The 2017 Women’s Volleyball season is underway and has already seen success for the Panthers. The team kicked off the season with a three-game sweep at the Culver’s Governors Challenge in Clarksville, Tennessee against 19-ranked University of Missouri, as well as Middle Tennessee, led by Austin Peay.

In the matchup against Mizzou, UNI sophomore Karlie Taylor became the 26^th player in Panther history to record 20 kills and 20 digs in a match. Taylor set career highs in kills (23) and digs (21) against the Mizzou Tigers. Piper Thomas led the team with 13 kills and a .765 hitting percentage. Senior Heather Hook finished strong in the final game of the Governor’s Challenge with 7 kills, 45 assists and 13 digs in a triple double against Austin Peay.

The Panthers followed up those victories with another big win against an undefeated, 18-ranked University of Southern California (USC) at the Bluejay Invitational in Omaha, Nebraska.

The victory marked the second win this season over a ranked opponent. Thomas and Taylor led the effort with 20 kill efforts each. This is the second time this season that UNI has had two players with 20 or more kills in the same match. Junior Bri Weber set a new season high with 18 digs as the Panthers closed out the Trojans.

UNI’s win streak ended at the Bluejay Invitational. The Panthers suffered back-to-back losses against the University of Kentucky and Creighton University. The Panthers bounced back with a 3-0 victory against Northern Illinois on Superhero Night on their home court. Junior Kendyl Sorge led the team with 18 digs.

The team went on to create yet another three-game win streak with their two consecutive wins at the Kangaroo Klassic in Kansas City, Missouri against Rutgers University and the University of South Dakota. Taylor continued a great start to the season by leading the Panthers with 12 kills in the game against Rutgers. In the matchup against South Dakota, the Panthers tied the school record of 107 digs in one match. There were five Panthers that reached double-figure digs: Kendyl Sorge, Taylor Hedges, Taylor, Weber and Hook in a historical victory against the Coyotes.

The Panthers couldn’t keep their hot hand for the final game of the Kangaroo Klassic and cut their two game win streak short with a 1-3 loss to UKMC. The Panthers are now set to take on in-state rivals Iowa State this Tuesday, Sept. 12, in Ames, Iowa.