Another excellent season brings UNI volleyball into MVC tournament

That the Northern Iowa volleyball team is seeded second in the Missouri Valley Conference volleyball tournament should come as no surprise.

The Panthers, who will play either Wichita State or Indiana State tonight at 7:30 in the McLeod Center, have appeared in 30 consecutive Gateway or Missouri Valley Conference Tournaments - winning the title 16 times.

The Panthers have won 20 or more matches in 17 consecutive seasons and rank sixth all-time in NCAA Division I winning percentage at .786.

Bobbi Petersen, the team's head coach the past 14 seasons, references a collective effort to the sustained success.

'I think we (the coaching staff) obviously have a lot of high expectations and recruit kids with these same expectations and work ethic,” she said. 'We also make challenging schedules, to help make ourselves better in the end by playing the best teams in the country. And I think it's the motivation of them wanting to be the best team they can be, and wanting to hold up to the other successful teams before them.”

The key to continuing the success this season has been battling hardship in regards to transfers and losing their three top scorers and blockers from last season to graduation.

'A huge part of this year - with encountering a lot of adversity this spring - was having a lot less people than we thought we would,” Petersen said. 'We've had people that have stepped up and played positions we didn't expect them to play. We don't just have one kid that stands out, we have different players stepping up throughout different times.”

Players say the team's combined effort has been headlined by determination and effort, something it hopes can translate into another tournament title.

'I think that one thing that is cool about this team is our worth ethic and our grittiness,” junior setter Kinsey Caldwell said. 'We take a lot of pride in that. We take one point at a time and one match a time. We really like to outwork our opponents and work hard for each point and game.”

Senior outsider hitter Eryca Hingten agrees.

'Outworking other teams is going to be the ticket to postseason success,” she said.

The Panthers lost in the semifinal round last season after claiming the top seed.

'We did badly in the conference tournament and we don't want that to happen again,” Caldwell said. 'Were all very excited, it's something we've all been looking forward to all season ... I have complete confidence in the players and coaches on this team that we will be well prepared and ready to go.”