The Loyola University Ramblers were introduced to Missouri Valley Conference athletics Friday night at home in Chicago as they faced a red-hot University of Northern Iowa volleyball team, who had won six matches in a row coming into the game. The Ramblers were competitive throughout the match but ultimately could not knock off the Panthers as UNI extended their winning streak to seven matches with a 3-1 win.

The win gave the Panthers a quick jump on fulfilling their overall goal of finishing on top of the Missouri Valley Conference at the end of the year. UNI took sets one, three and four of the match without letting the Ramblers reach 20 points.

Kinsey Caldwell led the Panthers in assists with 45. Leading the offense for the Panthers was Courtney Kintzel with 13 kills, followed closely by redshirt freshman Leigh Pudwill, who posted a career-high 11 kills. Macy Ubben recorded 18 digs along with nine kills for UNI throughout the match.

With the win the Panthers’ overall season record improves to 8-4.

The Panthers’ next match will be a battle between two teams on winning streaks. As of Sunday, the Wichita State University Shockers are on a winning streak of eight matches, and they travel to Cedar Falls Friday for an in-conference duel with UNI.

This match has garnered a lot of hype for being scheduled so early in the season. The Shockers were predicted to beat out the Panthers for the number one spot of the MVC at the beginning of the year.