This weekend will mark the start of the 2016 volleyball season for the UNI Panthers. The Panthers will travel to Ann Arbor to play in the Michigan Invitational.
They will play in three matches over two days to hopefully start the season off on the right foot. They will play Miami University on Friday, followed by St. Louis and Michigan on Saturday. However, before the first point is even scored it is important to know a few things about this talented team.
One of the most striking things about this team is experience. UNI will see the return all six starters and their libero from last year. Going deeper, you will also note that half the team is comprised of upperclassmen with only five freshmen total on the 20-women roster.
A majority of this team went to the NCAA tournament last year and will be looking to repeat. To add to the on court experience there is coach Bobbi Peterson who has coached the Panthers for 16 seasons, all of them above the .500 mark.
Another striking characteristic for this team is the preseason respect in the Missouri Valley Conference. UNI is currently picked to finish fourth in the MVC in the preseason poll and even garnered a first place vote.*
While fourth might seem to be a snub, it is a spot higher than last year’s finish. There will be plenty of ways for the team to move up as they play the number one and two teams, Wichita State and Missouri State, at McLeod.
One more honor bestowed this preseason was to senior Kayla Haneline who was chosen for the MVC Preseason All-Conference Team. Haneline who is a two time first team All-MVC selection was one of the six players chosen from the entire conference.  
The road to NCAA tournament starts this week for what is arguably UNI’s most consistent team. With so much experience fourth might end up being an insult to this talented team, but it gives them something to build off of for the season.
In the end, they will need to at least meet last year’s 12-6 MVC record to get back in the tournament and to do that they might need some upsets. The team holds their fate in their own hands as they’ll play tough teams to get attention, but they must win to get the recognition. The only solid prediction for this team is that they should be exciting to watch.