University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Cornell
Panthers Sweep Cornell, Improve to 9-1
9/13/2008 8:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 13, 2008
Manhattan, Kan. - The powerful duo of Shannon Aschoff and Ashten Stelken teamed up for 30 kills to lead the University of Northern Iowa volleyball team to a 3-0 win over Cornell late this afternoon at the Varney's KSU Invitational. Set scores were 25-21, 25-12 and 25-23.
Aschoff led the way with 17 kills and hit .406 for the match (17-4-32), while Stelken added 13 kills and hit .462 (13-1-26). Michelle Burow had eight kills for the Panthers, and Beth Discher recorded seven. UNI had 52 kills for the match and hit. 276, while Cornell had just 27 kills and posted a .111 hitting percentage. The Panthers also had more assists (48-24), digs (65-54) and blocks (7.0-3.0) than the Big Red.
Neither team led by more than two points in the first set, until UNI scored three straight points to turn an 11-10 lead into a 14-10 advantage. Aschoff and Discher each had kills, and libero Ellie Blankenship had a service ace, forcing Cornell to take timeout. The Panthers extended their advantage to 18-12, with Aschoff knocking down back-to-back kills during the run, but Cornell was able to reel off six straight points to even the score at 18. With the score tied at 20, a Burow kill followed by two straight Cornell attack errors gave the Panthers a three-point cushion, and Aschoff finished the 25-21 first set win off with consecutive kills.
With the score tied at four early in the second set, UNI took control. The Panthers rattled off five straight points, including a service ace from Chelsea Saunders, and never looked back. Aschoff had six kills in the second set with zero hitting errors, as UNI cruised to the 25-12 win. The Panthers hit .400 as a team in the second set, with 18 kills and just two errors.
Cornell got off quickly in set three, scoring the first six points, four of them on UNI hitting errors. But after falling behind 6-0, the Panthers were able to work their way back into the match, eventually tying the score at 11-all. With the score even at 13, UNI scored four straight points to build a 17-13 edge, and would never give the lead back. The Panthers held match point at 24-20, before Cornell scored three straight to pull within 24-23. However, Burow racked up a kill on UNI's fourth match point to seal the 25-23 third set win and the match sweep.
With the win, UNI is now 9-1 on the season, while Cornell fell to 0-3 on the year. The Panthers are next in action on Fri., Sept. 19, when they open Missouri Valley Conference play by hosting Drake at the McLeod Center. First serve is set for 7 pm.
