The Panthers volleyball team traveled to Des Moines this past Saturday to take on their in-state Missouri Valley rival, the Drake Bulldogs. The trip proved to be fruitful for UNI as they tallied their 39th consecutive win against Drake.

The last time UNI lost to Drake was in 1996. The Lady Panthers swept the Bulldogs 3-0 by a set score of 27-25, 25-22 and 25-22. This much -needed win gives UNI a winning record in Valley play at 4-3, 13-7 overall.

The first set proved to be a power struggle, with the early momentum going to the Bulldogs. Drake was leading early and often, going up by six a few times early on and were eventually up 19-15.

However, a 5-0 Panther run gave UNI a late lead that they lost only once at 22-23. After a pair of set points, UNI would notch the first set win.

While the second set was close on the scoreboard, the court told a different story. Often tied, UNI never trailed in the second set. The final set was very similar to the first, only Drake was the one playing catch up.

The Bulldogs couldn’t put together a late set run to come and UNI walked out of downtown Des Moines with the victory.

Sophomore Bri Weber dominated the show on both sides of the ball as she reached her 10th double-double of the season with 15 kills and 16 digs. Senior Kayla Haneline added 10 kills of her own, along with a game high six blocks. Sophomore Kendyl Sorge was able to reach the 20 dig mark for the fourth match in a row at 23.

UNI finds itself fifth in the MVC to start this week. They will have a chance to improve as they take on Loyola and Bradley this weekend. Before Drake, UNI also found itself ranking first in the nation in digs per set (18.61), third in attacks per set (39.26), 11th in assists (908) and 10th in kills per set (14.48).

Junior Heather Hook is fifth in the nation for total assists (774) and 15th for assists per set (11.22).