University of Northern Iowa
Dayton
Panthers Fall to No. 20 Dayton in Five Sets
9/3/2010 8:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 3, 2010
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The No. 22-ranked University of Northern Iowa women's volleyball team dropped their first contest of the 2010 season, falling to No. 20 Dayton in five sets in the first game of the Diet Coke Classic. Set scores were 26-24, 21-25, 25-23, 20-25, 13-15.
Offensively, the Panthers had five players register double-digit kills with Michelle Burow notching a team-high 17 kills. Amy Braun and Beth Discher both registered 13 while Bre Payton and Krista DeGeest finished with 11 kills apiece.
Payton secured her second triple-double in as many games, registering 11 kills, 51 assists and 16 digs. This is the ninth triple-double of Payton's career. Braun finished with a double-double, adding 24 digs to her 13 kills.
Ellie Blankenship led the Panther defensively, snatching 30 digs in the contest. Candice Burke added a career-high 20 digs and Chelsea Saunders finished with 13.
In set one neither team managed to gain an advantage over the other as the set featured nine ties with only two lead changes. With the score tied 9-9, UNI scored four straight points to take the lead 13-9. Dayton came back to tie the score at 16 all before the Panthers gained a three point lead off a kill from DeGeest and back-to-back kills from Discher. Dayton tied the score again at 24 all, but consecutive kills from Burow and Discher gave the Panthers the win in set one, 26-24.
Set two featured the same back-and-forth scoring as the first before Dayton took the lead for good at 15-14. The Panthers closed the gap to one five times, but Dayton rattled off three points to take the set 25-21.
UNI bounced back in set three after coming back from being down by as many as five points. With Dayton leading 20-15, the Panthers downed five consecutive kills followed by a block to take the lead 21-20. The Panthers never looked back, taking the set 25-23.
Dayton managed to win the fourth set after taking the lead at 12-11. The Flyers built their lead to as many as five, eventually winning the set 25-20. In the fifth set, UNI managed to gain a 10-6 lead, but Dayton remained resilient tying the set at 12 all. The Flyers then registered back-to-back kills, taking a 14-12 lead. A kill by Braun pulled the Panthers to within one at 14-13, but Flyer block gave Dayton the set win and the match, 3-2.
No. 22-ranked UNI returns to action at the Diet Coke Classic tomorrow morning, facing host Minnesota. Minnesota comes into the match with a No. 8 ranking. The Gophers and Panthers will meet at 11 a.m. tomorrow.
