University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Illinois State
Panther Volleyball Wins Seventh Straight
11/2/2007 8:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 2, 2007
Cedar Falls, Iowa - Junior middle blocker Ashten Stelken (Manchester, Iowa) had a match-high 13 kills and added seven blocks to lead the University of Northern Iowa volleyball team to its seventh straight win, a 3-0 sweep of Illinois State Friday night at the McLeod Center. Game scores were 30-23, 30-16 and 30-25.
Stelken was joined in double figure kills by senior outside hitter Laura Rowen (Hansell, Iowa), who posted her 13th double-double of the year with 10 kills and 13 digs. Danielle Brazda (Omaha, Neb.) had nine kills and recorded a .562 attack percentage, while freshman libero Ellie Blankenship (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) had a match-high 19 digs.
The Panthers hit .305 as a team (50-10-131), while holding the Redbirds to .113 hitting (41-24-151). UNI also had more digs (75-65) and blocks (9.0-6.5) than ISU, with the 75 digs by the Panthers the most they have had in a three-game match this season.
UNI jumped out to a 6-2 lead to start the match, led by Stelken who had three kills and a block. Illinois State fought back with an 8-3 run to take a 10-9 lead, and held a 12-11 advantage before UNI rattled off seven straight points to go up 18-12. The Redbirds responded with five straight of their own to pull within 18-17, and eventually took the lead back, 21-20. But Rowen had back-to-back kills to start a decisive 8-0 UNI run that put the Panthers up 28-21, and they would eventually win the game, 30-23.
The Panthers never trailed in game two. Rowen and Amy Sampson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) each had two kills early to help UNI open a 7-3 lead. Illinois State pulled within two, 12-10, on a Mallory Leggett kill, but UNI then put the game away with a 15-4 run, en route to a 30-16 victory. The Panthers had zero hitting errors in the game, posting a .385 hitting percentage (15-0-29).
ISU jumped out to a 7-3 lead in game three, as M.C. Richmond had a pair of early kills for the Redbirds. Illinois State maintained its lead for the first half of the game, and held an 18-13 advantage when UNI head coach Bobbi Petersen called timeout. That spurred the Panthers to score six of the next seven points, taking their first lead of the game, 20-19, on a Redbird attack error. After Illinois State tied it at 20-all, Sampson had back-to-back kills, which started a 6-1 run that put UNI in front, 26-21. The Panthers held their lead the rest of the way, winning the game on a Stelken kill.
With the win, UNI improved to 16-9 overall, 10-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while Illinois State fell to 15-10, 7-7 in the Valley. The Panthers host Indiana State tomorrow night at the McLeod Center, with first serve at 7 pm.
