University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
5-5
Notre Dame
1-7
UNI Wins Shamrock Invite Title; Spikes Notre Dame, 3-1
9/13/2014 1:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The University of Northern Iowa captured the Shamrock Invitational team title with a 3-1 victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Purcell Pavilion.
UNI (5-5 overall) won by set scores of 25-20, 25-21, 18-25, 25-17. Notre Dame dropped to 1-7 on the year.
The Panthers tallied a season-best hitting percentage of .319 in the victory. The Fighting Irish posted a .331 hitting percentage - the second-highest percentage UNI has allowed this season (.343 at Kentucky - Sept. 5).
UNI used a pivotal 6-1 run to turn a 14-12 deficit into an 18-15 lead in set one. Notre Dame cut the UNI lead to 21-20, but the Panthers scored the final four points of the first stanza for the victory, 25-20. UNI hit .324 with 14 kills and only three errors in the first set.
The Panthers continued their torrid hitting in the second set and scored a 25-21 win. UNI hit .395 with 21 kills and six errors, while Notre Dame was not far off with a .375 hitting percentage with 15 kills and three errors. The second set was knotted at 10-10, but UNI used a 6-1 run to take a 16-11 lead. UNI upped the margin to 24-17 before closing it out on an Autumn Alitz kill.
Notre Dame rallied for a win in the third set, 25-18. The Fighting Irish hit .412 in the fourth set with 15 kills and only one error. UNI had seven attack errors and hit .128 in the set. Notre Dame led 14-9 and took control of the set with a 6-0 run to lead 20-9.
UNI was able to close out the match with a 25-17 victory in the fourth set. UNI built leads of 8-4 and 19-11 en route to the triumph. The Panthers led 23-14 before the Fighting Irish made one final push. Notre Dame scored four straight points to make it 23-17 before the Panthers called timeout. UNI was also to score the final two points - the last of which came on a kill from Lindsey Schulz.
The Panthers will return home next week to open up Missouri Valley Conference play. UNI will play host to Loyola on Friday and Bradley on Saturday. Homecoming weekend will also mark the celebration of 40 years of UNI volleyball.
NOTES: Lindsey Schulz was named the Tournament MVP ... Schulz was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Kayla Haneline and Eryca Hingtgen ... Schulz posted a career-high 17 kills ... Schulz had a .586 hitting percentage with zero attack errors ... Kinsey Caldwell had 46 assists, nine digs, seven kills and hit .538 with zero attack errors ... Amie Held notched 13 digs ... Ashlee Sinnott recorded 12 digs ... Eryca Hingtgen notched her sixth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 16 digs ... Kayla Haneline and Leigh Pudwill each tallied 11 kills.
