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Conference play is now in full swing following this past weekend's slate of matches. Drake, UNI, Missouri State and Indiana State pace the conference race after the first full weekend of play with unbeaten marks. The Bulldogs ran their win streak to five-straight following road wins over Loyola and Valpo, while #22 UNI also claimed road wins against the Ramblers and Crusaders. Preseason favorite Missouri State also opened the conference season 2-0 with wins at Illinois State and Bradley. Indiana State won its only conference match, beating Evansville in Terre Haute in a thrilling five-set affair.
New MVC Career Kills Queen
Missouri State senior Lily Johnson broke the all-time MVC career kills record in Friday’s 3-2 win at Illinois State. Johnson pounded out 20 kills in the win and surpassed Lindsay Stalzer from Bradley (2002-05) to claim the conference record.
Career Kills
1. 1,984 - Lily Johnson, Missouri State 2014-pres.
2. 1,948 - Lindsay Stalzer, Bradley 2002-05
3. 1,919 - Michelle Witzke, Missouri State 1994-97
4. 1,779 - Molly O’Brien, UNI 2000-03
5. 1,773 - Chris Rehor, Illinois State 1985-88
Historic MVC Start for Bulldogs
Drake opened MVC play 2-0 for the first time since 1999 with wins at Loyola and Valparaiso and just the third time since the formation of the MVC. The back-to-back road wins also made Drake 5-1 in its last six MVC matches dating back to last season. The Bulldogs have also now won back-to-back MVC road series going back to 2016. Drake last won back-to-back MVC road matches to open a the MVC schedule in 1996.
Road Streak
After a pair of road wins over the weekend, Missouri State currently has the longest road win streak in the NCAA, sitting at 15-straight.
Longest Active Road Winning Streaks (NCAA)
15 – Missouri State
11 – Stanford
Valley Streaks
Missouri State is currently working its way up the list of the longest regular season MVC match win streaks in MVC history. The Bears can tie Illinois State for the seventh-longest streak in league history with a win Monday night against Loyola.
Consecutive MVC Wins (MVC History)
66 – UNI (Nov. 8, 1997-Oct. 13, 2001)
59 – UNI (Sept. 18, 2009-Oct. 5, 2012)
39 – UNI (Oct. 7, 1994-Sept. 27, 1996)
37 – Wichita State (Sept. 8, 2007-Sept. 25, 2009)
29 – Wichita State (Oct. 29, 2004-Sept. 29, 2006)
21 – UNI (Oct. 4, 2002-Oct. 17, 2003)
19 – Illinois State (Nov. 11, 2013-Sept. 25, 2015)
18 – Missouri State (Sept. 20, 2016-current)
AVCA Top-25
UNI remains No. 22 in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll (Sept. 25) following wins over Valparaiso and Loyola last week. The Panthers have been ranked in 112 polls in the history of the AVCA Top 25. Missouri State continues to receive votes, sitting No. 34 nationally with five votes.
On Tap
Five mid-week matches are on tap this week, as four conference matches and one non-league match is on the schedule Monday evening.
In other league games this weekend, Drake (12-3, 2-0 MVC) and UNI (12-4, 2-0 MVC) welcome Illinois State (8-7, 1-1 MVC) and Bradley (7-9, 0-2 MVC), while Missouri State (10-5, 2-0 MVC) and Southern Illinois (2-11, 1-1 MVC) host Indiana State (3-10, 1-0 MVC) and Evansville (6-7, 0-1 MVC). Loyola (1-12, 0-2 MVC) and Valpo (7-7, 0-2 MVC) will each look for its first conference win as the Crusaders visit Chicago Sunday afternoon.
This week's Missouri Valley Conference Players of the Week are UNI's Piper Thomas, Illinois State's Courtney Pence and Illinois State's Stef Jankiewicz.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Piper Thomas, Jr., MH, UNI
UNI junior Piper Thomas powered the Panther offense with a .354 hitting percentage and a team-best 36 kills (5.14 kills/set) as UNI secured a pair of road wins to begin Missouri Valley Conference play over the weekend. Thomas tallied a career-high 23 kills (.373 hitting percentage) to go along with three blocks in a 3-1 win at Valparaiso. Thomas added 13 kills (.323 hitting percentage) and four blocks in a 3-0 sweep of Loyola Saturday. Thomas ranks fifth in the league in total kills (234) and seventh in hitting percentage (.308) on the season.
Other Notable Performances: Erica Haslag (BRAD); Kyla Inderski (DU); Jaelyn Keene (ILS); Laura Gross (INS); Gabi Maciagowski (LUC); Lily Johnson (MSU); Patience Brown (SIU)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Courtney Pence, Jr., DS, Illinois State
Illinois State junior Courtney Pence continued her run of stellar play by averaging 7.38 digs per set over the weekend to solidify her ranking atop the Missouri Valley Conference and among the national leaders. Pence tallied 36 digs against Missouri State on Friday, marking the fourth-highest single-match dig total in Redbird Arena history. She registered 23 digs in a sweep of Southern Illinois Saturday night. Pence currently leads the Valley in total digs (356) and digs per set (6.36), while ranking second nationally.
Other Notable Performances: Alex Nunez (LUC); Emily Butters (MSU); Kendyl Sorge (UNI): Ashley Edelen (SIU)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK:
Stef Jankiewicz, Fr., S, Illinois State
Illinois State’s Stef Jankiewicz continued to direct the Redbirds’ offense over the weekend as she averaged 11.12 assists per set. The freshman setter also contributed 29 digs (3.62 per set), two kills and two blocks. Against Missouri State, Jankiewicz dished out a match-high 55 assists while setting a career high with 21 digs. She currently ranks fourth in the Valley, averaging 10.34 assists per set.
Other Notable Performances: Emily Plock (DU); Allana McInnis (UE); Elle Van Grinsven (LUC); Jaydlin Seehase (UNI); Rachel Maguire (SIU)