UNI Volleyball Sweeps Drake

The University of Northern Iowa volleyball squad moved to 3-0 in Missouri Valley Conference play with a sweep of the Drake Bulldogs on Saturday night at the Knapp Center.

UNI (8-6 overall) scored set wins of 25-15, 25-18, 25-22 over Drake. The Bulldogs fell to 9-5 overall and 1-2 in league play.

UNI's Autumn Alitz tallied a .643 hitting percentage with 10 kills and only one error on 14 attacks in the match. Eryca Hingtgen led the Panthers with a team-high 12 kills. Kayla Haneline and Lindsey Schulz each notched four blocks on the night.

Drake and UNI were tied 10-10 in the first set before the Panthers went on a 5-1 run to take a 16-11 lead. Drake cut the lead back to 16-13, but a 6-0 run by UNI pushed the lead to 22-13. The Panthers would close the first set on a 9-2 run and take it, 25-15.

Drake gained an early 3-1 lead in the second set only to see UNI tie at 5-5. The Panthers then used a 7-2 surge to take a 12-7 advantage. The Bulldogs clawed back to within 16-15, but the Panthers would not allow the Bulldogs to tie it and pushed the lead back to 21-16 on a 5-1 spurt. The Panthers would close out the second set, 25-18.

UNI put the finishing touches on a three-game sweep with a 25-22 victory in the third stanza. Drake owned a 6-4 lead only to see it evaporate with a 4-0 UNI run. Drake bounced back with three straight points to take its final lead of the night at 9-8. UNI ran off four straight points and would not relinquish the lead. Drake did tie the third set at 14-14 but the Panthers kept the Bulldogs at bay the rest of the way and scored a 25-22 win.

UNI will hit the road again next weekend with a trip to Wichita State on Friday and Missouri State on Saturday.