The Panthers finished the first half of their MVC season with a sweep on the road at Loyola, who had been sitting atop the conference standings until this past weekend where they lost at Wichita State. (though it isn't quite halfway through the total MVC schedule, as due to quirky scheduling this year, there has not yet been a SIU/WSU nor a MSU/UE matchup, and those won't take place for couple more weeks.)
Anyhow, I thought UNI looked much better last night (and Saturday night vs. Drake) than they have previous weekends. Part of it may have been due to Loyola being just a couple days off of the always tough Missouri/Wichita road trip, but I think the freshmen are starting to settle in and Hook is starting to get more comfortable with running the offense. Hopefully they can continue to improve and make a run down the stretch and into the conference tournament.
In the standings, UNI (at 6-3) is tied for second with Illinois State and Loyola, 1.5 games behind WSU (7-1) and half a game ahead of both MSU and SIU (5-3). That's kind of crazy that fully half of the league is sitting at 3 losses. Drake sits in 7th at 4-5, Indiana State in 8th at 3-6, while Evansville (1-7) and Bradley (0-9) sit in the cellar.
The Panthers continue their busy week (and start their second round through the conference circuit) with a southeast roadtrip to Evansville and Southern Illinois. For some reason that I can't figure out, the match times are moved up from the normal 7 p.m. start times, with the Evansville match starting at 6 p.m. Friday, and the SIU match at 4 p.m. The only reason I can see for that is SIU wanting to play a night game for football (6 p.m. homecoming game against YSU), and thus moving volleyball to the afternoon. But that goes against the conference rules, so UNI would have had to agree to the change. Hopefully the short turnaround doesn't hinder the team.
Anyhow, I thought UNI looked much better last night (and Saturday night vs. Drake) than they have previous weekends. Part of it may have been due to Loyola being just a couple days off of the always tough Missouri/Wichita road trip, but I think the freshmen are starting to settle in and Hook is starting to get more comfortable with running the offense. Hopefully they can continue to improve and make a run down the stretch and into the conference tournament.
In the standings, UNI (at 6-3) is tied for second with Illinois State and Loyola, 1.5 games behind WSU (7-1) and half a game ahead of both MSU and SIU (5-3). That's kind of crazy that fully half of the league is sitting at 3 losses. Drake sits in 7th at 4-5, Indiana State in 8th at 3-6, while Evansville (1-7) and Bradley (0-9) sit in the cellar.
The Panthers continue their busy week (and start their second round through the conference circuit) with a southeast roadtrip to Evansville and Southern Illinois. For some reason that I can't figure out, the match times are moved up from the normal 7 p.m. start times, with the Evansville match starting at 6 p.m. Friday, and the SIU match at 4 p.m. The only reason I can see for that is SIU wanting to play a night game for football (6 p.m. homecoming game against YSU), and thus moving volleyball to the afternoon. But that goes against the conference rules, so UNI would have had to agree to the change. Hopefully the short turnaround doesn't hinder the team.