Photo by UNI Athletics

It’s been a few years of dormancy for the otherwise dominant UNI Volleyball program — they last won the Missouri Valley Conference championship in 2019, when a just-out-of-high-school Pella star was a part of the team that ended at the NCAA tournament. Three years later, the Panthers are back on top and keyed by the one of — if not the greatest, Dutch female athlete in school history.

Emily Holterhaus has been the top offensive player on a UNI volleyball team that is undefeated in conference play and on Saturday, won the school’s 20th regular season league title — with 2022 marking the biggest single-year turnaround in MVC history.

Holterhaus has built herself into one of the best players in the Missouri Valley Conference in her fourth season at the NCAA Division I level, tallying a team-best 362 kills and 3.26 kills per set in all 30 matches for the Panthers this fall season. Emily ranks 9th among all MVC players in total points this season.

More history is on the line for the Panthers this week — and Holterhaus will try to make it close to home. UNI is going for an undefeated conference season against Drake in Des Moines this Wednesday at the Knapp Center, with first serve at 6:00 that evening. Tickets can be purchased here.