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University of Northern Iowa
Wichita State
Panthers Top Shockers 3-1 to Earn MVC Tournament Title
11/28/2009 7:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 28, 2009
The final point and celebration
Head coach Bobbi Petersen comments on the match.
OMAHA, Neb. - The University of Northern Iowa volleyball team defeated Wichita State 3-1 to finish as the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Champion Saturday afternoon in D.J. Sokol Arena. The Panthers (30-2) won by scores of 26-28, 25-19, 25-11 and 25-18 to earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Shannon Aschoff added 13 and 11, respectively. Bre Payton finished with 48 assists and 13 digs, and Ellie Blankenship tallied 27 digs.
Payton was named the tournament MVP, and Blankenship and Discher were each named to the all-tournament team.
The Panthers used a 4-1 run to rally from a 20-17 deficit and tie the first set 21-21. UNI would go on to bring up set point, 24-22, but the Shockers scored two straight to tie the set at 24. WSU (25-6) took a lead, and the Panthers were able to fight off set point twice before falling 28-26 in the set. Kim Wadsworth tallied seven kills in the set for the Shockers. Michelle Burow and Beth Discher each collected four kills for the Panthers in the first frame.
The teams were tied six times early in the second set, including 8-8. The Panthers scored three straight to take an 11-8 lead. The Panthers held at least a two-point lead on the way to the 25-19 set victory.
The Panthers jumped out to a 6-0 lead and never looked back on the way to a 25-11 victory in the third set. UNI hit .560 in the set, led by a 5-for-5 performance by Burow.
Wichita State scored first in the fourth set, but the Panthers were able to score the next three to take a lead they would never relinquish. The Panthers built a 16-8 lead, but the Shockers chipped away to bring the score to 20-16. The Panthers scored the next three points, extending their advantage to 23-16. Discher and DeGeest came up with a block to set up match point. A service error kept the set going, but a kill from Discher gave UNI the 25-18 victory.
The Panthers outhit Wichita State, .267 to .145. UNI collected 12.0 blocks, their second-most of the season, compared to 5.0 team blocks for the Shockers. The Panthers collected 85 digs to WSU's 69.
The win is UNI's 28th straight victory, and it gives the Panthers their ninth 30-win season in team history. The Panthers earned their 14th Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title and their 15th trip to the NCAA Tournament. This will be UNI's fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. The tournament selection show will air on ESPNEWS on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Panthers will hold a watch party at Beck's on University starting at 1 p.m.
