UNI’s Piper Thomas Named MVC Freshman of the Week

Former Jesup High School volleyball player Piper Thomas has been named the Missouri Valley Conference's Freshman of the Week.

UNI's Thomas recorded 11 kills (.471 hitting percentage) to go along with four blocks in a 3-0 sweep of the Drake Bulldogs on Saturday. Thomas posted five of her 11 kills and three of her blocks in a 25-13 opening-set win vs. the Bulldogs. Thomas added three more kills in both the second and third sets as the Panthers defeated the Bulldogs for the 37th straight time.

She is tied for the team lead with 16 blocks solos and ranks second on the squad with 49 block assists. In MVC matches only, Thomas leads the Panthers with 28 total blocks.

It marks the third time this season that a UNI player has earned MVC Freshman of the Week honors. Bri Weber won the award Sept. 21 and Sept. 28.

The Panthers will be in action this week at Loyola (TUE, 5:00 PM-CT) at Evansville (FRI, 6:00 PM-CT) and at Southern Illinois (SAT, 4:00 PM-CT). All three matches can be seen on ESPN3 and live audio will be available on the UNI Athletics website.

Contributed By: UNI Athletics Communications