Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Weekly Notebook: Panthers Lead Standings at Halfway Point
Halfway through the league schedule, the top four teams in the standings are separated by just three games, with a two-way tie for second-place. UNI will begin the second-half of the conference slate with a league-leading perfect 9-0 record, while Missouri State and Creighton sit in a lock for second with identical 7-2 records. Wichita State improved to 6-3 after tallying two Valley sweeps last weekend, while Evansville holds down the fifth position midway through the conference schedule at 5-4. Drake sits in sixth place with a 4-5 record, while Southern Illinois and Illinois State are in a deadlock for the seventh position with 3-6 records.
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Race to the Midpoint = Regular Season Champ?
Since the inclusion of women's sports under the Valley umbrella in 1992, teams that have reached the midpoint of the season with at least a share of first-place have gone on to claim at least a share of the regular-season championship in 16 of 17 seasons. The lone exception was the 1996 Drake team that started the season 9-0, finished in second place at 16-2, a game behind Illinois State (17-1).
Currently, UNI is the midpoint leader at 9-0. The Panthers have been the leader/co-leader at the midpoint nine previous times, and each time UNI has won the regular-season title.
Since 1992, no team has captured the MVC conference race with more than two league losses.
Mid-Point Mid-Point Reg.-Season Final
Year Leader Leader Champion Record
1992 Missouri State 8-0 ILS/MSU 14-2
1993 Illinois State 8-0 ILS/MSU 14-2
1994 UNI 9-1 UNI 19-1
1995 UNI 10-0 UNI 20-0
1996 Drake 9-0 Illinois State 17-1
1997 Illinois State 9-0 Illinois State 17-1
1998 UNI 9-0 UNI 18-0
1999 UNI 9-0 UNI 18-0
2000 UNI 9-0 UNI 18-0
2001 UNI 9-0 UNI 17-1
2002 MSU/UNI 8-1 UNI 17-1
2003 Missouri State 9-0 Missouri State 17-1
2004 Wichita State 9-0 Wichita State 17-1
2005 Wichita State 9-0 Wichita State 18-0
2006 MSU/UNI 8-1 UNI 16-2
2007 MSU/WSU 8-1 Wichita State 17-1
2008 Wichita State 9-0 Wichita State 18-0
2009 UNI 9-0 UNI 18-0
2010 UNI 9-0 ????? ???
In this week's AVCA Coaches' Poll, UNI holds steady for the third-straight week at the No. 14 position, after collecting league wins over Illinois State and Indiana State, as the Panthers won their 13th-straight match this season.
On the conference calendar, Bradley and UNI will host Creighton and Drake, Illinois State and Indiana State will greet Missouri State and Wichita State, while Evansville will take on Southern Illinois in Carbondale.
This week, just one match dots the non-conference slate - as Drake makes the trip to take on South Dakota State in a Tuesday night showdown.
This week's State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Players of the Week are Emily Adney of Wichita State and Missouri State's Abby Padlock and Christine McCartney.
