Hingtgen’s Career-High Tying 20 Kills Leads UNI Past Wichita State, 3-1

The University of Northern Iowa volleyball squad clinched a spot in the Missouri Valley Conference postseason tournament with a 3-1 win over the Wichita State Shockers on Saturday, November 1, 2014. in the McLeod Center. UNI won by set scores of 25-20, 22-25, 25-23 and 25-22.

UNI (16-8 overall, 10-2 MVC) also clinched its 36th consecutive non-losing season with the victory over Wichita State (15-8 overall, 9-4 MVC).

The Panthers were led by senior Eryca Hingtgen's career-high tying 20 kills. Hingtgen tallied a .391 hitting percentage as she had 46 attacks with only two attack errors.

UNI rallied from 17-12 deficit in the first set with a 13-3 run to end the initial set for a 25-20 win. Setter Kinsey Caldwell had seven assists, five digs, two blocks and two kills in the opening set. Wichita State was only able to sideout at 47 percent clip in the first set to assist the Panthers in the win.

The Shockers evened the match at 1-1 with a 25-22 victory in the second stanza. UNI led 8-5 before the Shockers knotted it at 11-11. WSU extended its lead to 18-13. UNI closed to within 24-22, but could not get over the hump and the Shockers posted a 25-22 win.

UNI led 17-10 in the third set but saw WSU use an 8-2 run to trim the Panther lead to 19-18. UNI was able to keep the Shockers at bay and hung on for the 25-23 win and a 2-1 set advantage. The Shockers committed five service errors in the third set.

The Panthers opened up a 3-0 lead in the final set and never trailed en route to a tight 25-22 win.

UNI will travel to Southern Illinois and Evansville for its next action. UNI and SIU will meet in Carbondale, Ill., on Friday at 7 p.m. The Panthers and Purple Aces will square off on Saturday at 6 p.m.

NOTES: UNI will host the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Nov. 27-29 in the McLeod Center ... Kinsey Caldwell tallied her 10th double-double of the season with 37 assists and 20 digs ... Amie Held tied for team-high honors with 20 digs ... Kayla Haneline added 13 kills and Lindsey Schulz posted 11 kills for the Panthers.