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University of Northern Iowa
North Dakota State
No. 11 Panthers Escape With 3-2 Win Over NDSU
10/17/2011 1:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The No. 11 University of Northern Iowa volleyball team escaped with a 3-2 win over North Dakota State to win its 11th straight match Monday night in non-conference action in the McLeod Center. UNI won by scores of 25-13, 19-25, 25-21, 23-25 and 20-18.
Senior Michelle Burow led UNI (20-1) with a career-high 24 kills. She was one of five Panthers to notch double-digit kills, with Amy Braun and Shelby Kintzel each notching 13 and Megan Lehman and Krista DeGeest each finishing with 11. Senior Bre Payton matched her career high with 63 assists, and Candice Burke and Braun each finished with 24 digs. Payton tallied four service aces, and DeGeest led UNI with six blocks.
Brynn Joki led NDSU (16-8) with 14 kills, and Chrissy Knuth finished with 13.
The Panthers hit .424 in the first set, and Krista DeGeest, Michelle Burow, Shelby Kintzel, Amy Braun and Megan Lehman each tallied three kills to give UNI a 25-13 win in the set.
NDSU jumped out to an 11-3 lead in the second set. The Panthers chipped away to pull within five, 14-9, but the Panthers could not get any closer, falling 25-19.
UNI scored the first seven points of the third set, but NDSU was able to narrow the gap, and eventually tie the set at 14-14. The teams were tied again at 16-16, and then the Panthers scored three straight to build a 19-16 lead. NDSU scored back-to-back points to get within one, 19-18. The teams alternated points, bringing the score to 20-19, and then UNI got kills from Braun and Burow to extend its advantage to 22-19. The teams traded points again, and then a kill from Carissa Whalen brought NDSU within a pair, 23-21. Burow buried a kill to bring up set point, and DeGeest followed with a kill to give the set to the Panthers, 25-21.
Set four featured 11 ties and five lead changes. The Panthers led in that set 19-14 before a 7-0 run by NDSU gave the Bison a 21-19 advantage. Burow put down a kill to pull UNI back within a point, but a Bison kill put the NDSU lead back at two, 22-20. The Panthers got back-to-back blocks to tie the set, 22-22. Knuth scored to give NDSU a one-point edge, but Lehman answered with a kill to tie the set for the 11th time, 23-23. NDSU scored consecutive points to take the set, 25-23.
The Bison claimed an early 5-1 lead in the fifth set. The Panthers chipped away at the lead and used a 6-1 run to turn an 11-8 deficit into a 14-12 advantage, bringing up match point. NDSU scored back to back points to tie the set, 14-14, but a kill from Burow returned match point to the Panthers, 15-14. The Bison then scored consecutive points, bringing up match point in their favor, 16-15. An NDSU service error tied the set, but a kill from Megan Lambertson brought up set point again, 17-16 for NDSU.
Lehman put down a kill, and an NDSU attack error returned the lead to UNI, 18-17. A Janna Deyle kill held off the Panthers, but Payton buried a kill to give match point back to UNI, 19-18. A block from Lehman and DeGeest gave UNI a 20-18 set win and a 3-2 win in the match.
The Panthers hit .226 in the match, while the Bison compiled a .216 attack percentage. NDSU finished with 8.0 team blocks, compared to 6.0 for UNI. The Panthers notched seven service aces, and NDSU finished with three.
UNI returns to action on Friday when it hosts Illinois State at 7 p.m. in the McLeod Center.
