UNI Spikes Missouri State in Five Sets, 3-2

The University of Northern Iowa volleyball squad moved back into a first-place tie in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a 3-2 win at Missouri State on Saturday, October 4, 2014.

The Panthers improved to 10-6 overall and 5-0 in league play with the five-set triumph, while the Bears fell to 10-7 overall and 4-2 in the MVC. UNI won by set scores of 14-25, 25-16, 25-19, 13-25, 15-11.

Senior Eryca Hingtgen tallied a career-best 20 kills. Hingtgen also added 12 digs, three assists, two solo blocks and a pair of service aces.

Missouri State led from start to finish in the opening set as the Bears rolled to a 25-14 victory. The Bears hit .310 with 12 kills and three errors, while the Panthers hit .059 with 10 kills and eight errors.

UNI looked to be in trouble early in the second set as Missouri State opened up a 9-3 advantage. But the Panthers used a 12-4 run to take the lead at 15-13. After trading points, UNI closed the set on a 9-2 run to take the set, 25-16. UNI bounced back with a .286 hitting percentage in the second set with 14 kills and only four errors. The Bears cooled off in the second set with 11 kills and four errors for a .184 hitting percentage.

Missouri State posted a 12-8 lead in the third set. UNI rallied to tie it as 12-12. The squads traded points until 16-16, when the set turned for the Panthers. UNI scored four in a row to take a 20-16 lead behind a strong effort from Eryca Hingtgen. The Panther senior had a solo block and a kill to key the run. The Bears pulled to within 21-19, but the Panthers scored the final four points of the third set to take it, 25-19.

The Bears cruised to a 25-13 win in the fourth set. The Bears led 8-4 before UNI head coach Bobbi Petersen used her first timeout of the set. The Bears increased the lead to 13-6 as the Panthers used their second timeout. MSU did not slow down and recorded a .560 hitting percentage with 15 kills and one error on 25 attacks in the set.

The fifth and deciding set was tied at 7-7. The Panthers took an 8-7 lead on a service error from the Bears and never relinquished the lead. With the Panthers leading 10-9, UNI reeled off four straight points to take a 13-9 on the strength of a Hingtgen kill, a Lindsey Schulz kill and a pair of block assists from Leigh Pudwill and Autumn Alitz. UNI closed out the match on a service error from MSU’s Tatum Marshall, 15-11.

The Panthers will return home to take on Evansville (Fri., 7 p.m.) and Southern Illinois (Sat., 7 p.m.) in the McLeod Center.

NOTES: UNI has won five-set matches against Missouri State in three of the last four years (2011, 2013, 2014) … UNI has won 10 of its last 11 matches vs. Missouri State ... UNI has won five of its last six matches vs. MSU in Springfield … UNI pulled back into a tie for first place in the MVC standings with Illinois State at 5-0 … Hingtgen became the first Panther to record 20 or more kills in match since Macy Ubben tallied 21 kills vs. South Dakota State (Oct. 1, 2013) … Ashlee Sinnott tallied a career-high 20 digs as the UNI libero … Lindsey Schulz added 16 kills in the victory - one off a career-best ... the victory was UNI’s 998th in the program’s history.