University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Drake
Panthers' Senior Day Sweep Of Drake Clinches MVC Title Outright
11/12/2011 1:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The No. 12 University of Northern Iowa volleyball team clinched the Missouri Valley Conference title outright with a 3-0 senior day win over Drake Saturday afternoon in the McLeod Center. The Panthers won the match 25-9, 25-20, 25-12. The win extends UNI's win streak to 19 and its MVC win streak to 51, and it is the Panthers' third straight Valley regular-season championship.
Michelle Burow, Krista Degeest and Shelby Kintzel each led UNI with nine kills. DeGeest also notched four blocks and had a .667 attack percentage in the match. Bre Payton finished with 35 assists and 11 digs for UNI (28-1, 16-0 MVC). Candice Burke led the Panthers with 16 digs, and Jenny Willms finished with 12 digs and three service aces.
Bentley Mancini led Drake (9-22, 5-12 MVC) with eight kills.
The Panthers hit .441 and held Drake to .056 hitting in the first set. The Panthers raced to a 16-3 lead and led by at least 12 the rest of the way, claiming a 25-9 win in the set. Burow and DeGeest each tallied four kills in the set.
Leading 9-7 in the second set, UNI went on a 10-1 run to build a 19-8 lead. Drake scored four straight points to cut the UNI lead to 19-12. The Panthers responded with a 4-0 run of their own, building a 23-12 lead. Drake scored five straight points, but a kill from Burow brought up set point, 24-17. The Bulldogs held off UNI for three points, but a block by Megan Lehman and Bre Payton gave UNI the 25-20 win.
The Panthers hit .467 in the third set, building an 18-6 lead. The Panthers led by at least 10 points the rest of the way, winning the set 25-12 and the match 3-0.
UNI hit .366 in the match, compared to .090 for Drake. The Panthers tallied 7.0 blocks, while being blocked 3.0 times by the Bulldogs. UNI recorded seven service aces, and did not give up any.
The Panthers recognized seniors Bre Payton and Michelle Burow prior to the match.
UNI returns to action on Friday when it plays at Evansville in the final weekend of regular-season action.
