seed Louisville.
The Panthers had already seen the Cards earlier this season at the Cardinal Classic in Louisville, so they were prepared for competition. This game showed grit and perseverance as the first set saw UNI and Louisville sharing the first 20 points. Tjernagel led with six kills while Hartman and Fallert each added four. The Cardinals were up 20-16, but the Panthers battled back, tying it at 21-21, and ultimately forced bonus points in the set. A clutch Tjernagel kill would boost the Panthers to a set one, 28-26 win.
The second set would prove to be much like the first as both teams continued to battle it out with each other. Northern Iowa tied the set at 10-10 thanks to a block assist from Hartman and Rewerts and again at 13-13. The ties continued before Louisvulle pulled away to take the set 25-22 to make it 1-1. Tjernagel had three kills as Hartman had four, while Powers had an ace as well.
UNI started off strong in the third set taking a 10-6 lead as the teams blocking defense continued to shine. Dykstra had eight kills in the set which helped the Panthers keep the Cardinals from going on multiple runs and taking the lead to 16-11. Louisville would come back to tie it at 21-21, but Northern Iowa finished strong with kills from Dykstra and Fallert to make the set 25-23 and to take a 2-1 match lead.
The fourth set saw the Cardinals dominated and never looking back, as the Panthers struggled to keep up. 15 attack errors hurt UNI as well as a negative hitting percentage. Louisville looked dominant on offense and defense with 14 blocks and 13 kills as Northern Iowa couldn’t get out of the hole they were in and dropped the set 25-13.
In a crucial fifth set thriller that went down to the wire and forced extra points, the Panthers grabbed an early lead at 7-5 before the Cardinals made their way back. UNI staved off five set points from the Cards in an incredible back-and-forth finish between the two. Multiple Panther service errors led Louisville to just escape with the win at 22-20 in the five-set thriller. Hartman had seven kills while Fallert had three in the final set. UNI finishes 26-8 on the year.
