RADIO INFORMATION
No less than 14 of UNI's volleyball matches will be carried live on KWLO 1330 AM (Star 1330), with Eric Braley and Jay Grassley calling the action. In addition to the regular-season schedule, Star 1330 will also carry all of the Panthers' postseason matches from the NCAA tournament. Head coach Bobbi Petersen's weekly radio show airs each Monday from 6-6:30 pm on Star 1330.

SCOUTING WISCONSIN
The Badgers are 25-4 overall, 17-3 in the Big Ten, and ranked eighth in the most recent CSTV/AVCA Top 25 poll. Wisconsin has a balanced offensive attack, as six players average better than 2.20 kills per game. They are led by Brittney Dolgner, who has racked up 461 kills (4.61 kpg) and 2.34 digs per game, while Taylor Reineke is hitting .339 and averaging 1.53 blocks per game. Wisconsin hits .272 as a team and averages 3.17 blocks per game, both ranking in the top 20 in the nation.

ALL-TIME AGAINST WISCONSIN
Wisconsin holds a 9-1 lead in the all-time series with UNI, including a 3-0 win (34-32, 30-25, 30-17) earlier this season at the Molten Classic in Provo, Utah. UNI is 1-5 all-time in matches played in Madison, Wis., with the win being a 3-2 victory over the then third-ranked Badgers on Sept. 8, 2001 (30-22, 18-30, 31-29, 24-30, 15-13). UNI head coach Bobbi Petersen is 1-1 against Wisconsin.

FIVE PANTHERS EARN ALL-MVC HONORS
Senior Kristin Belzung and junior Ashten Stelken were each honored by being named to the 2007 Missouri Valley Conference All-Conference First Team. Seniors Danielle Brazda and Laura Rowen were each named second-team all-conference, and freshman Ellie Blankenship was voted to the MVC all-freshman team.

THREE UNI PLAYERS EARN ALL-MVC TOURNAMENT HONORS
Three Panthers were named to the 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference All-Tournament team. Sophomore outside hitter Shannon Aschoff was named tournament Most Valuable Player, after hitting .386 and averaging 3.25 kills and 2.12 blocks per game. Joining Aschoff on the team were seniors Laura Rowen (4.00 kpg, 4.00 dpg) and Danielle Brazda (.417 hitting percentage, 1.38 bpg).

BELZUNG, STELKEN EARN ACADEMIC ALL-MVC HONORS
Kristin Belzung and Ashten Stelken were named to the 2007 Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Scholar-Athlete First Team. Belzung, who was also a first-team MVC all-scholar athlete selection in 2006, holds a 3.52 grade point average with a major in health promotion. She averages 12.54 assists and 2.93 digs per game for the Panthers. Stelken holds a 3.34 cumulative GPA in elementary education. She ranks among the league leaders in hitting percentage (.352), kills per game (3.56), and blocks per game (1.62).

PANTHERS RANKED IN NATIONAL STATS
UNI is ranked nationally in several stat categories, both as a team and individually. The Panthers are sixth nationally in blocking (3.42 bpg), are 18th in kills per game (16.68), 19th in digs per game (19.22) and also 19th in hitting percentage (.269). Individually, Ashten Stelken is seventh in blocking (1.63 bpg), while Danielle Brazda is 11th (1.58 bpg).

UNI SIGNS TWO PLAYERS
The University of Northern Iowa volleyball team signed two players, head coach Bobbi Petersen announced Nov. 15. Inking to play with the Panthers starting in 2008 are middle blocker Krista DeGeest (Spencer, Iowa/Spencer High School) and outside hitter Maddy Hammack (St. Louis, Mo./Lindbergh High School).
   DeGeest racked up 1,048 kills and 295 blocks for Spencer High School over her career. She earned first-team all-state honors, twice earned first-team all-conference accolades, and was selected to play in the Iowa Girls Coaches Senior All-Star Volleyball Classic in 2007. The 6-2 DeGeest averaged 4.1 kills per game and posted a .468 hitting percentage as a senior, and was named one of the PrepVolleyball.com Senior Aces as one of the top 250 recruits in the nation for 2008. She is a member of the University of Okoboji 180 club team.
   The 5-10 Hammack earned all-conference, all-district and all-region honors in both 2006 and 2007. She racked up a school-record 316 kills as a junior in 2006, while helping guide Lindbergh High School to back-to-back Suburban West Conference championships in 2005 and 2006. She plays for the St. Louis CYC club team, which finished third at the 2007 USA Volleyball Junior Olympic Championships.

PETERSEN REACHES 200 WIN MILESTONE
UNI head coach Bobbi Petersen picked up her 200th career win against Southern Illinois Nov. 10. In eight seasons as the Panthers head coach, Petersen has a record of 203-60 (.772), including 118-26 (.819) in Missouri Valley Conference matches.

BIG HITTERS
UNI hit a whopping .495 (63-8-111) against Indiana State Nov. 3. That was the team's highest hitting percentage in eight years, with the last time the Panthers hit better than that being .537 against Iowa State on Sept. 14, 1999. UNI leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks 19th in the nation with a .269 team hitting percentage this season.

UNI TIES MVC RECORD WITH 40-POINT GAME
The 40-38 win by the Panthers in game one against Drake Oct. 19 was the highest-scoring game in UNI history, and also tied a Missouri Valley Conference record for points in a game. Missouri State also scored 40 points in a 40-38 win over Drake on Nov. 8, 2003. The Panthers previous high scoring game was 36, in a 38-36 loss to Clemson on Aug. 26, 2006. The 40 points by UNI also was the 13th best total by a winning team in NCAA history, since rally scoring was implemented in 2001.

ROWEN MOVES INTO RARE COMPANY
Against Drake Oct. 19, senior outside hitter Laura Rowen topped 1,000 digs for her career, becoming the 10th UNI player ever to reach that plateau. Rowen, who currently has totals of 1,374 kills and 1,137 digs, also became just the sixth Panther to reach both the 1,000 kill and 1,000 dig marks. The five other UNI players to reach 1,000 in both categories for their careers were all-time Panther greats Bobbi Becker Petersen (1986-89), Kate Galer (1993-96), Alex Auker (1997-2000), Kim McCaffrey Davis (1997-2001) and Kim Kester (1999-2002).

RECORD-SETTER
Freshman libero Ellie Blankenship tied one UNI record and set another the week of Oct. 8. She had 25 digs against Western Illinois Oct. 9, which equaled the most digs by a Panther player in a three-game match (UNI head coach Bobbi Becker Petersen also had 25 digs against Eastern Illinois on 10/30/87). Then, against Evansville Oct. 13, Blankenship recorded 31 digs, the most ever by a UNI player in a four-game match (the previous mark was 29 by several players, most recently Stephanie May on 9/13/06 against Minnesota). Blankenship is averaging a UNI-all-time best 5.45 digs per game this season and has set a new UNI single-season record for digs in a season with 610.

BRAZDA TOPS 1,000 CAREER KILLS
Senior middle blocker Danielle Brazda went over the 1,000 kill mark for her career against Illinois State Oct. 6. By topping that historic milestone against the Redbirds, Brazda became just the 17th Panther all-time to reach the century mark in kills. She currently has 1,122 kills, ranking her 11th all-time on the UNI kills list. She needs 12 more to pass Shari Vermeer (1,133, 2000-04) into 10th place.

ROWEN, BRAZDA EACH WITH 1,000
Panther fifth-year seniors Laura Rowen and Danielle Brazda each have more than 1,000 kills for their UNI careers (Rowen has 1,374 and Brazda has 1,122). That makes them the first set of UNI teammates to each be active with 1,000 kills apiece since Rachael Tink and Shari Vermeer were each above 1,000 in the 2004 season. Rowen ranks fifth on UNI's all-time kills list while Brazda is currently 11th.

TRIPLE PLAY
Senior setter Kristin Belzung recorded her second career triple-double against Illinois State Oct. 6. Belzung had a career-high 71 assists, 17 digs and 10 kills versus the Redbirds. Her previous career double-double was in 2006 against Clemson, and she became just the sixth UNI player to have more than one triple-double in her career. The other five Panthers to have multiple triple-doubles are Kara Galer (6), Shannon Perry (5), Mary Bernhardt (5), Molly O'Brien (3) and Holly VanHofwegen (2).

20/20 VISION
UNI had six players reach double-digits in kills against Illinois State Oct. 6, including two players with 20 or more kills. Ashten Stelken had a career-high 22 kills and Laura Rowen recorded a season-high 20 kills. It was the first time a pair of UNI teammates had each had 20 or more kills in a match since Nov. 21, 2003, when Rachael Tink (26) and Shari Vermeer (21) did the trick, also at Illinois State.

MARATHON HEARTBREAK
UNI's 21-19 loss in the fifth game to Illinois State Oct. 6 was the highest-scoring game five that UNI has been involved in since the change to rally scoring in 2001. It was the second-highest scoring game five UNI has been involved in all-time, with the only one that had more points was a 22-20 UNI win in the fifth game over Iowa State on Nov. 3, 1992.

FRESH FACE
Redshirt freshman outside hitter Beth Discher had the best match of her young career with 10 kills, six blocks and two digs, while hitting .474 (10-1-19) against Indiana State Oct. 5. Discher did all her damage in the final two games against the Sycamores after not playing in the first game.

SAMPSON SETS CAREER BEST IN KILLS
Junior outside hitter Amy Sampson had a career-high 20 kills against Evansville Oct. 13. Sampson hit .386 (20-3-44) in the four-game win over the Purple Aces. Her previous kill high was 19 at Saint Louis on Sept. 25.

STELKEN POSTS CAREER-HIGH KILL TOTAL AGAINST REDBIRDS
Middle blocker Ashten Stelken racked up a career-best 22 kills against Illinois State Oct. 6. The 6-3 junior from Manchester, Iowa's previous career best was 18 against Drake on Sept. 22. Stelken has reached double-digits in kills 23 times this season.

AN UNHAPPY FIRST
UNI's 3-2 loss to Creighton on Sept. 21 marked the first time since 1996 that the Panthers have dropped a match after leading two games to none. It was also the first time ever that UNI has lost a home match after winning the first two games.

HITTING EFFICIENCY
Senior middle blocker Danielle Brazda set a UNI school record on Sept. 22 against Drake. Brazda hit .714 (16-1-21), which was the highest hitting percentage ever for a Panthers player in a four-game match. The previous UNI record was .692 by both Allison Metz (11/22/96 vs. Drake) and Kara Galer (9/2/94 against Gonzaga).

ENDING THE SHOCKERS STREAK
With the win at Wichita State Sept. 15, UNI snapped a seven-match losing streak to the Shockers. Prior to the 3-1 win at Charles Koch Arena, the last time UNI had defeated WSU was Nov. 28, 2003, in the semifinals of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference tournament.

RARE WAY TO START LEAGUE PLAY
The 3-2 loss to Missouri State Sept. 14 marked the first time UNI has dropped its MVC opening match since the league began sponsoring women's volleyball in 1992. Including its membership in the Gateway Conference (1982-92), UNI has lost its conference lid-lifter just three other times (1983, 1984 and 1985). Since joining the league in the early `80s, UNI has never lost its first two conference matches.

PACK THE PLACE
A crowd of 5,124 packed the McLeod Center Sept. 5 to watch Iowa State face the Panthers. In the first five matches all-time at its new home, UNI drew more than 5,000 fans twice -- the match with the Cyclones, and Nov. 18, 2006, when a record crowd of 5,522 saw UNI open the building with a 3-0 win against Bradley.

UNI WINS 800TH MATCH IN SCHOOL HISTORY
UNI picked up the 800th win in the history of the program against Western Michigan on Friday, Aug. 24. Currently, the Panthers rank 16th on the list of all-time winningest volleyball programs, with a record of 821-284-22 since the origin of the program in 1975. The Panthers have posted 20 or more wins 10 straight seasons, and 21 of the last 23 years overall - with five seasons of 30 or more wins during that span.

SOPHOMORE SENSATION
Sophomore hitter Shannon Aschoff set a new career high with 17 kills against Kentucky Aug. 25. Aschoff hit .359 (17-3-39) versus the Wildcats, and also recorded a career-best five digs. For the entire UNI Invitational (Aug. 24-25), Aschoff hit .344 (36-5-90). Aschoff tied her career high with 17 kills at Saint Louis Sept. 25.

20-20 CLUB
Senior outside hitter Laura Rowen had 23 kills and 23 digs against Clemson last season (8/26/06), becoming just the ninth UNI player ever to have 20 or more kills and digs in the same match. Prior to Rowen, Alex Auker was the last Panther to do it, against Iowa on 9/29/00 (21k, 21d).

ROAD BLOCK
Against Illinois State Nov. 24, senior Danielle Brazda set the UNI and Missouri Valley Conference records for career block assists. Over four years, Brazda has 657 block assists, having passed former All-American Molly O'Brien (653, 2000-03) on both lists. Brazda also holds the UNI and MVC career mark in total blocks with 727, having moved past O'Brien in that category several weeks ago. Brazda also has four of the top 10 spots on the UNI charts for single-season block assists: #2 (173, 2006), #3 (165, 2004), #6 (162, 2005) and #9 (157, 2007). O'Brien holds the top spot and UNI school record when she posted 186 block assists in 2001.

BACK ON THE WINNING TRACK
The Panthers win over Drake Sept. 22 snapped a three-match home losing streak for UNI. The Panthers, who were 9-4 at home this season, hadn't lost three matches in a row at home since 1984, and have never dropped four straight home contests.

STELKEN NAMED MVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK OCT. 15
Junior middle blocker Ashten Stelken was named the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week Oct. 15. Stelken averaged 5.30 kills and 6.00 points per game in three UNI wins, while hitting .459 (53-8-98). She had 18 kills with just one hitting error (.586) in the Panthers 3-0 sweep of Western Illinois Oct. 9, 16 kills and just two hitting errors (.452) versus Southern Illinois in a 3-0 sweep Oct. 12, and 19 kills in a 3-1 win over Evansville Oct. 13.

BLANKENSHIP NAMED MVC DEFENSIVE POTW NOV. 4
Freshman libero Ellie Blankenship was named the State Farm MVC Defensive Player of the Week Nov. 4. She averaged 7.00 digs per game over two matches, helping lead UNI to sweeps over Illinois State and Indiana State. The true freshman had 19 digs versus the Redbirds, and then 23 digs the next night versus the Sycamores.

STELKEN, BLANKENSHIP EARN MVC WEEKLY HONORS NOV. 12
Ashten Stelken and Ellie Blankenship were named the State Farm MVC Defensive Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively, Nov. 12. Stelken averaged 2.50 blocks per game , with seven block assists versus Evansville, and seven block assists and one solo block versus Southern Illinois. Blankenship averaged 6.67 digs per game, with 25 digs versus UE and 15 digs against SIU. Her 25 digs tied the UNI school record for digs in a three-game match, also held by Panthers head coach Bobbi Becker Petersen, and tied earlier this year by Blankenship against Western Illinois.

MURDERERS ROW
Once again this season, UNI head coach Bobbi Petersen put together a tough non-conference schedule. In fact, over the first month of the season, eight of UNI's 15 opponents were qualifiers for the 2006 NCAA tournament, with UNI holding a 2-6 record in those matches. The Panthers played five 2006 NCAA team consecutively from Aug. 25 (Kentucky) through Sept. 5 (Iowa State). The brutal schedule started with Kentucky in the finale of the UNI Invitational Aug. 25, and then continued with three 2006 NCAA tournament teams in American, #10 Wisconsin, and #15 Brigham Young Aug. 31-Sept. 1 at the Molten Classic in Provo, Utah. After that, the Panthers faced Iowa State and Arkansas -- both of which made last year's tourney -- while in between facing 22nd-ranked Kansas State. UNI then played Missouri State, which also made last year's tournament.

TOUGH TRIO
When the Panthers faced 22nd-ranked Kansas State Sept. 7, it marked a stretch of UNI playing three ranked opponents in a four-match stretch (the others were #10 Wisconsin and #15 BYU on Sept. 1). UNI has only faced ranked teams in three consecutive matches one time in its history -- in 2004, when the Panthers lost to #4 Florida, #15 Kansas State and #5 Minnesota in succession.

TRIPLE THREAT
Senior setter Kristin Belzung had her first career triple-double against Clemson last year (8/26/06). The Ankeny, Iowa, native had 11 kills, 64 assists and 20 digs versus the Tigers, becoming the first Panther to record a triple-double since former All-American Molly O'Brien (10k, 11d, 15b) did it against Wichita State on November 25, 2003 in Springfield, Mo. in the semifinals of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Belzung was just the 12th player in UNI history to record a triple-double. She had her second career triple-double Oct. 6 at Illinois State, with 71 assists, 17 digs and 10 kills.

UNUSUAL STRUGGLES
UNI has lost all five matches this season it has played that have been extended to five games. The Panthers have dropped 3-2 decisions to Kentucky Aug. 25, at Missouri State Sept. 14, to Creighton Sept. 21, at Saint Louis Sept. 25, and at Illinois State Oct. 6. That is definitely not the norm for the Panthers, as they have had great success in five-game matches over the years. In fact, since the start of the 1997 season, UNI has a record of 29-13 in matches that have been extended to the limit. Even more impressively, including a victory over 23rd-ranked Notre Dame on Sept. 9, 2006, the Panthers recent record against ranked opponents in five-game matches is even better -- UNI has won seven straight five gamers against top 25 teams dating back to the start of the 2001 season.

AN NCAA REGULAR
This year is UNI's 13th appearance in the NCAA tournament, and the Panthers have an overall NCAA tournament record of 11-12. With its 2006 first round win over Winthrop, UNI has now won its NCAA first round match the last six times it has made the tournament, including advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1999, 2001 and 2002. The Panthers have lost their NCAA first round match just four times ever.

PANTHERS 13TH IN NATION IN ATTENDANCE
Over the years, UNI volleyball has annually ranked among the nation's leaders in attendance, and once again this year, the Panthers are in the nation's top 20. UNI is averaging 1,864 fans per match, which ranks it 13th nationally. In fact, the 5,124 fans that attended the UNI-Iowa State match at the McLeod Center Sept. 5 is the 38th largest volleyball crowd in the nation this season.

STELKEN, ASCHOFF EARN KSU TOURNEY HONORS
Junior middle blocker Ashten Stelken and sophomore outside hitter Shannon Aschoff were each named to the Varney's KSU Invitational All-Tournament team, Sept. 7-8. Stelken averaged 4.00 kills and 2.17 blocks per game, while hitting an impressive .433 (48-9-90). Aschoff averaged 3.08 kills and 1.08 blocks per game.

BRAZDA NAMED TO MOLTEN CLASSIC ALL-TOURNEY TEAM
Senior middle blocker Danielle Brazda was named to the BYU Molten Classic All-Tournament team Aug. 31-Sept. 1. She averaged 3.44 kills and 2.56 blocks per game, while posting a .315 hitting percentage (31-8-73). Brazda recorded 10 kills and had nine blocks in a 3-0 win over American, had 10 kills and eight blocks against #10 Wisconsin, and 11 kills and six blocks versus #15 BYU.

THREE NAMED TO UNI INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNEY TEAM
Three Panthers were named to the UNI Invitational Aug. 24-25. UNI, which claimed the team championship, placed sophomore hitter Shannon Aschoff, senior middle blocker Danielle Brazda, and senior setter Kristin Belzung on the squad. Aschoff averaged 3.27 kills per game and hit .344 (36-5-90) over the three matches, while Brazda averaged 2.64 kills and 1.36 blocks per game, while hitting .415 (29-7-53). Belzung was named the tournament MVP, after averaging 12.18 assists and 2.45 kills per game, while hitting .421 (17-1-38).

PANTHERS PICKED TO WIN MVC TITLE
UNI was picked to win the MVC title in the 2007 preseason coaches poll. UNI returns five starters from last year's squad that finished 28-8 overall, 16-2 in conference, and claimed both the regular season and tournament titles. Wichita State was picked to finish second, followed by Creighton and Missouri State. Illinois State was fifth, Southern Illinois sixth and Evansville seventh. Rounding out the poll were Bradley, Drake and Indiana State.

PANTHER VOLLEYBALL: A WINNING TRADITION
University of Northern Iowa volleyball has posted a record of 821-284-22 in its 33 year history, with 14 conference championships and 16 postseason appearances. In addition, since the NCAA began sponsoring women's volleyball in the 1981 season, UNI is one of just seven schools to have never posted a losing campaign. The other six are Hawai'i, Nebraska, Pacific, Penn State, Stanford and UCLA.

IN-STATE SUCCESS
UNI has claimed wins in 35 of the last 39 matches it has played against the other Division I universities in the state of Iowa. All-time, against the other three Division I schools in the state, the Panthers are a combined 116-55-2; UNI has compiled a record of 26-22 against Iowa, 30-21 against Iowa State and 60-12-2 against Drake. Since 1997, the Panthers are 23-0 against Drake, 6-1 against Iowa, and 7-3 against ISU. UNI head coach Bobbi Petersen has posted a 23-4 mark against the other three state universities.

FAREWELL TO THE WEST GYM
UNI opened the 7,018-seat McLeod Center at the end of last season, ending a 27-year run at the West Gym on Nov. 7, 2006 against Western Illinois. UNI finished with a record of 284-37 at the venerable building, including 188-12 since 1990. UNI was also 120-8 in the West Gym against Missouri Valley Conference foes since the league began officially sponsoring women's athletics in 1992. The Panthers posted two of the 10 longest home court winning streaks in NCAA history, with a 74-match streak (1997-2004) that is second longest, and a 50-match string earlier in the `90s. Including several years playing at the East Gym in the `70s, UNI has an all-time home volleyball record of 318-48.