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Bobbi Petersen has zero doubt that the Missouri Valley is a far more rugged, balanced and competitive conference than it was a decade ago.
That's what makes what Northern Iowa accomplished in 2009 so tough for the coach to fathom.
The top-seeded and 20th-ranked Panthers completed a perfect run through the Missouri Valley Saturday afternoon, putting together a 26-28, 25-19, 25-11, 25-18 win over No. 3 seed Wichita State in the championship match of the league tournament at Creighton's Sokol Arena.
The Panthers extended their winning streak to 28 matches, their longest since 1999. Northern Iowa went 18-0 against the Valley during the regular season, then locked up the league's automatic NCAA tournament bid by going 2-0 this weekend in Omaha.
“It's hard to imagine, to be honest, just because of the parity in our conference,” said Petersen, whose team has a chance of getting sent to Iowa State to open the postseason. “I don't think any matches ever came easy to us. It was a battle, and I think it just shows the toughness of our kids.”
As well as the 30-2 Panthers played during the regular season, they might've saved their best volleyball for the league tournament. Northern Iowa ended Creighton's season Friday with a dominating sweep. Then on Saturday — even after the Panthers wasted three shots at set point in the opener — they slowly but surely overwhelmed the Shockers.
Michelle Burow, Beth Discher and Shannon Aschoff all reached double-digit kills for the Panthers, and all three of them hit better than .300 in the match. Credit for that feat goes to the Panthers' standout setter, Bre Payton, named tournament MVP.
With an RPI of No. 28 entering the weekend, and a record of 25-6, Wichita State now hopes to receive a third straight at-large NCAA invitation. The Shockers were sent to Nebraska to open the postseason in 2004 and 2007, and there's a chance Wichita State could be shipped to Lincoln again this year.
The NCAA tournament selection show airs at 2 p.m. today on ESPNNEWS.
“I've trained myself not to think about it,” Wichita State coach Chris Lamb said of his team's at-large chances. “That's because of things that have happened to us in the past as well as things that have happened to other programs. ... I try not to get too caught up in that anymore. I've been numbed by past experiences.”
Contact the writer:
444-1207, chad.purcell@owh.com
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