Sept. 7, 2007
Box Score - UTPA vs. Northern Illinois
The University of Texas-Pan American women's volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision (28-30, 30-17, 30-26, 30-20) to Northern Illinois in the first round of action at the Islander Holiday Inn Invitational in Corpus Christi, TX, on Friday (Sept. 7).
The Lady Broncs dropped their overall record to 2-8 on the 2007 campaign while Northern Illinois improved to 4-5 overall.
Head coach Angela Hubbard's squad came out strong in the first game of the match as the Lady Broncs took a 1-0 advantage over the Huskies with a 30-28 victory. The UTPA defense played strong at the net as the defense forced the Huskies to commit 10 errors in 51 total attacks en route to securing the first frame triumph.
In the second set, the Huskies were able to even the score with a 30-17 victory behind a .362 team hitting percentage as Northern Illinois connected on 21 kills in 47 total attacks with four errors. The Lady Broncs connected on a match-low nine kills in the second frame.
The third match proved to be one of the most competitive with both teams excelling offensively, but the end result allowed the Huskies to take a 2-1 advantage with a 30-26 victory. Northern Illinois finished with a .362 hitting percentage (24-6-50) while the Lady Broncs notched their best offensive performance with a .326 hitting percentage (19-5-43).
The Huskies were able to seal the victory in the fourth frame with a 30-17 triumph in which the NIU defense forced the Lady Broncs to a negative hitting percentage at -.022 with 13 errors compared to 12 kills for the Valley's team.
NIU outside hitter Dani D'Ambrose finished with a match-high 29 kills to go along with seven digs while setters Mandi Caputo and Amanda Tadla dished out 37 and 26 assists, respectively.
Kellie Phillips (Chandler, AZ/Corona del Sol H.S.) led the Lady Broncs offensively as the UTPA outside hitter collected 14 kills to go along with nine digs and four blocks while Deanna Schneyer (Diamond Bar, CA/Diamond Ranch H.S.) and Marci Logan (Centennial, CO/Arapahoe H.S.) collected 13 and 12 kills, respectively.
Chelsea Blakely (Houston, TX/J. Frank Dobie H.S.) dished out a team-high 43 assists while nearly missing out on her third double-double of the season with nine digs and five kills for the Valley's program. Rebecca Toddy (McAllen, TX/McAllen Memorial H.S.) notched her second 20-plus digs' performance of the season with a match-high 26 digs, and Noelle Mayor (Missouri City, TX/Dulles H.S.) aided the Lady Broncs with a career-high 12 digs.
The Lady Broncs will be back in action on Saturday (Sept. 8) for a doubleheader when the Valley's team squares-off against San Diego State at 4:00 p.m. followed by a 6:30 p.m. match against the host-squad Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
UTPA Sports Information
