SPORTS

VOLLEYBALL

DECEMBER 5, 2022 | NORTHERNIOWAN.COM | VOLUME 119, ISSUE 27

Panthers fall in Round of 32

ADAM JOHNSON

Sports Writer

Following their victory in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship, the UNI Panthers went on their way to the NCAA Tournament. UNI traveled to Minneapolis, Minn. to go up against Florida State in the first round on Friday. They did come out victorious against the Seminoles, and then they were matched up against No. 8 Minnesota in the second round on Saturday. The Panthers could not continue their winning ways, and lost in the final game of their season.

First up for the Panthers were the Florida State Seminoles on Friday. The first set was as close as could be, neither team got on any big runs, and the biggest lead in either direction was just two points. However, the Panthers did have a timely run in at the end of the set. When they were down 24-22, they went on a 4-0 run to finish off the set, and take the opener, 26-24. To make that run, Inga Rotto had two kills, Emily Holterhaus had one and Florida State helped out a bit with an attack error for the final point.

The second set looked like it was going to be just like the first, with both teams going back and forth. The score found itself at 15-15, and that is when the Panthers got things going. They tallied up four in a row to go ahead 19-15, a lead that would prove to stick throughout the set. In fact, by the end of the match the Panthers extended the lead a bit more, and won 25-19.

The third set had UNI up 2-0, with a chance to send the Seminoles back home early. When down 10-8, the Panthers went on a big 5-0 run to give themselves a 13-10 lead. Once the Panthers took the lead following this run, they never gave it back the rest of the set. The Seminoles came close on several occasions, bringing it within one point a couple different times, but they could not bring it all the way back. The Panthers completed the sweep, winning the third set 25-21.

Next up for the Panthers was No. 8 Minnesota. In the first set, the Panthers snagged a narrow lead early on, but Minnesota got things going later in the set. When the Panthers led 16-14, Minnesota went on a 6-0 run to take a 20-16 lead. UNI only got two more points, so Minnesota ended the set with an 11-2 run, winning 25-18.

The second set did not start well for the Panthers, as Minnesota jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead. Things did not get much better either, as quickly that lead was extended to 11-3. The Golden Gophers ran away with this one, as UNI could never get the lead any closer than six points, and ultimately lost it 25-16.

In the third set, the Panthers would have to win to keep the season alive. Unfortunately, Minnesota was just too much for UNI. They maintained a solid lead early on, but really expanded it when they went from up 13-6 to up 17-6. The Gophers would extend the lead all the way up to 22-10. The Panthers brought a little life late in the set, tallying five straight points, but it was not enough, as they lost 25-15. The Gophers completed the sweep of UNI, 3-0.

This was not the way the Panthers would have liked the season to end, but it was a great year for UNI volleyball. The Panthers were regular season and tournament conference champions, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, winning their first NCAA Tournament game since 2017 and finished with an impressive 27-8 record.

COURTESY/ANDY SAIGH

UNI’s bench rushes the floor after UNI secured their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2017, taking down Florida State 3-0.

MEN’S BASKETBALL UNI goes 1-1 to open conference play

BEN LAHART

Sports Writer

The UNI men’s basketball team played their first two conference games last week as they traveled to Peoria, Ill. on Wednesday to play Bradley University and then played the University of Evansville on Saturday in the McLeod Center.

Against Bradley, both teams started off slow with the score sitting at 7-7 almost halfway through the first half. Beyond that it was still a very close, backand-forth game throughout the half. After the first 20 minutes, UNI led 30-29.

The second half did not fare as well for the Panthers. The game stayed very close but when the Braves gained a lead with 12:30 left in the second half they never looked back. UNI was not able to get the lead for the rest of the game before ultimately falling to Bradley 68-53.

Bowen Born led the way in scoring with 22 of the team’s 53 points. Trey Campbell and Tytan Anderson both followed up with eight points each. Anderson also led the team in rebounds. UNI as a team shot 35% from the field as well as 38% from three. The men saw a season low in team points in this game as well as their second lowest field goal percentage, which ultimately decided the game.

The Panthers had a bounce back game on Saturday with a dominant win over Evansville. UNI did not trail in this game and had a double digit lead that they held for a majority of the game. At halftime the Panthers led by 18 with the score at 38-20.

The last 20 minutes of the game were similar to the first. At about the 15 minute mark, Evansville made a slight surge knocking the lead down to just six points. An 11-4 UNI run erased that scare allowing the Panthers to coast out the rest of the game, at some points leading by as much as 20 points. The final score had UNI winning 72-55.

Born had another excellent performance with 29 points to lead the team. The 5-foot-11-inch sophomore guard has had an impressive start to the season as he is currently averaging 21.7 points per game, almost triple his average last year. Anderson had a season-high in points with 19 as well as a team-high in rebounds with nine. The Panthers shot 45% from the field and 40% from three in the blowout win.

UNI is now 1-1 in MVC games this season and they are 3-0 at home. However, the Panthers are also 0-4 when on the road. UNI currently sits tied for third place in the conference ranking in the MVC.The Panthers will look to continue their excellence at home with three straight home games over the next two weeks. The first of those will be Tuesday, Dec. 6 against the University of Toledo at 7:30 p.m.

STEPH STARK/NORTHERN IOWAN

Bowen Born (13) continued his strong play on Saturday, finishing with 29 points in the victory over Evansville.

VOLLEYBALL

DECEMBER 5, 2022 | NORTHERNIOWAN.COM | VOLUME 119, ISSUE 27

For Petersen, family is key to success

EMMA BECKER

Guest Writer

With sports, there are highs and lows just like any other aspect of life. It takes a lot of patience to improve and an even greater amount of support from others to help one get through those harder moments. For Baylee Petersen, a senior defensive specialist on the University of Northern Iowa’s volleyball team, the support system she has established

JORDAN JUNGE/NORTHERN IOWAN

Baylee Petersen (8) stands next to her twin sister Sydney (2), preparing to receive a serve. when going through rough times in her volleyball career has played a huge part in learning how to bounce back and not lose hope, such as being injured for the 2021 season and not being able to play in any matches.

Petersen has been playing volleyball for around 13 years, having started in fourth grade, but she had been exposed to volleyball long before then. Her mom, Bobbi Petersen, is the head coach for UNI’s volleyball team. “I was able to watch the girls since I was very young,” Petersen said. “Just being able to see how much they grow throughout all four years was probably what my biggest inspiration was.”

This appreciation for improvement is something that has remained with Petersen into her volleyball career. Petersen said the team goes through rigorous workouts in the off season in the spring to stay in shape and stay motivated. “As a team, we are very growth mindset in everything we do. Being able to have that mindset of yeah, this is hard and it kind of sucks right now, but you’re going to get through it, you’re going to get better, and even if you don’t succeed today, you’re going to come back the next day and do better.”

For example, Petersen connected this same way of thinking with one of the team’s matches against Bradley on Nov. 5. “I had a really bad pass, but just knowing my teammates have my back, that I’ve been practicing, and have been at UNI for five years and that I have the skills to do it has helped,” she said.

But despite the hard times, all of the hard work has felt worth it. The relationships that she has established with her teammates, especially with her family on the team which include not just her mom, but her twin sister, Sydney, who joined UNI’s volleyball this year after four years at the University of Texas, and her aunt, Michelle Bolte, who is the Director of Volleyball Operations, have made her glad that she has stayed.

Petersen reflected on her own progress over her five years at UNI. “I was looking at some old pictures with my mom and it was really fun to see the younger me playing volleyball,” she said.

Petersen also highlighted the importance of the rest of her family’s encouragement on her volleyball career and how they have really come through to show their support. For her, they are every bit a part of the team as well. “My hometown is like 20 minutes away from here so every home game, we have a big support group and I think that pushes me to want to be better. My little sisters also look up to me and I want to be a good role model for them too,” Petersen said.

Even when things get hard, at the end of the day, there are always going to be people to help along the way and be there when they’re needed the most. “Just never give up and know that you have people in your corner that want to see you succeed and want you to do your best and that they have your back no matter what,” Petersen said.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL UNI drops game to SDSU, 80-69

CADEN SHEA

Sports Writer

The UNI Panthers women’s basketball team fell short against the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits after a disappointing fourth quarter. Despite a strong showing in the first half and much of the third quarter, the Panthers were not able to keep up the barrage and ended up on the losing side of a 80-69 game.

The Panthers defense was the focal point of the game plan in the first quarter of the game. They used this to their advantage by converting on offense and locking their opponents down on the defensive end. They managed to get their largest lead of the game with seven points before the Jackrabbits would respond with a run of their own, making the score 17-15 with the Panthers on top entering the second quarter.

The two teams volleyed for much of the second quarter, trading buckets throughout. Although it looked like the Jackrabbits were going to have a decent lead on the Panthers entering the second half, Maya McDermott and Cynthia Wolf both hit shots from behind the arc to cut the Jackrabbits lead to one point going into the final half.

The Panthers looked strong throughout the third quarter. Kam Finley would get things going by hitting a three-pointer off of a turnover early in the quarter. The Panthers once again obtained a seven point lead over their opponent with four minutes left in the third. SDSU fought back, however, and managed to tie the game up going into the fourth and final quarter of play.

UNI started the fourth quarter out by scoring thanks to some early buckets by Grace Boffeli and a three-pointer by Emerson Green. The Panthers kept it a highly contested game for the early parts of the fourth quarter with the two teams going back and forth. However, the Panthers were no match for a late-game onslaught by the Jackrabbits. SDSU finished the game by scoring 18 points to the Panthers seven, handing UNI an 80-69 loss.

Despite the loss, many Panthers shined on the road. Green led the Panthers in scoring with 17 points with Boffeli and McDermott following with 15 and 14, respectively. The team shined on defense, collectively recording six steals and six blocks. The team also performed well from behind the arc, recording a total of 10 three-pointers.

The Panthers will try to return to their winning ways when they return home on Tuesday to face the North Dakota State University Bison at 5 p.m. in the McLeod Center. The Bison are currently 6-2 after losing their last two games.

DECEMBER 5, 2022 | NORTHERNIOWAN.COM | VOLUME 119, ISSUE 27

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

Across

1 Mirage sights? 10 Hint 15 Puccini's Rodolfo, for one 16 Word with society or system 17 Parties like there's no tomorrow 18 Singular 19 Recipe word 20 Utter 21 Serves, with "out" 22 Considerable number 23 Implore 24 Traditional Mesoamerican fare 27 Name on the 1969 album "Clouds" 28 One may be purposely broken 29 Program access aids 30 Pop-up fare 31 Former NHL forward Tikkanen 32 Nothing more than 33 City ordinance subject 34 Bit of power 35 Green of "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" 36 Contaminate 37 Word in a marriage metaphor 38 __ Aviv 39 Restraining order 40 __ storm 41 Require compliance with 43 Woven line 44 Provoke 45 Oregon's highest mountain 46 Org. with Eagles 49 Squeezable holders 50 Listen 52 Upstanding 53 Regular beach walker's resource 54 Load with jeans, say 55 They don't sting

Down

1 Cuba libre ingredient 2 Behaved like 3 Like many Fla. residents 4 Ones often working in small rms. 5 Thelma and Louise, e.g. 6 Turn on 7 "Wuthering Heights" scenery 8 Apart from this 9 Make out 10 Response to a bell 11 __ wine 12 At all 13 Ship's deck sometimes reduced to six letters 14 It's in ice caps and ice sheets 21 Like urban population 22 Giraffe feature 23 Talk a good game 24 Borne out long-term 25 Fictional detective often seen wearing an open aloha shirt 26 Strength of character 27 Cooler 30 Decorative fabric 33 Rights org. since 1909 34 Leaf blower 36 Fencing maneuvers 37 Show time 40 Stiff 42 Eponymous vacuum brand 43 Many a time-share 45 Next in line 46 Tiny tot, in Toledo 47 Commission source 48 Combative deity 50 Part of LLC: Abbr. 51 Pick up

ANSWERS

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