University of Northern Iowa
Kansas State
#19 Kansas State Hands Volleyball First Defeat of 2008
9/12/2008 8:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 12, 2008
Manhattan, Kan. - Rita Liliom had a match-high 16 kills to lead 19th-ranked Kansas State to a 3-0 win over the University of Northern Iowa volleyball team Friday night at the Varney's KSU Invitational. Set scores were 25-21, 25-19 and 25-18 in favor of the Wildcats. KSU improved to 8-1 on the season, while UNI suffered its first loss of 2008, falling to 7-1.
Junior outside hitter Shannon Aschoff led UNI with 10 kills, while senior outside hitter Amy Sampson added eight kills. Freshman middle blocker Michelle Burow chipped in with seven kills and hit an impressive .545 for the match, with just one hitting error in 11 total attacks. Libero Ellie Blankenship led all players with 18 digs.
The score was tied at four in the first set, before KSU scored four straight points to open an 8-4 lead. The Wildcats held a 14-10 advantage, before UNI scored six of the next eight points to pull even at 16-all. Aschoff and senior middle blocker Ashten Stelken each had a pair of kills during that run. With KSU holding a 19-18 lead, Liliom put down back-to-back kills to push the Wildcats' lead to three, and they eventually posted a 25-21 win.
UNI came out strong to start the second set, getting a trio kills from Burow as the Panthers built early leads of 5-2, 8-5 and 10-7. But Kansas State answered with 7-1 run to move in front 14-11. UNI battled back to pull even at 15, but the Wildcats then ran off four straight points to go in front 19-15, and eventually posted a 25-19 win.
The Wildcats took the lead for good in the third set at 6-5. Stelken and Sampson each had multiple kills to keep UNI close, as the Panthers pulled within 15-13 midway through the set. But KSU scored eight of the next 10 points to extend its advantage to 23-15 en route to grabbing the 25-18 win and the match victory.
UNI will play two more matches in the Varney's KSU Invitational tomorrow, facing Liberty at 10 am and Cornell at 5 pm.
