Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Northern Iowa
Volleyball swept by Northern Iowa
10/27/2006 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 27, 2006
By Shalae Schulte
www.siusalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Northern Iowa volleyball team posted three players in double-digit kills, hitting .336 on the night to shut down Southern Illinois, 3-0, in Missouri Valley Conference action Friday night.
The Panthers (18-7, 10-2) secured a 28-match win streak over the Salukis (10-12, 5-7), dating back to 1993.
"UNI's a very good team, that's why they are at the top of the league," Saluki head coach Brenda Winkeler said. "They've had some great victories this year over some top teams. They are big and strong team and they come at you aggressively."
The Panthers hit .438 in game one with zero errors in 32 attempts, totaling 14 kills for the 30-13 win. The Salukis stayed within three points until 10-7, but poor ball control and four serve receive errors from SIU helped UNI pull away on a 17-6 run to lead 27-13.
The Salukis came back in game two, tying the game at 17-17, before the Panthers pulled ahead.
SIU kept within three points, shadowing 27-25, but UNI answered with three straight kills from Laura Rowen, Amy Sampson and Trista Humpal for the 30-25 Panther victory.
Southern came out to an early lead in game three, 4-1, before Northern Iowa went on an eight to five run to put the game at a 9-9 deadlock before pulling away for good.
The Panthers surged ahead by as many as 11 points, taking their largest lead of the game at 28-17. SIU answered with five straight points before two straight UNI kills sealed the game and match at 30-21.
"I'm never happy with a loss, but I thought we did fought back aggressively after that first game," Winkeler said. "We came out and served more aggressively. They are big and physical up at the net and they are very hard to defend."
Saluki libero Kristy Elswick tied a match-high 17 digs, bringing her career total to 926, 10th on the SIU career list in just her second season.
"She did a great job tonight," Winkeler said of her libero. "She works just as hard in practice as she does in matches. This is really a well-deserved honor for her."
Middle blockers Johannah Yutzy and Chandra Roberson led Southern with eight kills each.
Offensively the Salukis were out-matched, recording 35 kills to the Panthers' 54.
Rowen and Humpal led all hitters with 11 kills each for the Panthers, while Danielle Brazda added 10.
Defensively, the Panthers put three players in double-digit digs, including 17 from libero Stephanie May. Rowen added 15 digs to match with her 11 kills for the only double-double on the night.
UNI, the top-team in the MVC in blocks this season, out-blocked SIU 6.0 team blocks to 3.0. Brazda the league leader in blocks, added a match-high three block assists for the Panthers.
The Salukis will return to action Saturday at Davies Gym to take on Valley foe Bradley at 7 p.m.
