.png&width=20&height=20&type=webp)
University of Northern Iowa
Drake
Volleyball Tops Drake 3-2 to Complete Perfect MVC Season
11/21/2009 7:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 21, 2009
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – After dropping the first two sets to Drake, the No. 21 University of Northern Iowa volleyball team rallied to win the next three to win the match, 3-2, Saturday night in the McLeod Center. The win gives UNI a perfect 18-0 record in Missouri Valley Conference play and is UNI's 26th straight win. UNI won the match by scores of 24-26, 21-25, 25-21, 27-7 and 15-6.
Shannon Aschoff finished with 16 kills and four blocks, and Amy Braun tallied 13 kills and 16 digs. Beth Discher and Michelle Burow each finished with double-digit kills, notching 12 and 11, respectively. Ellie Blankenship led the Panthers with 25 digs, and Candice Burke collected 18.
Drake (22-11, 10-8) scored two straight to break a 22-22 tie in the first set, the 12th tie of the frame. UNI fended off match point twice, tying the set at 24-24. Drake responded with two straight points to claim the first set, 26-24. UNI outhit the Bulldogs, .311 to .229, in the frame, and finished with two more kills, 18 to 16.
Leading 10-7 in the second set, Drake scored five straight points to build a 15-7 advantage. Drake led by at least five until the Panthers scored three straight to bring the score to 24-21. Emily Madden connected for a Bulldog kill to give the set to Drake, 25-21, and send the Panthers into the break trailing, 2-0.
With the third set tied 12-12, UNI scored four straight to take a 16-12 lead. The Panthers would extend their advantage to 20-14, but the Bulldogs rattled off six straight points to tie the set, 20-20. The Panthers scored the next four points to bring up set point. A service error brought the score to 24-21, but UNI scored on a kill from Payton to take the set, 25-21.
UNI held the Bulldogs to -.059 hitting in the fourth set, and the Panthers used an 8-0 run to take a 15-5 lead. The teams traded points to keep the UNI lead at 10, 17-7, but UNI was able to end the set on an 8-0 run, taking a 25-7 win.
The Panthers jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the fifth set. Drake pulled within three, 6-3, but the Panthers scored three straight to stretch their lead to 9-3. An Angela Bys kill ended the UNI run, but the Panthers scored the next four points to extend their lead to 13-4. The teams traded points to bring up set and match point for the Panthers, but Madden came up with a kill to bring the score to 14-6. Aschoff followed with a kill to seal the win for the Panthers. The Panthers hit .500 in the set, while holding Drake to .150 hitting.
UNI outhit the Bulldogs in the match, .330 to .172. The Bulldogs finished with one more team block than the Panthers, posting 7.0 to UNI's 6.0. UNI finished with 89 digs, while Drake collected 74.
The win gives UNI a perfect record in league play for the fifth time. UNI also ran the table in 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2000. The 26-match win streak is the longest since the 1999 team posted 30 straight wins. This marks the first time the Panthers rallied from a 2-0 deficit to take a win since winning 3-2 at Southern Illinois in 2008.
The Panthers, who finish as the regular season Missouri Valley Conference champion, will be the No. 1 seed in the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament next week in Omaha. UNI will play either Drake or Creighton in the semi-final round on Friday at 6 p.m.
