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The University of Northern Iowa volleyball squad had a strong showing as they opened their season at home. This weekend, the Panther volleyball team hosted Kentucky, Wright State, and Western Michigan in the McLeod Center for the UNI Invitational.
Friday evening the Panthers faced off against the Western Michigan Broncos. UNI took the match in three games winning 30-25, 30-15, and 30-27. The Northern Iowa ‘W’ marks the 800th victory in program history. Ashten Stelken (Jr.) and Shannon Aschoff (So.) led they way over the Broncos with 13 and 12 kills respectively.
At noon on Saturday, the Panthers squared off against Wright State who was defeated 3-0 by Kentucky in first session play. UNI continued its streak sweeping the Raiders handily 30-19, 30-21, and 30-13. Sophomore Outside Hitter Amy Sampson tallied 15 kills, while Ashten Stelken followed closely with 14. Kristen Belzung, (Sr., Setter) lofted 41 assists and had 10 digs defensively, bested only by True Freshman Libero Ellie Blankenship with 14 digs. The Panthers’ servers had the hot hands dishing out 14 service aces, led by Aschoff with 6.
UNI took on Kentucky in the nightcap. The Wildcats were 1-1 after beating Wright State 3-0 and being swept by Western Michigan 3-0, but would prove a worthy Panther adversary narrowly topping UNI 3-2. The Panthers took the first game 30-26, before dropping the next two games 23-30 and 24-30. The team pulled back to even with game four, 31-29, but dropped a nail-biting tiebreaker 15-17. Tournament MVP Kristin Belzung distributed 56 assists, while five Panthers hit double-digits in kills: Aschoff 17, Stelken and Laura Rowen 14, Danielle Brazda 13, and Sampson 10. Blankenship amassed 32 digs in the effort.
Northern Iowa, Kentucky, and Western Michigan each finished the invite at 2-1 records with ties being decided by winning percentage. The Panthers secured the title with an overall tally of 8-3, West. Mich. took second with 6-3, while Kentucky’s 6-5 record was good for third. Three Panthers took All-Tournament Team honors: Shannon Aschoff, Danielle Brazda, and MVP Kristin Belzung. UNI travels to Utah next weekend to compete in the Molten Classic hosted by Brigham Young University. The tourney field also includes American and Wisconsin.
Friday evening the Panthers faced off against the Western Michigan Broncos. UNI took the match in three games winning 30-25, 30-15, and 30-27. The Northern Iowa ‘W’ marks the 800th victory in program history. Ashten Stelken (Jr.) and Shannon Aschoff (So.) led they way over the Broncos with 13 and 12 kills respectively.
At noon on Saturday, the Panthers squared off against Wright State who was defeated 3-0 by Kentucky in first session play. UNI continued its streak sweeping the Raiders handily 30-19, 30-21, and 30-13. Sophomore Outside Hitter Amy Sampson tallied 15 kills, while Ashten Stelken followed closely with 14. Kristen Belzung, (Sr., Setter) lofted 41 assists and had 10 digs defensively, bested only by True Freshman Libero Ellie Blankenship with 14 digs. The Panthers’ servers had the hot hands dishing out 14 service aces, led by Aschoff with 6.
UNI took on Kentucky in the nightcap. The Wildcats were 1-1 after beating Wright State 3-0 and being swept by Western Michigan 3-0, but would prove a worthy Panther adversary narrowly topping UNI 3-2. The Panthers took the first game 30-26, before dropping the next two games 23-30 and 24-30. The team pulled back to even with game four, 31-29, but dropped a nail-biting tiebreaker 15-17. Tournament MVP Kristin Belzung distributed 56 assists, while five Panthers hit double-digits in kills: Aschoff 17, Stelken and Laura Rowen 14, Danielle Brazda 13, and Sampson 10. Blankenship amassed 32 digs in the effort.
Northern Iowa, Kentucky, and Western Michigan each finished the invite at 2-1 records with ties being decided by winning percentage. The Panthers secured the title with an overall tally of 8-3, West. Mich. took second with 6-3, while Kentucky’s 6-5 record was good for third. Three Panthers took All-Tournament Team honors: Shannon Aschoff, Danielle Brazda, and MVP Kristin Belzung. UNI travels to Utah next weekend to compete in the Molten Classic hosted by Brigham Young University. The tourney field also includes American and Wisconsin.
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