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SPORTS VOLLEYBALL
OCTOBER 7, 2021 |
NORTHERNIOWAN.COM
COLIN HORNING Sports Editor
|
VOLUME 118, ISSUE 12
UNI loses conference road opener to Loyola The UNI women’s volleyball team hit the road for their first conference road game after a three-game home stretch as they traveled to Chicago to face the LoyolaChicago Ramblers. UNI came into the game with a 6-10 overall record, and a 1-2 conference record and their opponents came in 11-5 and 4-0 in conference play, so the Panthers knew they were in for a challenging road opener. UNI was coming off back-toback losses, so a win against the top Missouri Valley team would get them back on track in a big way.
The first set saw UNI take their first lead at 3-2. Loyola battled back, however, and tied it at nine. Loyola took the lead 11-9 and never trailed again in the set. UNI got the score within one at 17-16, but Loyola pulled away to win the set 25-19. The second set was backand-forth. Loyola pulled ahead to a 14-11 lead, but UNI stormed back to tie it at 14 and then again at 16. After that, UNI seized control, going on a 9-0 run to end the set and win with a score of 25-16, evening up the series 1-1. In the third set, Loyola dominated early, taking a 3-0 lead and eventually getting up by as much as 10 with the score at 17-7. UNI didn’t give up and battled back to get within two at 22-20. The Ramblers held on to
TONI FORTMANN/Northern Iowan
The UNI volleyball team lost their first conference road game against Loyola in four sets. They will travel to Missouri State for their next match on Friday.
the lead, however, and grabbed a 25-22 win to get to two wins in the series. The final, deciding set saw the Ramblers get out to a 4-0 start and never look back. They never trailed and took the set and series with a 25-17 win. Emily Holterhaus once again
led the way for UNI in kills with 15 and also posted 11 digs. Carly Spies posted a careerhigh 10 blocks, which was the first double-digit game for UNI since 2017. Tayler Alden and Jenna Brandt posted 26 and 19 assists, respectively. Payton Ahrenstorff led with 17 digs.
Loyola was led by Addie Barnes, who had 15 kills to go along with 14 digs. Taylor Venuto posted a near double-double with eight kills and nine blocks. Lane Jenkins had a whopping 32 assists to lead the way for the Ramblers. The Ramblers improved to 12-5 on the year and with a 5-0 conference start, Loyola is on top of the Missouri Valley. The Panthers dropped to 6-11 and 1-3 in conference play, putting them at eighth in the standings. They will stay on the road against Missouri State on Friday. Missouri State is 2-2 in conference play, so a win would create a tie at 2-3, allowing UNI to move up in the standings. The road game is followed by the final game in the road trip against Southern Illinois on Saturday.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Panther women beat Redbirds in overtime, 2-1
The UNI women’s soccer team celebrated Alumni Day this past Saturday as they hosted Illinois State in the second game of the conference-only portion of their schedule. After the previous week’s devastating loss to Loyola, the Panthers were able to jump back into the winning column with a strong 2-1 victory over the Redbirds. UNI wasted no time getting their offense going as Lily Caso nearly scored in the first minute
of the game. Her shot from the right edge of the box sailed just past the net. That confidence became infectious, with Ashley Harrington and Lauren Heinsch having attempts on goal in the next 15 minutes. Redbird goalkeeper Priya Gillan put a stop to the Panther attack, saving Heinsch’s attempt and blocking a corner kick header near the end of the first half. Not to be deterred, the Panthers opened the second half with the same fiery energy from the first. This time, their effort was rewarded with a goal as Heinsch was able to slot one past Gillan, giving UNI a 1-0 advantage in the 48th minute. Harrington assisted on that goal. Heinsch
almost struck gold twice as her next attempt was blocked by Gillan in a bang-bang play. The Redbirds were able to equalize just fifteen minutes later with a goal by Hailey Glover. With only ten minutes left, Harrington attempted a freekick, which Gillan dove to save. Caso attempted another shot on goal just before the end of regulation, but it went just above the net. Just as overtime began, goalkeeper Caitlin Richards was called upon to make a jumping save against a Redbird attack. On her third attempt of the day, Caso buried her shot into the left side of the net in the 93rd minute, winning the game
Courtesy Photo/UNI Athletics
Panther soccer knocked off their conference rivals Illinois State with a 2-1 overtime victory this past Saturday.
with a golden goal. Caso’s final shot was a part of the four shots on goal that the Panthers had on the day. The win brings UNI’s conference record to 1-1, and an
overall record of 4-7-1. The team will stay in Cedar Falls as they host the Sycamores of Indiana State on Saturday, Oct. 9. Game time will be 1 p.m. at the UNI Soccer Field.
OPINION
It’s past time to overhaul the NFL overtime rules It’s a perfect Sunday afternoon. You’re settled into your favorite spot on the couch, enjoying your go-to game day snack, ready to watch your favorite National Football League team take on that week’s opponent. Perhaps it’s a high-scoring shootout, or maybe it’s a low-scoring defensive slugfest. Either way, through the 60 minutes of regulation, a winner has not been decided and the game is still tied. Therefore, a 10 minute overtime session begins. However, after those 10 minutes the game is still tied.
Instead of continuing to play until there is a winner, the game just ends in a tie, and you are left feeling annoyed and upset. Whether as an athlete or a fan, there is no worse feeling than a game ending in a tie. After a win, you get the uninhibited joy of celebrating a great victory. Even after a loss, you at least know how to feel, allowing a sense of disappointment and sadness to run over you until it’s time to move on to the next game. After a tie, however, there really is no appropriate feeling to have, and most people are left having no clue how to react. That’s why it’s so inexplicable that still, in 2021, the NFL allows regular season games to end in a tie.
Of the four major sports leagues in the United States, the NFL is the only one that still allows games to end in ties. In the National Basketball Association, five minute overtime periods are played until one team holds a lead after a period concludes, with that team being crowned the winner. In Major League Baseball, teams continue to play extra innings as long as necessary until one team ends an inning with the lead. In the National Hockey League, teams play one, five minute sudden-death overtime period, and if that isn’t enough, they go to a shootout. There are two main options that the NFL could go to in order to fix this problem of ties. The first option is that
they could do what they do in the postseason, where ties are not allowed. In the playoffs, if the overtime period comes to an end and the game is still tied, then they simply go to a second overtime period. This could go on as long as needed until somebody manages to break the tie, winning the game for their team. The second option would be to do what college football teams do. In college football, the overtime session begins with one team getting the ball at their opponents’ 25-yard line and trying to score. After their possession ends, whether by a touchdown, field goal or turnover, then the other team does the same thing. If they match the other teams’ total from their possession with the ball, then
the game continues to a second overtime. However, if they fall short or overtake their opponents’ point total, then the game is over, with the team with more points being declared the winner. Both options definitely have their problems. With the NFL postseason rules, all players could potentially have to run a lot more plays, creating much greater chances of injury. With the college rules, there is a potential to run up the score and player statistics, causing confusion when looking at the stats post game. However, all of these problems are very manageable compared to the chronic issue of NFL games ending in a tie. Players and fans alike are likely to agree that there has to be a better way to end overtime games.
