Nov. 5, 2005
Final Stats
Cedar Falls, Iowa -
Laura Doornbos had 10 kills and Mary Catherine Richmond added nine for Illinois State, but Northern Iowa seized the momentum in each game to win 30-22, 30-24, 30-21 in a Missouri Valley Conference volleyball match Saturday at West Gym.
The Redbirds, 16-9 overall, 12-3 in the Valley, saw its 12-match Valley win streak come to an end. ISU had not lost a league match since the opening weekend in September.
The Panthers, 17-8 overall, 11-3 in the Valley, has beaten the Redbirds nine straight times at UNI. The last Redbird win over UNI at West Gym was Oct. 31, 1997. The avenged a 3-0 loss at Redbird Arena last month in which UNI hit negative for the match.
This time, Ashten Stelken had 14 kills and Amy Sampson added 12 as UNI out-hit and out-blocked the Redbirds. UNI stopped a string of 19 straight Redbird matches in which the Redbirds had more kills than the opposition. UNI had 49 to ISU's 41, and hit .272 to ISU's .143. The Panthers had 11 team blocks to eight for the Redbirds, but ISU had 49 digs to UNI's 46 as Ashley Grubb led the `Birds with 12 digs.
ISU coach Sharon Dingman thought the domination started with UNI's serving.
"They obviously are very comfortable serving tough in this gym and that's what they did tonight," said Dingman. "Northern Iowa was in system a lot. I give them credit."
Illinois State was without its team leader in kills and hitting percentage, sophomore Kari Staehlin, who has mononucleosis and will not be back for at least two more weeks. UNI hitter Laura Rowen was out of action with an ankle injury.
UNI pulled away from a 12-12 tie in game one with a 6-2 run and ISU had to chase from an 18-14 deficit. The `Birds never caught up. Game two stayed tight until UNI put together an 8-3 run to take a 22-19 lead. But Doornbos slammed home two of her seven kills in that game, and Emily Kabbes added another and ISU pulled even. UNI needed a hitting error and a block error to get back ahead by two, and UNI moved out to a 2-game lead.
The Redbirds led 8-7 early in game three behind Kristin Dziubla's three kills, but UNI went on a 7-1 run to take a 14-9 lead and ISU never got closer than two after that.
The Redbirds finish their string of three straight road matches Friday at Indiana State
