University of Northern Iowa
Wichita State
Panthers Rally For 3-2 Win Over Wichita State
9/30/2011 1:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The No. 14 University of Northern Iowa volleyball team rallied from a 2-0 deficit to claim a 3-2 win over Wichita State in Missouri Valley Conference action Friday night in the McLeod Center. UNI won the match by scores of 20-25, 24-26, 25-23, 25-23 and 15-13.
Bre Payton recorded her second triple-double of the season, and the 15th of her career, notching 10 kills, 15 digs and 44 assists. Payton also recorded her 4,000th career assist in the match, making her the fifth Panther to reach the milestone. Megan Lehman led UNI (15-1, 5-0 MVC) with 14 kills, and Krista DeGeest finished with 13. Shelby Kintzel tallied 12 kills, Amy Braun finished with 11 and Michelle Burow added 10. Candice Burke and Braun each collected 24 digs for the Panthers. Kintzel and DeGeest finished with four and three blocks, respectively.
Emily Adney finished with 18 kills for the Shockers (8-6, 2-2 MVC). Mary Elizabeth Hooper finished with 44 assists, and Sarah Waldorf finished with 32 digs.
The first set included three lead changes and seven ties, including at 18-18. WSU rattled off six straight points to bring up set point, 24-18. Payton and DeGeest recorded kills to extend the set, but a kill from Ashley Andrade gave WSU a 25-20 win.
UNI led set two 14-10, but the Shockers used a 6-1 run to take a 16-15 lead. The teams stayed within a point of each other until WSU scored back-to-back points to take a 23-21 lead. A Shocker service error pulled UNI within a point, but Adney put down a kill to bring up set point for WSU, 24-22. Braun and Burow each buried kills to tie the set, 24-24, but the Shockers claimed the next two points to win the set, 26-24, and take a 2-0 lead into the break.
Trailing 7-5 in the third set, UNI scored six straight points to take an 11-7 lead. The Panthers took their largest lead at 20-14, but the Shockers went on a 7-1 run to tie the set, 21-21. The teams traded points twice to knot the score at 23, but a kill from Kintzel and another from Braun ended the set in a 25-23 win for the Panthers.
UNI held a 9-7 lead in the fourth set, and the Panthers used an 8-2 run to extend their advantage to 17-9. The Shockers responded with an 8-2 run that trimmed the Panther lead to 19-17. After WSU pulled within a point, 21-20, a Payton kill and a Shocker attack error gave UNI a 23-20 lead. Lehman put down a kill after a point from the Shockers, bringing up set point, 24-21. Elizabeth Field came up with a pair of kills to hold off the Panthers, but a kill from Kintzel ended the set, 25-23 in favor of UNI.
The Panthers jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the fifth set. The teams traded points to keep the UNI advantage at four, 8-4. WSU rallied for three straight points to pull within one, 8-7. Payton put down a kill to give UNI a two-point cushion, 9-7, but the Shockers notched three straight points to take their first lead of the set, 10-9. The teams traded points again to bring the score to 11-10 in favor of WSU. DeGeest and Kintzel put down back-to-back kills to return the lead to the Panthers, 12-11. An attack error by WSU gave UNI a two-point edge, 13-11. Field pulled WSU within a point with a kill, but the ensuing WSU serve went long, bringing up match point, 14-12. Adney brought the Shockers to within a point with a kill, but DeGeest hammered home a kill on the next point to give UNI the 15-13 win in the set and the 3-2 win in the match.
UNI hit .208 in the match, while the Shockers finished with a .231 attack percentage. The Panthers finished with 8.0 blocks, compared to 11.0 for WSU. The Panthers took advantage of 10 service errors by the Shockers, while committing just two.
The victory extends UNI's win streak in Valley matches to 41, and it is UNI's sixth straight win overall.
The Panthers return to action on Saturday when they host Missouri State at 7 p.m. in the McLeod Center.
