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University of Northern Iowa
Evansville
Panthers Defeat Evansville in First Round of MVC Tournament
11/27/2008 7:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 27, 2008
Wichita, Kan. - Amy Sampson, Ashten Stelken and Shannon Aschoff combined for 45 of UNI's 57 kills as the University of Northern Iowa volleyball team posted a 3-1 win over Evansville tonight in the first round of the 2008 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Championship. Set scores were 19-25, 25-18, 25-15 and 25-14.
Sampson had a match-high 17 kills and hit .405 (17-2-37), Stelken 15 kills with a .303 hitting percentage (15-5-33), and Aschoff had 13 kills and hit .323 (13-3-31). Aschoff also posted her sixth double-double of the season by racking up 15 digs. Libero Jessa Benson came off the bench to record 32 assists, four kills, six digs and three blocks.
Stelken recorded three early kills as the Panthers built a 5-3 lead to start the match. But Evansville responded with six straight points to move in front 9-5, forcing UNI to call timeout. Leading 13-10, the Purple Aces went on a 7-1 run to open their largest lead of the set, 20-11. The Panthers then made a run, getting within 21-16, forcing an Evansville timeout. UE scored the next two points to move in front 23-16 and eventually posted a 25-19 win. Evansville hit .387 (16-4-31) in the first set while UNI hit .276 (11-3-29).
With the score tied at seven in the second set, Sampson began to heat up. She racked up four kills during a 5-0 Panthers' run that put them in front, 12-7. After the Purple Aces got within 14-11, UNI put together another 5-0 run, getting two kills from Aschoff and a block from Stelken and Beth Discher. That proved to be enough breathing room, as the Panthers earned a 25-18 win and evened the match at one set apiece. Sampson and Stelken each had five kills in the second set, with UNI hitting .303 (15-5-33) to Evansville's .029 (8-7-34).
UNI broke a 3-3 tie in the third set with three straight points, two on booming kills from Sampson. Leading 7-5, UNI went on a decisive 8-2 run to extend its advantage to 15-7. Evansville didn't get closer than five points the rest of the way, as UNI posted a 25-15 win. Sampson had seven kills in the third set alone, pacing the Panthers .359 (18-4-39) hitting percentage.
The Panthers opened a 6-3 lead in the fourth set, but Evansville scored three straight to even the score at six apiece. With the score tied at eight, UNI ran off five straight points to open a 13-8 lead. Sampson had two kills and Aschoff one during that key run. After an Evansville kill made the score 13-9, UNI rattled off eight of the next 11 points, taking control of the match and eventually posting a 25-14 victory.
For the match, UNI hit .323 (57-14-133), while holding Evansville to .149 hitting (44-24-134). The Panthers also won the battle of digs (59-53), blocks (11-4) and service aces (5-2).
With the victory, UNI improved to 24-7 overall, while Evansville fell to 14-18. The Panthers will face second-seeded Creighton (18-8) in tomorrow's semifinals, with first serve from Charles Koch Arena on the campus of Wichita State University set for 5 pm.
