CHAMPIONSHIP (Nov. 27) - Top-seeded UNI won it's second-straight and 15th overall State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Championship title, taking down third-seeded Creighton, 3-1. With the win the Panthers earn the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, heading to the Big Dance for the fifth-straight season and the 16th time in program history.
SEMIFINAL #2 (Nov. 26) - The Panthers marched out to 4-0 lead in the second stanza, but the Redbirds kept it close for the first half of the second set, pulling to within two points on three separate occasions (3-5, 9-11 and 10-12). With Illinois State trailing 13-17, UNI's Michelle Burow served six-straight points to extend the Panthers' lead to 10 points, at 23-13. The two teams traded points to finish out the set, with UNI closing out a 25-16 set-two win.
UNI tallied the first two points of the contest, but would not lead again until midway through the first set at 13-12. The Panthers cranked it into high gear to finish out the set on a 12-5 run, taking a 1-0 advantage over Illinois State with a 25-17 first set victory.
UNI fell behind 0-1 in the third set, but never trailed again, leading by as many as eight points. The Redbirds rallied back to within three (21-24), before the Panthers closed out the match on a Shelby Kintzel kill, taking the third set 25-21.
The Panthers advance to their fifth-straight title match and their 20th overall, and will be challenged by third-seeded Creighton in the 3:37 title match of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Championship.
SEMIFINAL #1 (Nov. 26) - Creighton advanced to its first-ever State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Championship with a 3-1 win over second-seeded Wichita State in the first semifinal Friday night at the McLeod Center.
In a back-and-forth first set that never saw either team ahead by more than three points until the 25-21 final outcome, Creighton closed out the first set on an 11-4 run to take a one game advantage over Wichita State. The Shockers scored the first point of the second set, but after the Bluejays tied it up at one all, Creighton led the rest of the way, taking set two by a score of 25-19.
After trading the first 12 points of set three to a 6-6 tie, Wichita State buckled down and never looked back. The Shockers led 15-12, before rattling off nine straight points to take a commanding 21-12 advantage, closing out the third set, 25-17.
Set four started out with a 4-4 tie before Creighton went on a 6-1 run to take a 10-5 lead. The Shockers battled back to within three points at 10-7, before Creighton's Nayka Benitez served up 12-straight points to notch the score at a 19-7 Bluejay advantage. The final 12 points were traded back-and-forth before Creighton ended the match with an Alicia Runge block to take set four, 25-13.
QUARTERFINAL #2 (Nov. 25) - No. 5 Illinois State upset fourth-seeded Missouri State to advance to the semifinals of the 2010 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship with a 3-1 win over the Bears, by scores of 25-19, 18-25, 25-18 and 25-21. The Redbirds earned their first MVC Tournament match since the 2007 season. Illinois State came out firing, posting a .303 attack percentage to take the first set. The tables were reversed in the second, moving the score to one all at the intermission. In the third, Missouri State never got closer than two points after an 8-3 Redbird lead, and fell behind 8-2 in the fourth, cutting the lead to three points on three occasions before giving Illinois State match point on a service error after closing to 23-20. The Redbirds will face host and top-seeded UNI in the second semifinal match on Friday at 7 PM.
QUARTERFINAL #1 (Nov. 25) - No. 3 Creighton advanced to the semifinals of the State Farm MVC Volleyball Championship for the fifth straight season after topping sixth-seeded Drake in the first quarterfinal match, by scores of 25-11, 21-25, 25-18, 25-18. The Bluejays came out firing on all cylinders, producing 14 kills with just three attack errors, while holding the Bulldogs to a -.129 attack percentage. Drake rallied back to even the score at intermission, never trailing in the second set, while holding Creighton to a .042 hitting efficiency. The Bluejays took the third set after storming out to a 17-10 lead, holding off a late Bulldog run to win 25-18. Creighton sealed the deal in the fourth set, behind an 11-0 start, and let Drake get no closer than six points the rest of the way. The win improves Creighton to 19-10 on the season and sets up a date with second-seeded Wichita State on Friday at 5 PM.
The 2010 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Championship will take place November 25-27, at the McLeod Center, in Cedar Falls, Iowa, hosted by the University of Northern Iowa. UNI is hosting the championship for the seventh time in program history, and the first time since 2005. This is the first time a UNI-hosted volleyball championship will take place at the McLeod Center, as all six previous championships in Cedar Falls were played in historic West Gym.
Fans can follow the action at the 2010 State Farm MVC Volleyball Championship online with live stats and free video-streaming via MVC Live, the league's online video-streaming package.
No. 3 Creighton will face No. 6 Drake in the tournament opener on Thursday, Nov. 25, at 6:00 p.m., followed by No. 4 Missouri State versus No. 5 Illinois State at 8:00 p.m. The game one winner between the Bluejays and Bulldogs will take on the No. 2 seed Wichita State on Friday evening at 5:00 p.m. in the first semifinal, while the Bears/Redbirds winner will face host and No. 1 seed and nationally ranked No. 11 UNI in the second semifinal at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Semifinal winners will face off for the Missouri Valley Conference automatic berth into the NCAA Volleyball Championship on Saturday, Nov. 27, at 3:37 p.m. Both opening round and semifinal matches are available on MVC Live - the league's video-streaming package, while the championship contest on Saturday will be televised live on the MVC TV Network at 3:37 p.m. The championship final will air live on Fox Sports Midwest, Fox Sports Indiana, Fox Sports Kansas City, Fox College Sports, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Metro Sports in Kansas City, Mo. and on DirecTV Channel 671, Dish Network Channel 418, and AT&T U-verse Channel 748.
The NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Selection Show will air Sunday, November 28 between 2 and 2:30 p.m. (CST) on ESPNews.