This historic UNI volleyball season only has a few regular season games left this year. The Panthers are looking to end it with a bang.

Following the Panthers’ victory over Indiana State on Senior Night in the final game in the McLeod Center, NI suffered a tough loss to Missouri State. This was a 3-0 loss to clinch a share of the 2017 Missouri Valley Conference volleyball regular season championship. Missouri State won by set scores of 25-23, 25-23 and 25-21.

This was a fifth straight win for the Bears in the series versus UNI.  This loss marks the seventh loss this season and a record of 13-3 in the Missouri Valley.

Sophomore Karlie Taylor posted her 20th double-double this season with 12 kills and 22 digs. Junior Piper Thomas tallied 13 kills at a .423 hitting percentage. Redshirt freshman Kate Busswitz stepped on the scene and registered a career-high five blocks in the matchup against the Bears.

The Panthers then went on to bounce back from the loss with a 3-0 sweep on the road against Missouri Valley foe Southern Illinois. UNI won by set scores of 25-16, 25-20, 25-19 in Davies Gymnasium in Carbondale, Illinois.

This win gave UNI volleyball the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The MVC Tourney is set to take place this Nov. 23 to 25. Taylor put on a career-high performance by notching her 21st double-double this season and hit for a .483 hitting percentage, tallying 14 kills and 13 digs.

Junior Bri Weber also recorded a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs. Thomas’ hot hand continued to strike as she tallied up 11 kills and a .375 hitting percentage. This loss makes Southern Illinois’ overall record fall to 6-21 and 5-11 in the Missouri Valley.

The Panther volleyball team will be wrapping up regular season play this Saturday, Nov. 18  in Des Moines, against the Drake Bulldogs.

This has been a record-setting regular season for the UNI volleyball program, and it should be far from over.