MATCH STATS
- No. 17 Northern Iowa def. Southern Illinois 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-17)
- UNI moves to 17-4, 7-0 Missouri Valley; Southern Illinois falls to 4-14, 3-4 MVC
- Cedar Falls, Iowa
- Attendance: 2,463
- Box Score
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Northern Iowa made quick work of Southern Illinois Friday night, dominating the match by more than doubling up on the Salukis offensively.
The Panthers notched 53 kills, while allowing just 25. UNI also outhit SIU .290 to .132 and bested them in aces 8-1. The Salukis did win the block, however, 7-2.
Three players reached double digit dig tallies including outside hitter, who tallied 11 putaways to surpass the 1,000 kill milestone for her career. Even more impressive is that the junior is now a member of the 1000-kill, 1000-dig club, having reached the saves milestone Sept. 15 vs. Omaha. She now has recorded 1,001 kills and 1,145 digs, including 44 career double-doubles.
Sophomore outside Karlie Taylor carried the offensive load for the Panthers with 16 kills to go with 13 digs and five aces. Junior middle blocker Piper Thomas added 12 kills and Weber followed with 11 kills and 15 digs. Junior libero Kendyl Sorge was tops on defense with 16 digs.
Senior outside Nellie Fredriksson led the Salukis with nine kills, while senior outside Abby Barrow added five. Senior middle Kolby Meeks put up a match-high four blocks, while junior middle Patience Brown chipped in three stuffs. Sophomore setter Alayna Martin led the backcourt with 13 digs to go with 11 assists, while senior libero Ashley Edelen registered 10 saves.
The Panthers snapped a 7-all tie in Set 1 with an 10-2 run, including kills by six different players. Down 17-10, SIU scored three of the next four, two on UNI errors, to pull within five, but they would get no closer. The Panthers wrapped the stanza with three straight points, all on Saluki miscues.
Northern Iowa raced ahead 10-3 in Set 2 with help from three kills and a block by Thomas. Weber turned in three kills as the Panthers stretched the lead to 11 at 19-8. Taylor notched a trio of putaways to lift UNI to a 22-10 advantage. A Moriah Johnson kill made it 24-12 and a Weber kill capped the set three points later.
A 5-0 midset run, including two Weber putaways, lifted UNI to a 16-9 lead in Set 3. Another three-point run featuring kills by Thomas and Taylor and a Lexi Astor ace, gave the Panthers a 20-11 edge. Southern Illinois did not go away quietly, however, scoring six of the next seven, three on Northern Iowa errors and two on a block and an ace by Brown, to pull within four at 21-17. UNI called timeout and came out of the break with four straight, two on Jaydlin Seeehase kills and the final two on Taylor aces.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy: Northern Iowa Athletics
Junior Bri Weber collected her 1,000th career kill and the University of Northern Iowa volleyball team rolled to a 3-0 victory over the Southern Illinois Salukis on Friday in the McLeod Center. UNI won by set scores of 25-16, 25-14, 25-17.
UNI (17-4 overall, 7-0 MVC) posted its seventh consecutive win and first 7-0 start in league play since winning its first seven to begin the 2014 MVC slate. Southern Illinois (4-14 overall, 3-4 MVC) lost for the fourth straight time in the McLeod Center.
Weber posted her 1,000th kill in the third set and became the 11th member of UNI’s 1,000/1,000 club. Weber has accumulated 1,001 kills and 1,145 digs. Weber recorded her 44th career double-double with 11 kills and 15 digs against the Salukis.
Sophomore Karlie Taylor led the attack with her 14th consecutive double-figure kill match and fourth straight double-double. Taylor tallied 16 kills and 13 digs with a .394 attack percentage for her 13th double-double on the year. Taylor closed out the match with back-to-back service aces that gave her a career-high five aces in the match.
UNI will return to the McLeod Center on Saturday to take on the Missouri State Bears. The Panthers and Bears will get underway at 7 p.m.
NOTES: UNI head coach Bobbi Petersen moved to 32-5 all-time vs. Southern Illinois … UNI posted eight service aces – one off the Panthers’s season-high of nine service aces set against Austin Peay on Aug. 27 … UNI’s last 8-0 start in the MVC came in the 2011 season when the Panthers went 18-0 in league play … Kendyl Sorge moved up to No. 6 on UNI’s all-time digs list with 16 digs to give her 1,460 for her career … Sorge surged past Bobbi (Becker) Petersen’s total of 1,457 set from 1986-1989.
Courtesy: Southern Illinois Athletics
The Southern Illinois volleyball team (4-14, 3-4) dropped to No. 20 Northern Iowa (15-6, 7-0) in three sets (25-16, 25-14, 25-17) Friday inside the McLeod Center.
Senior outside hitter Nellie Fredriksson hit .304 with nine kills and added six digs and two blocks. Senior outside hitter Abby Barrow added five kills and six digs while senior middle hitter Kolby Meeks led the Salukis with four blocks. Junior middle hitter Patience Brown chipped in three blocks, including two solo.
Sophomore setter Alayna Martin notched her sixth double-double of the season, as she dished out 11 assists and tallied a team-best 13 digs. Senior libero Ashley Edelen added 10 digs, which marked the 11th-straight match in which the Louisville, Ky. product has finished with at least 10 digs.
Two kills each by Fredriksson and Barrow staked SIU to an early 7-6 lead in the opening set before a 9-2 run put Northern Iowa ahead 15-9. Southern cut the deficit to five on four occasions, but the Panthers took set one, 25-17.
The Panthers’ momentum carried over into the second set, as they opened an early 10-3 lead and took their largest lead, 23-11, on a Saluki attack error. Fredriksson’s third kill of the frame and a solo stuff by Brown helped SIU stave off set point, but UNI sided out to take the second set, 25-14.
The Salukis got caught in a rotation in the third set as the Panthers used a 5-0 run to go up 16-9. A kill, followed by an ace by Brown highlighted a 5-0 run for Southern that got it to within four, 21-17, but Northern Iowa closed out the set, and the match, with four-straight points.
The Salukis are back on the road tomorrow, Oct. 14 at Drake. The match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start time.
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