The Panthers only dropped one set over the weekend as they won the Shamrock Invitational in South Bend, IN. UNI swept both Northeastern and TCU, winning eight straight sets before eventually beating Notre Dame in four sets.

Eryca Hingtgen tied the team-high with 11 kills in the Panther sweep against Northeastern. After posting a season-low attacking percentage in their season opener against Northern Illinois, UNI tallied an attacking percentage of .250 in the tournament opener.

The Panthers started Saturday off with another sweep as they defeated TCU. Kayla Haneline finished with a team-high 12 kills while committing one attacking error.

UNI won six straight sets heading into the final match of the weekend against the host Notre Dame Fighting Irish. 

Down 14-12 in the first, the Panthers score four straight points and gained momentum while pulling away and taking the set.

UNI found themselves in a similar situation in the second set as they fell behind early in the second set. Tied 10-10, the Panthers scored the next six out of seven points and held the lead the rest of the set.

The Panthers dropped the third set against the Fighting Irish before bouncing back in the fourth and final set. After allowing Notre Dame to score the first points of the set, UNI never trailed the rest of the way, taking the set 25-17 and the match 3-1.

Lindsey Schulz posted a career-high 17 kills against Notre Dame while committing zero errors. Schulz went on to be named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Hingtgen and Haneline were named to the all-tournament team along with Schultz.

Kinsey Caldwell tallied 46 assists in the final match. Caldwell finished the invitational with 127 assists.

The weekend success brought the Panthers’ record to 5-5 as they return home on Friday for their Missouri Valley Conference opener against Loyola at 7 p.m.