In the home stretch for the MVC finals, the UNI volleyball team clinched another victory—improving both their season standings and tournament rankings. Coming out of the weekend after another tight five-set thriller, the Panthers defeated the Drake Bulldogs for the 38th consecutive time with final score of 3-2.

The Bulldogs opened up the match with a 6-0 lead against UNI. Gaining traction, the Panthers controlled a five-point run that lasted from 6-12 to 11-12, followed by a 20-18 lead near the end of the set. Drake turned the game around and finished over UNI with set score, 25-21.

Starting back again in the second set, the Panthers used five, four and three-point runs, respectively, to secure a 25-16 victory over their opponent.

The third set mirrored the second as the Panthers took the Bulldogs by set score, 25-10, with the use of three, four and five-point runs. Out of all five sets, UNI secured their highest hitting percentage in the third with .394.

Drake stood their ground again in the fourth set. Although the Panthers trailed close behind, they took the lead and ran—finishing 25-20 over UNI.

Coming down to the last set, the Panthers started down early on, only to come back with a four-point run that led to a 5-3 lead.

Back-to-back three-point runs tallied UNI, 12-7, over their opponent while this   momentum  fueled their 15-9 victory to conclude the night’s five-set thriller.

Bri Weber secured her place as leading freshman in number of kills per-match in UNI history, adding to her record of most kills by a freshman per-season—notching a career total of 1,119 after their victory last weekend.

The Panthers will return home this weekend for their final two matches of the regular season. Facing Bradley on Friday, Nov. 20 and Loyola on Saturday, Nov. 21 in the McLeod Center, UNI hopes to improve their current 10-6 conference standings as they head into the MCV Championships.