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Women's Volleyball
Southwest Missouri State Upends UNI in MVC Semifinals
Nov. 26, 2004 Wichita, Kan. - Junior outside hitter Rachael Tink (Waterloo, Iowa) had 17 kills, but it was not enough as third-seeded Southwest Missouri State defeated the second-seeded University of Northern Iowa, 3-0, Friday night in the semifinals of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Tournament. Game scores were 30-26, 30-20 and 30-26. Despite the 3-0 score, the match was even statistically in almost every category. SMS had 49 kills to UNI's 48; both teams had 10 blocks; and the Panthers out-dug the Bears, 51-46. However, UNI recorded 34 hitting errors - 26 in the first two games alone - to SMS' seven, and ultimately proved to be the difference. The Bears hit .254 for the match (49-17-126), while the Panthers hit just .101 (48-24-138). SMS came from behind the opening game, 30-26. UNI jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead and held a 17-14 edge midway through the game, before the Bears rallied. SMS ran of six of the next eight points, taking the lead for good at 20-19 on a Sarah Lansing kill. After the Bears pulled to a 25-21 lead, the Panthers could get no closer than two points the rest of the way. SMS hit .225 (16-7-40) in the first game, while UNI hit just .090 (15-11-41). Tink led the way with six kills and four digs for the Panthers. The Bears controlled the second game throughout, winning 30-20. SMS went on a 7-0 run early in the second game to open up a 15-6 lead, and UNI never got closer than six points after that. The Panthers hit -.022 in the second game (14-15-46), while the Bears hit .250 (14-5-36). SMS took the lead for good in the third game, 14-13, after a UNI hitting error. That was part of a 4-0 Bears run that gave them a 16-13 advantage. The Panthers maintained contact, pulling within two on several occasions, the last being at 27-25 after a Stephanie Germann (LeMars, Iowa) kill. But after an SMS timeout, the Bears Katie Werges recorded back-to-back kills to extend the lead to 29-25. After a Tink kill pulled UNI within three, Werges clinched the match with her 19th and final kill of the night.
Shari Vermeer (Sioux Center, Iowa) had seven kills for UNI, and Germann came off the bench to lead the Panthers in hitting percentage at .533 (9-1-15). Stephanie May (Dubuque, Iowa) led UNI with 14 digs. With the win, Southwest Missouri State improves to 23-9, while UNI ends its season at 22-10. SMS advances to tomorrow night's championship match, where the Bears will face either top-seeded Wichita State or fourth-seeded Illinois State at 7:00 p.m. |
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