Spencer's 21 Kills Lead IPFW over Bison in Four

Saturday, September 24

Fort Wayne, Ind.

7:00 PM

Purdue Fort Wayne

9-5, 3-1Summit

North Dakota State

10-6, 4-1Summit

North Dakota State

IPFW

The IPFW Mastodons swept the weekend, improving the team to 9-5 overall and 3-1 in the Summit League

Spencer's 21 Kills Lead IPFW over Bison in Four

9/24/2011 9:21:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY

Fort Wayne, IN - The IPFW Mastodons, now 9-5 on the year and 3-1 in the Summit League, used a match-high 21 kills from Emily Spencer, and a total of eight service aces, to topple the defending Summit League Tournament Champion North Dakota State Bison on Saturday night in four sets (25-18, 20-25, 27-25, 25-17).

The match marked the second time in as many nights that a team left the Gates Center with its first Summit League loss of the season. North Dakota State, who was picked to finish first in the preseason coaches poll, falls to 10-6 overall and 4-1 in Summit League play, while South Dakota State left Friday's evening with a 3-1 conference record.

Spencer's 21 kills ties her career-high, as Jessie Manwaring chipped in 11 kills in the win. Megan Steenhuysen dished out 46 assists, while Spencer added three service aces, giving her eight over the weekend.

Tessa McGill dug up a match-high 18 kill attempts, while Spencer had 11 digs to give her 11 double-doubles on the season. Spencer, Alli Hook, and Manwaring each had three blocks for IPFW, who out-blocked the Bison 9-to-6.

The Mastodons jumped ahead early, using a 5-0 run in the first set to lead by eight at 13-5, and the closest North Dakota State (10-6, 4-1 Summit League) would get for the remainder of the frame was five, as late as 23-18 until a Spencer kill and a Manwaring block closed the door on the 25-18 set score.

North Dakota State came out firing on all cylinders in the second set, scoring seven of the first eight points to lead 7-1. The Mastodons chipped away at the lead, closing to within two at 22-20, but three straight Bison points sent the teams into the locker room tied at one set apiece with the 25-20 second set score.

The third set opened as nearly a carbon-copy of the second, with the visiting Bison jumping ahead by six at 15-9 halfway through the frame. The Mastodons climbed back in the set behind a 4-0 run to cut the deficit to one, and later a 3-0 run to give IPFW its first lead since the early goings at 21-20.

The teams proceeded to go back-and-forth the rest of the way, and the Bison had the Mastodons on the ropes late in the frame. North Dakota State served for set point at 25-24; however, a NDSU attack error, and back-to-back service aces by McGill turned the tables on the set, giving the 'Dons the 27-25 victory.

The Mastodons scored four of the first five points of the fourth set, and never trailed in the frame, closing the match on a 4-0 run that included back-to-back Spencer service aces, the second time in as many matches that the freshman has strung together two or more aces in succession.

Megan Lambertson had a team-best 13 kills, while two-time Summit League Player of the Year Chrissy Knuth had 10, as did Lauren Cammack. Jennifer Lopez had a team-best 13 digs and 39 assists for the double-double, while Andrea Henning chipped in a dozen digs.

The Mastodons take to the road in the coming weekend, traveling to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to face off against the Golden Eagles of Oral Roberts University (10-4, 4-1 Summit League) on Thursday, September 29, and the Southern Utah Thunderbirds (4-11, 2-3 Summit League) on Saturday, October 1.

~Dons~