Fighting from their home turf, the UNI volleyball team defeated both of their opponents this weekend. Taking on Southern Illinois Friday night and Evansville the following Saturday night, the Panthers kept their audiences on the edge of their seats as they battled out two close matches.

UNI started off the weekend with a 3-1 victory over the Southern Illinois Salukis with set scores of 25-23, 16-25, 25-17 and 25-21. The first set clinched fans as the Panthers and Salukis tied up at scores 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18. Finally the streak was broke by junior Ashlee Sinnott, and UNI went on to take the victory.

A kill by freshman Piper Thomas gave UNI the lead in the fourth set, but the lead was quickly lost. Throughout the set, the Panthers tailed the Salukis with scores 6-8, 15-17 and 19-20. A crucial kill by red-shirt junior Kayla Haneline tied the set, 20-20. UNI ran with the momentum from there, only allowing the Salukis one more point to finish out the set, 25-21.

Another thriller came the next day, as the Panthers took on the Evansville Purple Aces. The Panthers took the first set confidently, finishing 25-10. Giving them a run for their money, UNI fell to the Aces in the second and third sets by 23-25.

Haneline commented on the anxiety the Panthers felt going into the fourth set.

“We were definitely a little bit nervous,” said Haneline, “but I think we took that and channeled it into fighting to do the things we needed to do on our side of the court and focusing strongly as a team.”

Key blocks by Sinnott and junior Jaidyn Blanchfield gave the Panthers friction and, under pressure, they pulled through for a 25-22 victory in the fourth set.

A fifth-set tiebreaker crowned UNI victorious as they defeated Evansville confidently by set score, 15-9.

“We still have a lot of things we want to get better at,” said Head Coach Bobbi Petersen after leading her girls 2-0 in the MVC. “For us, we know we have to continue to get better every time we step on the court, but I feel really good that we’re doing that right now.”

Coming out of the weekend, the Panthers turned the tides on their season record, advancing 8-7. The team will be traveling to Peoria, IL to take on Bradley tomorrow.