University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Drake
UNI Wins Valley Opener Over Drake
9/19/2008 8:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 19, 2008
Cedar Falls, Iowa - Shannon Aschoff had 17 kills and Amy Sampson added 14 to lead the University of Northern Iowa volleyball team to a 3-1 win over Drake tonight at the McLeod Center. Set scores were 21-25, 25-19, 28-26 and 25-17 in favor of the Panthers.
Ashten Stelken, Michelle Burow and Beth Discher each added eight kills in a balanced UNI offensive attack. Ellie Blankenship once again anchored the back row for the Panthers with 23 digs, while Bre Payton had a double-double with 43 assists and 13 digs. Drake's Angela Bys led all players with 18 kills.
UNI opened a 5-3 lead to start the match, but Drake scored five straight points to pull ahead for good in the first set, 8-5. UNI got within one point on several occasions, including as late as 19-18, but each time Drake kept the Panthers at bay. Bys had two straight kills to move Drake in front 21-18, and the Bulldogs were able to earn the 25-21 win. Drake hit .306 in the first set of just .146 for UNI.
The Panthers opened leads of 7-3, 13-5 and 18-9 in set two as they cruised to a 25-19 win and evened the match at one set apiece. Chelsea Saunders had a pair of early service aces to get UNI started, and the Panthers were led offensively by Burow. The 6-1 freshman middle blocker had six of her eight kills in the second set, as she hit an impressive .556 during set two.
The critical third set was a back-and-forth affair. Drake held a slight lead early, but UNI got a service ace from Stelken and two other kills to open a 16-12 advantage. Drake battle back with four straight points, including two on service aces from Emily Madden, to even the set at 16-all. UNI opened a 19-17 lead after a Sampson kill, but Drake pulled even at 20-all after a Bys put away. The Panthers never trailed after that point, having set point denied three times by Drake, before Stelken had back-to-back kills to give UNI the 28-26 win.
Drake held a 14-13 lead midway through set four before the Panthers got rolling. UNI scored 10 of the next 11 points, with Discher having three kills and Sampson two during that run, as the Panthers opened a 23-15 lead. UNI, which won the set 25-17, hit .438 in set four, to just .086 for Drake.
With the win, UNI improves to 10-1 overall, 1-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while Drake falls to 7-5 and 0-1. The Panthers play host to Creighton tomorrow night at the McLeod Center, with first serve set for 7:30 pm.
