University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
BYU
#15 BYU Tops UNI
9/1/2007 8:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 1, 2007
Provo, Utah - Tournament Most Valuable Player Chelsea Goodman had a match-high 15 kills to lead the 15th-ranked Brigham Young volleyball team to a 3-0 win over the University of Northern Iowa tonight in the finale of the BYU Molten Classic. Game scores were 30-27, 30-26 and 30-18.
UNI senior middle blocker Danielle Brazda (Omaha, Neb.) led the Panthers with 11 kills and six blocks, and was named to the all-tournament team. Ashten Stelken (Manchester, Iowa), Laura Rowen (Hansell, Iowa) and Kristin Belzung (Ankeny, Iowa) each had eight kills for the Panthers.
UNI jumped to out a 7-3 lead in the first game, but BYU battled back to take a 13-12 lead. The Panthers recorded back-to-back kills and a block to go back up 15-13, before the Cougars ran off five straight points to take an 18-13 lead. After a UNI timeout, the Panthers were able to pull even at 21-all, with Brazda having two kills and a block during that stretch. The teams went back and forth the rest of the way, with BYU taking the lead for good, 27-26. UNI pulled within 28-27 on a Rowen kill, but BYU scored the last two points to earn a 30-27 win.
The Panthers claimed an early 6-3 lead in game two, led by Stelken, who had four kills during that span. UNI held the lead until BYU rallied to take their first advantage, 17-16. BYU led 20-17, but UNI recorded three straight kills to pull even. With the score tied at 21-all, BYU rattled off five straight points - three on blocks - to go up 26-21. UNI would not quit, however, as Belzung had two kills and the Panthers blocked two Cougars attacks, to pull within 26-25. After a BYU timeout, the Cougars were able to regroup and score three straight points, and eventually win 30-26. UNI hit .333 (20-6-42) in the second game, but BYU was even more efficient with a .441 (18-3-34) percentage.
BYU held the lead throughout most of game three. The Cougars opened an 8-4 advantage early, but UNI battled back to pull within 11-9. BYU scored three straight points to open a 14-9 advantage. BYU held an 18-14 lead before running off eight consecutive points to take control, 26-14, and eventually claim a 30-18 win and the match victory.
With the win, BYU improves to 5-0, while UNI falls to 3-3. The Panthers next match is Wednesday (Sept. 5), when Iowa State comes to the McLeod Center. First serve is set for 7:00 pm.
