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Nov. 6, 2004

Box Score

Cedar Falls, Iowa - Rachael Tink (Waterloo, Iowa) had 15 kills and Shari Vermeer (Sioux Center, Iowa) had 14 to lead the University of Northern Iowa volleyball team to a 3-0 win over Southern Illinois Saturday night at the West Gym. Game scores were 30-25, 30-17 and 30-17.

On senior night, it was fitting that Vermeer, a senior right side hitter, set a UNI school record for single-match hitting percentage at .875. Vermeer had 14 kills and no errors in 16 total attempts, to break the previous record of .846 set by Kate Galer on Oct. 2, 1993. Vermeer was one of three seniors honored before the match, along with outside hitter Abby Lemek (Sioux City, Iowa) and setter Erin Hirsch (Waterloo, Iowa).

The first game was tight throughout. UNI went on a late 6-1 run to open a 25-20 edge, but SIU scored the next four points to pull within one, 25-24. After a Panther timeout, UNI's nationally-ranked block made the difference, as the Panthers scored two of the next three points with stuffs of Saluki attacks. Vermeer added a pair of kills as UNI scored five of the game's final six points to win the opening game, 30-25.

The Panthers controlled the action in games two and three, jumping out to early double-digit leads in each, and never letting Southern Illinois within less than 10 in either game after that. UNI hit .577 (19-4-26) in the second game and .406 (16-3-32) in the third game, while SIU hit just .100 (9-6-30) in game two and .139 (12-7-36) in game three.

UNI, which ranks ninth in the nation in blocking averaging 3.37 blocks per game, had 15 total team blocks on the night. Stephanie Germann (LeMars, Iowa) led the way with seven blocks, while Danielle Brazda (Omaha, Neb.) had five, including a pair of solos. Laura Rowen (Hansell, Iowa) also had a solid night offensively, with six kills and no errors in seven attacks (.857).

With the win, the Panthers improve to 18-8 overall, 11-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Southern Illinois falls to 9-17, 6-8 in conference. The Panthers next play Tuesday, Nov. 9, hosting Western Illinois at the West Gym, with first serve set for 7:00 p.m.