Manage Delivery
Northern Iowa swept Kansas State 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-21) in the first round of the NCAA volleyball tournament Thursday in Lincoln, Neb.
Northern Iowa never trailed in the opening set after taking a 5-1 lead, and dominated the second set as well after grabbing a 6-2 lead. K-State took a 4-1 lead in the third set. Northern Iowa regained the lead 6-5, stretched it to 13-9 and forced K-State to call a timeout. The Wildcats managed to pull within 21-19 and 22-20, but UNI’s Megan Lehman had a kill and a block to make it 24-20. K-State fought off one match point, but Macy Ubben ended the match with her 11th kill.
Northern Iowa had a .321 attack percentage while K-State hit just .164. Three UNI players had 11 kills. Nobody from K-State had more than Kaitlynn Pelger’s seven. Caitlyn Donahoe had 25 assists and eight digs for the wildcats.
K-State (21-9) ends the season on a four-match losing streak.
Northern Iowa (25-9) will play Nebraska (24-6) or Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday, with the winner advancing to the round of 16.
