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University of Northern Iowa
Drake
UNI Posts 22nd Straight Win Over Drake
9/22/2007 8:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 22, 2007
Cedar Falls, Iowa - Ashten Stelken (Manchester, Iowa) recorded a career-high 18 kills and added a match-high 10 blocks to lead the University of Northern Iowa volleyball team to a 3-1 win over Drake tonight at the McLeod Center. Game scores were 30-17, 23-30, 30-21 and 30-16 in favor of the Panthers. The win was UNI's 22nd straight over Drake dating back to 1996, and improved its record in the all-time series to 59-12-2.
Stelken hit an impressive .424 (18-4-33) for the match, but Panthers senior middle blocker Danielle Brazda (Omaha, Neb.) was even more efficient - the senior from Omaha set a UNI school record for hitting percentage in a four-game match, hitting .714 (16-1-21). The previous UNI record was .692 by both Allison Metz (11/22/96 vs. Drake) and Kara Galer (9/2/94 vs. Gonzaga). Laura Rowen (Hansell, Iowa) posted her fourth straight double-double with 12 kills and 17 digs.
For the match, UNI hit .370 (64-14-135), its second best attack percentage of the year. Drake hit .118 (52-33-161 on the evening. UNI also won the battle of digs (61-48) and blocks (14.0-6.0).
The Panthers controlled the first game, jumping to leads of 8-2, 12-4 and 15-5 as they cruised to a 30-17 win. UNI hit an impressive .484 (17-2-31) in the first game, while Drake hit -.054 (9-11-37). Brazda paced UNI's offense in the first game with five kills, while Rowen added four.
UNI jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in game two. Drake went on a 6-2 run to pull within 9-8, but UNI extended its lead to 16-13 after back-to-back kills from Stelken. After a Bulldogs timeout, however, Drake ran off seven of the next eight points to go in front 20-17. The Panthers called timeout to stem the tide, but Drake came out and was able to put together a 5-2 run to extend its advantage to 25-19. UNI wasn't able to get closer than four points the rest of the way as Drake earned a 30-23 win. The Bulldogs hit .375 (19-4-40) to.167 (13-7-36) for the Panthers in game two.
UNI didn't trail the rest of the way, however, jumping to early leads in both games three and four, controlling the action and earning a 30-21 win in game three and a 30-16 victory in game four. The Panthers hit better than .400 in each game, while Drake hit less than .100 in each contest.
With the win, UNI improved to 7-7 overall, 2-2 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while Drake fell to 4-10, 1-2 in Valley play. The Panthers are next in action on Tuesday (Sept. 25) when they hit the road for a non-conference match at Saint Louis.
