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University of Northern Iowa
*Bradley
Sampson Powers UNI to 3-1 Win over Bradley
10/28/2005 8:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 28, 2005
Cedar Falls, Iowa - Freshman outside hitter Amy Sampson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) tied her career high with 18 kills, to help power the University of Northern Iowa volleyball team to a 3-1 win over Bradley Friday night in front of 1,798 fans at the West Gym. Game scores were 30-21, 25-30, 33-31 and 30-23.
Sampson, who has reached double-digits in kills in four of her last five matches, also had 18 kills Oct. 14 against Missouri State. She was joined in double figure kills tonight by Trista Humpal (New Hampton, Iowa) with 14, Stephanie Germann (LeMars, Iowa) with 12, and fellow freshman Ashten Stelken (Manchester, Iowa) with 10.
The Panthers jumped out to an early 10-5 lead on Bradley in game one and were never threatened after that, as the Braves could pull no closer than four points the rest of the way. The Panthers hit .382 (16-3-34) in the opening game to just .089 (16-12-45) for Bradley. Humpal had five kills, while Sampson and Stelken added four apiece, to help UNI to a 30-21 win.
A Bradley surge late in game two allowed the Braves to pull the match even at one game apiece. After a BU hitting error pulled UNI within 26-25, the Braves scored the last four points of the match, on two kills and a pair of Panthers hitting errors. Bradley hit .324 (17-6-34) in the second game to .122 (13-8-41) for UNI.
The Braves seemed poised to take a 2-1 lead, as they held a 22-15 lead in the third game. But UNI responded with a 7-1 run to pull within 23-22. Bradley held a slight lead the rest of the way, and eventually held a 28-26 advantage. A Danielle Brazda (Omaha, Neb.) kill and two straight BU hitting errors gave UNI its first game point, 29-28, but Lindsay Stalzer responded with a kill to even the score at 29-all. UNI also had game point at 30-29, while Bradley had game point at 31-30, but neither team could convert. Finally, after UNI took a 32-31 lead on a Stalzer hitting error, Stelken and Humpal teamed up on a block of Amber DeBroux to give the Panthers the 33-31 victory.
UNI used the momentum of winning game three and carried that over into game four. The Panthers held advantages of 10-6, 14-7 and 19-13, before Bradley rallied. The Braves pulled within 21-20, but the Panthers never lost the lead. After the Braves had pulled within one, UNI responded with a 6-1 run - with three kills by Humpal during that stretch - and eventually took the game and the match, 30-23.
UNI, which ranks fifth in the nation averaging 3.56 blocks per game, had 15 total team blocks on the night, nine by Brazda. Brazda ranks fourth nationally individually in blocking, averaging 1.79 blocks per game. Germann had a career high 15 digs, and narrowly missed a triple double, adding seven blocks. Bradley's Stalzer led all players with 21 kills.
With the victory, UNI improves to 15-8 overall, 9-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while Bradley falls to 13-12, 7-5 in MVC play. The Panthers next match is Friday, Nov. 4, when they host Indiana State. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m.
