MATCH STATS
- No. 19 Northern Iowa def. Loyola 3-0 (25-9, 25-9, 25-18)
- Northern Iowa moves to 19-5, 9-1 Missouri Valley; Loyola falls to 1-19, 0-9 MVC
- Cedar Falls, Iowa
- Attendance: 1,997
- Box Score
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – No. 19 Northern Iowa hit at a .379 and nearly doubled its opponents’ kill tally (43-22) in a quick sweep Friday night.
The Panthers held the Ramblers to a .000 hitting effort with help from eight blocks and five aces. UNI bested Loyola 43-22 in kills, 5-1 in aces and 8-4 in blocks in the win.
Sophomore outside Karlie Taylor and junior middle Piper Thomas notched 12 and 11 kills respectively to pace the Panthers, while junior outside Bri Weber turned in nine putaways. Thomas hit at a .733 clip, with an errorless 15 swings, while also putting up a match-best five blocks. Taylor added four blocks, while junior libero Kendyl Sorge and redshirt freshman defensive specialist Taylor Hedges accounted for a team-leading 10 digs apiece. Weber and redshirt senior setter Heather Hook each served up two of the team’s five aces.
Junior outside Gabi Maciagowski led the Ramblers with seven kills, while freshman middle Elle Van Grinsven (6) and junior right side Heather Kocken (5) followed. Van Grinsven was the lone Loyola player with more than one hitting attempt to post a positive hitting percentage, turning in a .250 effort. Redshirt junior middle Haley Hoffman put up three blocks, while sophomore setter Delilah Wolf pulled up a team-best eight digs and added two blocks.
UNI built a quick 16-3 lead in Set 1 as Thomas notched four kills and three blocks. Two Rambler errors and four Panther blocks dotted the early surge. Loyola scored two of the next three on kills, but Northern Iowa countered with eight of the final 12 to cap the 25-9 win. Five players posted kills in the final stretch.
The teams were even at five in Set 2 before the Panthers pulled away. UNI used a 7-0 run with three Taylor putaways and two aces by Hook to go ahead 12-5. It was an eight-point game at 16-8 when errors began to pile up for the Ramblers. Five miscues coupled with three kills and an ace gave Northern Iowa another 25-9 victory.
Loyola snapped a 6-all tie with a 6-1 run, vaulting ahead 12-7 in Set 3 as Kocken notched four kills and a block. UNI cut the margin to one at 14-13 on a Thomas kill, but soon trailed 16-13 after putaways by Morgan Gresham and Maciagowski. The Panthers turned the tables with a final 12-2 run. Three kills by Thomas, two each by Taylor and Weber, and two stuffs guided UNI to the 25-18 win and the sweep.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy: UNI Athletics
The University of Northern Iowa took care of business quickly on Friday with a 3-0 sweep of the Loyola Ramblers in the McLeod Center. UNI won by set scores of 25-9, 25-9, 25-18.
UNI (19-5 overall, 9-1 MVC) stayed perfect against Loyola in the all-time series – moving to 17-0 vs. the Ramblers. Loyola fell to 1-19 overall and 0-9 in league action.
The Panthers posted a .379 hitting percentage with 43 kills, while limiting the Ramblers to a .000 hitting percentage with 22 kills.
Karlie Taylor notched her 17th straight double-figure kill match with 12 kills, while Piper Thomascontinued her sizzling play in MVC matches with 11 kills and a .733 hitting percentage.
UNI won the first two sets without trailing in either set. Loyola took its first lead of the match in the third set. The Ramblers eventually took a 12-7 lead in the final set. UNI rallied with a 12-4 run to take a 19-16 advantage. UNI closed the third set on a 18-6 run to post a 25-18 triumph.
The Panthers will be in action again Saturday at 7 p.m. against Valparaiso in the McLeod Center.
NOTES: UNI has won the opening set in 19 of its 24 matches this season … UNI is 18-1 when winning the first set … UNI moved to 681-9 all-time when winning the first two sets.
Courtesy: Loyola Athletics
In Short
No. 25 UNI (19-5, 9-1 MVC) hit a blistering .379 (43-10-87) for the match to earn a 25-9, 25-9, 25-18 victory over visiting Loyola University Chicago tonight at McLeod Center. The loss drops the Ramblers to 1-19 overall and 0-9 in Missouri Valley Conference play.
How It Happened
UNI scored the first four points of the match but after Loyola closed within 6-3 on a Haley Hoffman/Delilah Wolf block, the host Panthers rattled off 10 unanswered points to open up a commanding 16-4 lead en route to a 25-9 victory. The Ramblers couldn’t get on track offensively in set one, hitting -.154 (3-7-26), while the Panthers connected at a .414 (16-4-29) clip.
Much like in the opener, the Panthers used a big run, this one of the 10-1 variety, to snap a 5-5 tie and seize a 15-6 advantage in set two as they coasted to another 25-9 victory.
Heather Kocken helped pump some life into Loyola in the third set, registering four kills and a block as part of a 6-0 spurt that erased a one-point deficit and gave the Ramblers a 12-7 advantage to force a UNI timeout. After the Panthers sliced the Loyola lead down to a single point at 14-13, Morgan Gresham and Gabi Maciagowskitallied back-to-back kills to extend the Ramblers’ lead back to 16-13. However, a Bri Weber put an end to Loyola’s momentum with a kill that ignited a set-closing 12-2 run as UNI rallied for a 25-18 victory to sweep the match.
A Look At The Numbers
While UNI hit .379 for the night, Loyola couldn’t find a rhythm, hitting .000 (22-22-90), and was led by Maciagowski’s seven kills.
Elle Van Grinsven added six kills, while Kocken finished with five stops.
Karlie Taylor paced the Panthers with a match-high 12 kills, with Piper Thomas pitching in 11.
Up Next
The Ramblers wrap up their weekend jaunt to Iowa when they battle Drake tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in Des Moines.
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