The U.N.I. volleyball team will be looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season when they host in-state rival Iowa State at the McLeod Center tonight. At 9-0, the Cyclones are off to their best start in program history. Panther coach Bobbi Petersen says that Iowa State is a very good team in all phases of the game.
She says offensively you can’t focus on two or three players, as they all can put the ball away. Petersen says the Cyclones are a very good blocking team. The Panthers suffered their first setback of the season in a five set loss to #6 Minnesota on Saturday.
Petersen says she’s confident in how her team will respond to that defeat given how close they were to pulling out the victory. She says they probably learned more in the loss than they have in their wins. She says they were in the match and didn’t execute a few things, so they still have confidence.
Petersen says U.N.I.’s serving and passing will have to be better against the Cyclones, as she says that’s been their most inconsistent are this season. U.N.I. is 15th ranked nationally while the Cyclones are ranked 12th.
By Jesse Gavin KCNZ Cedar Falls