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University of Northern Iowa
Wichita State
14th-Ranked Wichita State Edges UNI, 3-2
10/17/2008 8:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 17, 2008
Wichita, Kan. - In a wild, back-and-forth affair, the14th-ranked Wichita State volleyball team defeated the University of Northern Iowa, 3-2, in front of a raucous crowd of 4,016 at Charles Koch Arena. Set scores in favor of the Shockers were 25-23, 26-28, 22-25, 25-16, and 15-12. It was UNI's first five-set match of the season, while WSU improved to 4-0 this year in five-setters.
Amy Sampson led UNI with 14 kills, while Ashten Stelken had a double-double with 12 kills and a season-high 11 blocks. The Panthers had a season-high 18 total team blocks on the evening, with Bre Payton and Michelle Burow each chipping in with six.
It was a defensive battle all night, as both teams set season highs in digs, with Wichita State racking up 118 and UNI recording 117. For the Panthers, four players had career-highs: Shannon Aschoff (20) and Payton (17). WSU's Kelly Broussard had a career-high 43 digs to lead five Shockers in double-figures. UNI hit a season-low .037 (48-40-216) for the match while WSU hit a season-low .080 (63-44-238).
UNI had five team blocks early as the Panthers moved to a 9-6 lead in set one, forcing Wichita State to take timeout. UNI built its lead to 12-8 after a Burow kill, but the Shockers scored six straight to move in front, 14-12. The Panthers evened the score at 14-all, and a pair of kills from Stelken helped UNI move in front 17-16.
The Shockers moved in front again with a 3-0 run, 19-17, after which the Panthers called timeout. WSU extended its advantage to 23-19, but UNI would not quit, scoring four straight to tie the score at 23. But the Shockers got a kill from Stephanie Tokarz and a service ace from Emily Stockman to post a 25-23 first-set win.
Sampson got going UNI to start set two, with four kills - including three straight - as the Panthers built a 9-4 lead. The Shockers scored four consecutive points to get within 9-8, but Sampson stemmed the tide with a kill. With UNI holding an 11-10 lead, WSU got a kill from Stockman, followed by a pair of Panther hitting errors, to move in front for the first time, 13-11.
A service ace from Aschoff got UNI even at 16, but three straight Shocker points put WSU back in front, 19-16. Trailing 22-20, UNI scored four straight, including two on blocks from Stelken, to move in front 24-22. WSU fought off three set points, and pulled in front, 26-25, but the Shockers hit the ball into the net to get UNI even again. After Stelken and Payton teamed up on a block, the Shockers hit the ball out to give the Panthers a hard-fought 28-26 win in set two.
Burow had two kills as UNI opened a 6-3 lead to start the third set. The Panthers extended their lead to 13-8 after Stelken and Payton blocked a Shocker attack, but WSU scored three straight to get within 13-11. The Panthers held a 17-14 lead, but the Shockers scored four straight to move in front for the first time in the set, 18-17.
Wichita State held a 20-19 lead, but a Stelken kill started a critical 4-0 run that put UNI in front, 23-19. WSU got within 23-21, but Burow and Sampson each had kills as the Panthers won set three, 25-22.
UNI seized on the momentum of winning set three by jumping to leads of 4-0, 6-1 and 10-3 in the fourth set. Wichita State scored five straight to get within 10-8, but the Panthers responded by scoring three straight of their own to extend their lead to 13-8. With UNI in front 15-10, the Shockers then went on an incredible 14-0 run that effectively put the set away, with WSU posting a 25-16 win and forcing a decisive fifth set.
In the final set, the Shockers opened a 3-0 lead, but scored three of the next four to pull within 4-3. After WSU moved in front 7-4, the Panthers ran off four straight - including back-to-back blocks from Sampson - to take an 8-7 lead. But Wichita State scored four straight of its own to move back in front 11-8, and eventually moved its lead to 14-10. UNI scored two straight, including getting a service ace from Saunders, but WSU put the match away with a kill and claimed the 15-12 five-set win.
With the victory, Wichita State improves to 19-0 on the season, 8-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while UNI falls to 17-3, 7-1. The Panthers travel to face Missouri State tomorrow night, with first serve from Springfield, Mo., set for 7 pm.
