University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Saint Louis
Saint Louis Edges UNI, 3-2
9/25/2007 8:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 25, 2007
St. Louis, Mo. - Amy Sampson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) recorded a career-high 19 kills, and four other UNI players reached double-digits, but it was not enough as Saint Louis defeated the University of Northern Iowa volleyball team, 3-2, tonight. Game scores were 30-26, 27-30, 26-30, 30-27 and 15-12 in favor of the Billikens.
Shannon Aschoff (Ankeny, Iowa) tied her career high with 17 kills for the Panthers, while Danielle Brazda (Omaha, Neb.) added 16, Ashten Stelken (Manchester, Iowa) 15 and Laura Rowen (Hansell, Iowa) 14. Senior setter Kristin Belzung (Ankeny, Iowa) recorded a career-high 69 assists. SLU's Sutton Lasater led all players with 23 kills.
UNI hit an impressive .352 for the match but found itself on the short end of a five-game match for the fourth time this season. Saint Louis hit .294 as a team. The Panthers also had more digs (70-64) and blocks (12.5-9.0) than the Billikens but were unable to pull out the victory.
The Panthers opened a 14-6 lead in the first game, but Saint Louis went on a 10-2 run to pull even at 16-all. Neither team led by more than a point until SLU scored two straight to go up 26-24. UNI pulled back within 27-26 on a kill from Sampson, but Saint Louis scored the last three points to win game one, 30-26.
UNI scored three straight points to open up a 23-19 lead in game two, and held the Billikens off the rest of the way. SLU pulled within 27-26, but Aschoff, Rowen and Belzung each had kills down the stretch to help the Panthers to the 30-27 victory. UNI hit .528 in the second game, including getting five kills each from Sampson, Aschoff and Stelken.
The Panthers controlled much of game three, opening a 20-11 lead, and held a 27-18 edge before the Billikens came storming back. SLU ran off six straight points to pull within 27-24, before Aschoff ended the Billiken run with a kill. After two straight SLU kills, Aschoff had another kill, followed by a Saint Louis attack error, gave the Panthers a 30-26 win.
Game four appeared to be going the Panthers way, as they held a 27-24 lead late. But Saint Louis got hot down the stretch, scoring the last six points of the game to earn a 30-27 win and even the match at two games apiece.
In the fifth game, Saint Louis jumped out to leads of 5-1, 7-2 and 9-4, but UNI came roaring back. The Panthers went on a 5-2 run to pull within 11-9, and after SLU pulled in front 13-10, a Rowen kill and a Billiken attack error pulled the Panthers within 13-12. But Saint Louis called its second timeout and won the last two points to earn the 15-12 win and match victory.
Saint Louis improves to 11-5 with the win, while UNI falls to 7-8. The Panthers host Bradley this Saturday night (Sept. 29) at the McLeod Center, with first serve set for 7 pm.
