PROVO, Utah - The Northern Iowa volleyball team defeated American University in the Panthers' first match at the Molten Classic hosted by Brigham Young University on Friday afternoon, recording a 30-26, 30-22, 30-24 sweep.

The Panthers controlled the match thoroughly, hitting .326 as a team with 51 digs and 14 total team blocks. American hit just .111 registered just seven blocks. The Panthers hit .275 in game one, .368 in game two and .350 in game three to secure the victory.

Amy Sampson led the Panther attack with a season-high 17 kills. Laura Rowen had 11 kills, while Danielle Brazda posted 10 kills.

UNI head coach Bobbi Petersen was concerned about the Eagles' 6-foot-8 twins entering the match but neither proved to be particularly effective. Claire and Ann Recht combined for one block assist and hit .167 and .154, respectively.

American University qualified for the 2006 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championships appeared at the same first-round site as UNI. American took a game from top-ranked and eventual national champion Nebraska before falling. The Cornhuskers then eliminated the Panthers in the second round.

The Eagles were led by Rubena Sukaj, who posted a team-high 18 kills but hit just .170.

With the victory, UNI improved to 3-1 on the season while American fell to 4-1.

UNI continues action today with a pair of difficult matches against 10th-ranked Wisconsin at 11 a.m. (CDT) and No. 15 BYU at 8 p.m.