The UNI volleyball team kicked off their Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) action this week against the Drake Bulldogs and the Indiana State Sycamores. The Panthers entered MVC play after a harsh set of losses to the Creighton Bluejays and Illinois Fighting Illini in the Illinois Tournament.

The Bulldogs began their season springing to life with a 11-3 record, entering Friday’s match in Des Moines as favorites to defeat the 6-6 Panthers. However, the in-state rivalry ended in a huge sweep by the Panthers, taking all three sets.

A large reason for this victory was the four ace serves that the Panthers mustered from the service line, alongside a great five block performance. The Panthers outscored the Bulldogs 58-38, and swept all three sets 25-21, 25-18 and 25-22.

Piper Thomas played a phenomenal game against Drake, tallying 16 kills and two blocks, accounting for a large portion of the Panthers’ offense and defense in the match. Karlie Taylor joined her with 13 kills and an ace. Many consider this to be one of the best performances by the UNI volleyball team this season.

UNI took to the court against Indiana State on Monday looking to carry the momentum from their previous match into their first home match. Things didn’t look great at first for the Panthers, as they fell behind early in all three sets.

However, this didn’t last for long as great defensive plays allowed the Panthers to spring back into the lead and carry their dominant play throughout all three sets.

Taylor led the team with an impressive 16 kills, followed closely by Thomas with 13. Defensively, the Panthers ended with 41 digs, holding the Sycamores to only 25 kills. This, in combination with impressive blocking across the board, led to a recipe of success for the Panthers, who swept the Sycamores, 25-17, 25-21 and 25-18.

Next up for the Panthers is a trip to Chicago to take on the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers in conference action on Friday, Sept. 28. Loyola is off to a strong start this year, tied for the league lead at 3-0, their best start to conference play since 2004. First serve for the Panthers and Ramblers is set for 7 p.m.