University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Mississippi State
Panthers Post Second Straight Sweep, Defeat Mississippi State
9/1/2006 8:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 1, 2006
Atlanta, Ga. - Laura Rowen (Hansell, Iowa) had 16 kills and Danielle Brazda (Omaha, Neb.) added 10 to lead the University of Northern Iowa volleyball team to a 3-0 win over Mississippi State tonight at the Regency Suites Midtown Invitational. Game scores were 30-28, 30-26 and 30-26.
Rowen hit a whopping .500 and had no hitting errors on the night (16-0-32), while UNI hit a season-best .318 (48-14-107) as a team. Panthers senior libero Stephanie May (Dubuque, Iowa) had a match-high 13 digs.
The first game was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team holding more than a four-point advantage. UNI led 28-26 before MSU tallied consecutive points to pull even, but a Rowen kill and a May service ace gave the Panthers a 30-28 win.
The Panthers held a slight lead throughout most of the second game, building it to as many as eight (24-16). After a timeout, MSU rattled off five straight points to pull within 24-21, but that would be as close as it would get. UNI claimed a 30-26 win, with the decisive point on a Rowen kill.
UNI seemed to be in good shape in the third game, holding a 20-13 lead. But Mississippi State scored nine of the next 11 points to pull even at 22-all. With the score tied at 23, a pair of Bulldog hitting errors sandwiched between kills from Brazda and Amy Sampson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) gave UNI a 27-23 advantage. The Panthers traded points from there out to clinch the match, 30-26.
With the win, UNI improved to 4-2 on the season, while Mississippi State suffered its first loss and fell to 4-1. The Panthers conclude play tomorrow at the tournament, facing Georgia at 10:30 a.m. and host Georgia Tech at 2:30 p.m.
