University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Creighton
Panthers Win Fifth Straight, Sweep Creighton
10/20/2007 8:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 20, 2007
Omaha, Neb. - Amy Sampson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) led all players with 13 kills, leading the University of Northern Iowa volleyball team to a 3-0 sweep of Creighton Saturday night at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. Game scores were 30-24, 30-24 and 30-25 in front of a Creighton record crowd of 1,357.
Shannon Aschoff (Ankeny, Iowa) had nine kills and six blocks for the Panthers, while Laura Rowen (Hansell, Iowa) had seven kills and 12 digs. Libero Ellie Blankenship (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) was one of four UNI players in double-figures in digs, with a team-high 17. UNI has now won five straight matches, with four of those five wins being by 3-0 counts. With the win tonight, the Panthers improved to 14-9 on the season, 8-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play, while Creighton fell to 14-8, 8-3 in the Valley.
UNI never trailed at any point the entire night. The Panthers scored five straight points early in the first game to open a 9-4 lead, helped by kills from Rowen and Ashten Stelken (Manchester, Iowa). Creighton went on a 4-0 run to pull within 14-12, but after a UNI timeout, the Panthers responded with an 11-2 run to effectively put the first game out of reach. UNI held Creighton to .018 hitting in the first game in the 30-24 win.
Sampson and Brazda each had a pair of kills early in the second game to help the Panthers open a 10-6 lead. UNI extended its advantage to 15-8. Trailing 23-16, Creighton scored four straight to pull within 23-20, but that was as close as the Bluejays would get. UNI got a pair of key kills from Aschoff to stem the CU rally, and Stelken sealed the 30-24 win with a kill on game point.
UNI led 9-8 in game three, before a Sampson kill started a 5-1 run to extend the Panthers lead to 14-9. UNI maintained a similar lead throughout the rest of the game, and although Creighton scored four straight points late to pull within 27-25, Aschoff had a kill and Rowen finished it with back-to-back put-aways for the 30-25 win.
The Panthers are next in action on Saturday, Oct. 27 when they travel to face Bradley in Peoria, Ill., with first serve at 4 pm.
