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Sept. 17, 2004

Cedar Falls, Iowa - Senior Shari Vermeer (Sioux Center, Iowa) and junior Rachael Tink (Waterloo, Iowa) each had 11 kills to help lead the University of Northern Iowa volleyball team to a 3-0 win over Bradley tonight in the first day of the Panther Invitational. Game scores were 30-26, 30-28, 30-18.

Vermeer hit a season-best .417 (11-1-24) for the Panthers, who snapped a three-match losing streak to improve to 4-4 overall, 1-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference. It was also UNI's 17th straight win over Bradley in the West Gym, and the Panthers' 72nd win in a row overall at home. The Braves fell to 3-5, 0-1 in the MVC.

The Panthers never trailed in the opening game, although Bradley was able to maintain contact with UNI throughout. After the Panthers opened up a 25-19 advantage on an Erin Hirsch (Waterloo, Iowa) service ace, the Braves scored five of the next six points to pull within 26-24. UNI head coach Bobbi Petersen called a timeout, and UNI rallied to score the next three points, one on a Vermeer kill and another on one of the Panthers' six blocks in the opening game.

Bradley held a slight lead in the first half of game two, but UNI took the lead for good, 17-16, after a Braves' service error. That helped propel UNI to run of four straight points, two on service aces by Stephanie May (Dubuque, Iowa) and a 20-16 lead. Bradley rallied, however, scoring three points in a row late to tie the score at 28-all. Petersen called timeout, and Tink answered the call with a thunderous kill and a service ace to win the second game.

UNI jumped on Bradley early in game three, running off seven straight points to open a 14-5 lead. The Panthers had three blocks during that decisive run, and the Braves never go closer than six points the rest of the way.

The Panthers recorded 15 total team blocks on the evening, led by Danielle Brazda (Omaha, Neb.) who racked up a career-best 11. Hirsch had 38 assists, four kills and six blocks for UNI. Bradley was led by Lindsay Stalzer who had 12 kills and four blocks.

UNI continues play in the Panther Invitational tomorrow (Sept. 18), as it will face Northern Illinois at 12:30 p.m., and South Florida at 7:30 p.m. In tonight's other tournament match, Northern Illinois defeated South Florida, 3-1 (30-19, 29-31, 30-21, 30-25).