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Sept. 30, 2008

Final Stats |  Photo Gallery 

Cedar Falls, Iowa - Bridget Fonke had a match-high 13 kills to lead Saint Louis University to a 3-0 win over the University of Northern Iowa tonight in non-conference volleyball action at the McLeod Center. Set scores were 25-14, 25-19 and 25-19.

SLU had three players in double-figures in kills, as Sammi McCloud had 12 and Megan Boken added 10. UNI was led by Beth Discher who had seven kills with no hitting errors, hitting .304 (7-0-23) for the night. Setter Bre Payton had 20 assists and six kills, while hitting .545 (6-0-11), and libero Ellie Blankenship had a team-high 11 digs.

Saint Louis hit .323 as a team (45-13-99), which marked the first time this season UNI had allowed a team to hit better than .250. The Panthers hit .141 (27-13-99), which was their lowest hitting percentage of the season, and the 27 kills was also a season-low.

UNI opened a 3-1 lead to start the match, but Saint Louis rattled off eight straight points to move in front 9-3. The Panthers were able to get within five at 16-11 after a Billiken hitting error, but SLU scored then six straight to extend its advantage to 22-11 and eventually post a 25-14 first set win.

Saint Louis held a slight lead throughout the first half of set two. Trailing 14-10, UNI scored four of the next five points, including two on kills from Michelle Burow, to get within 15-14. The Billikens maintained their lead until UNI got a kill from Ashten Stelken and a SLU hitting error to pull even at 19-all. But Saint Louis scored the final six points, three on service aces from Boken, to win 25-19.

Saint Louis jumped to a 5-0 lead to start the third set. UNI battled back by going on a 6-2 run to get within 7-6, but SLU never gave up the lead. Holding a 10-8 advantage, the Billikens went on a 7-1 run to move in front 17-9. That was all the room SLU needed, as the Panthers didn't get closer than five points the rest of the way, with Saint Louis posting a 25-19 third set win and earning the match victory.

With the win, Saint Louis improved to 11-4 overall, while UNI had its seven-match winning streak snapped and fell to 14-2. The Panthers return to Missouri Valley Conference play this Friday (Oct. 3) when they play host to Evansville. First serve from the McLeod Center is set for 7:00 pm.