Box Score (PDF)
EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Northern Iowa senior outside hitter Megan Lehman paced four Panthers in double-figures with 14 kills on Saturday night, as the visiting Panthers used a balanced offensive attack to sweep past the host University of Evansville volleyball team, 3-0, at Meeks Family Court inside the Carson Center in Evansville, Indiana.
Lehman set the tone early for the visiting Panthers, as she pounded out a team-high six kills in the first set to guide UNI to a 25-20 set-one victory. UNI then unleashed its offensive prowess in the second set, as the Panthers hit .400 as a team, recording 20 kills in 40 attempts with only four errors in set two to cruise to a 25-17 set victory. UNI battled hitting issues in the third set, as the Panthers totaled 11 errors in the third set, but still managed a 25-22 third-set victory to complete the sweep.
“Credit Northern Iowa, they came out firing from the opening serve,” said UE head coach Mike Swan. “I thought that we did a decent job of battling tonight defensively, but their offensive spread tonight was tough to handle. Every time that we would stop one of their options, another player would step up and get the kill.”
Junior outside hitter Macy Ubben joined Lehman in double-figures with 13 kills, while senior outside Amy Braun and senior middle blocker Krista Degeest totaled 11 kills apiece. Braun also dug up a team-best 20 digs to record a double-double.
Three Purple Aces tied for team-high honors with seven kills each, as junior middle Rachel TenHoor, sophomore outside Ashley Ring, and freshman outside Emma Roberson tied for team-high honors offensively. Senior outside hitter Hannah Wilson, in her final home match as a Purple Ace, also recorded six kills and nine digs for UE. Wilson and fellow senior Jessica Knackmuhs were honored in pre-game festivities prior to Saturday’s “Senior Night” match at UE.
With the victory, Northern Iowa improves to 23-8 overall and 14-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Evansville, meanwhile, falls to 9-20 overall and 4-12 in the Valley. The Purple Aces will conclude the 2012 regular-season next weekend by traveling to Indiana State and Illinois State next Friday and Saturday.
