University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Winthrop
UNI Advances to NCAA Second Round With 3-1 Win over Winthrop
12/1/2006 7:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 1, 2006
Lincoln, Neb. - Laura Rowen (Hansell, Iowa) had a double-double with 16 kills and 14 digs, and three other Panthers reached double figures in kills, as the University of Northern Iowa volleyball team posted a 3-1 over Winthrop in the first round of the 2006 NCAA volleyball tournament, held Friday at NU Coliseum. Game scores were 27-30, 30-27, 30-23 and 30-28.
Trista Humpal (New Hampton, Iowa) had 14 kills, Ashten Stelken (Manchester, Iowa) had 12, and Shannon Aschoff (Ankeny, Iowa) added 11 in a balanced Panthers offensive attack. Stephanie May (Dubuque, Iowa) led all players with 21 digs.
The win was UNI's 11th straight, while Winthrop had its 18-match winning streak snapped. The Panthers advances to tomorrow's NCAA second round, also at NU Coliseum, and will face the winner of Nebraska and American, which will be played this evening.
The Panthers held a 21-17 lead in game one before Winthrop rallied. The Eagles scored five of the next six points to pull even at 22-all. Winthrop took the lead for good at 25-24, and built its lead to 28-25. Amy Sampson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and Rowen had back-to-back kills to pull UNI within 28-27, but Winthrop scored the final two points to take game one, 30-27. Rowen had six kills in the first game for the Panthers.
Winthrop continued its momentum early in game two, scoring the first four points and forcing a timeout by UNI head coach Bobbi Petersen. The Eagles maintained their advantage through the first half of the game before the Panthers rallied. Trailing 15-12, UNI went on a 6-1 run to open a 19-16 advantage. Winthrop followed with a rally of its own, scoring six of the next eight points to take a 22-21 lead. Aschoff - who came off the bench to provide key offense for the Panthers - Stelken and Rowen each had kills to put UNI back up, 25-23, but Winthrop scored four straight to take a 27-25 lead. However, the Panthers tallied the last five points on May's serve, to take the 30-27 win.
In game three, Humpal had two kills and a block during a 7-2 run that saw UNI break a 9-all tie and open a 16-11 lead. Winthrop used three straight blocks to pull within 20-17, but Aschoff and Rowen each had kills to put the Panthers up 22-17, and the Eagles did not get closer than four points the rest of the way. The Panthers hit .333 (19-7-36) in the third game as they won 30-23.
The fourth game was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team holding more than a three point lead at any point. With the score tied at 19-all, Winthrop scored four of the next five points to open a 23-20 edge. But UNI racked up three kills and a block to tie the score at 24, and the teams then traded points until the Eagles held a 28-27 advantage. Aschoff then came up big, recording consecutive kills to give the lead back to UNI at 29-28. After a Winthrop timeout, a Stelken kill gave the Panthers the 30-28 win and the match.
With the victory, UNI improves to 28-7, while Winthrop ends its season with a record of 34-3. This is the sixth straight time the Panthers have won their NCAA first round match.
