University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
American
UNI Sweeps American
8/31/2007 8:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 31, 2007
Provo, Utah - Amy Sampson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) recorded a season-high 17 kills to lead the University of Northern Iowa volleyball team to a 3-0 win over American this afternoon in the first match of the BYU Molten Classic. Game scores were 30-26, 30-22 and 30-24.
Sampson, who hit .367 (17-6-30) on the night, was joined in double-figure kills by senior outside hitter Laura Rowen (Hansell, Iowa) who had 11, and senior middle blocker Danielle Brazda (Omaha, Neb.) with 10. Brazda led all players with nine blocks. As a team, UNI hit .326 (58-16-129) with 51 digs and 14 total team blocks, while American hit .111 (40-26-126) with 45 digs and seven blocks.
UNI jumped to an early 6-1 lead in game one, as Brazda had two kills and the Panthers posted two team blocks during that stretch. Leading 10-5, American went on an 8-3 run to tie the match at 13-all. The score remained tied as late as 21-all, before UNI rattled off four straight points on Brazda's serve to take a 25-21 lead. After an American timeout, the Eagles pulled within 25-24, but UNI never gave up the lead. Sampson had three of her six game-one kills down the stretch as UNI took the opener, 30-26. UNI hit .275 in the first game (19-5-51) to just .095 (13-9-42) by American.
American scored the first two points of the second game, but UNI scored four of the next five to take the lead for good. UNI teamed up for three blocks over the next five points to take a 7-4 lead, and built its advantage to 16-10, forcing American to take its first timeout. The Eagles never got closer than five points the rest of the way, as UNI cruised to a 30-22 win. UNI recorded a .368 hitting percentage (18-4-38) and eight blocks in the second game.
In game three, American once again got started quickly, opening a 3-0 lead. UNI rallied to tie the score at 7-7, but American then scored three straight points to take a 10-7 lead. UNI responded with a 5-0 run of its own, including getting a pair of kills from Sampson, to open a 12-10 advantage. With the score tied at 18-all, American blocked UNI's attack on two straight points to take a 20-18 lead, and forcing UNI head coach Bobbi Petersen to take a timeout. UNI regrouped by scoring four straight points, with a kill and block from Brazda at the end of the run, to take a 22-20 lead. UNI never trailed the rest of the way, ending the game by scoring five of the last six points, to win 30-24.
With the victory, UNI improves to 3-1 on the season, while American falls to 4-1. UNI plays two matches tomorrow at the BYU Molten Classic, facing 10th-ranked Wisconsin at 11 am (CDT) and 15th-ranked host Brigham Young at 8 pm (CDT).
