Missouri State’s volleyball team took a 2-0 lead and looked poised for a sweep before visiting Northern Iowa rallied to take the final three games and win the match 3-2 (26-30, 25-30, 30-16, 30-22, 15-13) Saturday afternoon at Hammons Student Center.

MSU dropped to 10-3 overall and 3-1 in league play after seeing its 12-match home win streak come to an end, while UNI improved to 10-6 and 2-1 in the Valley.

The match was a story of two different halves. Missouri State pulled away at the end of each of the first two games, winning by scores of 30-26 and 30-25 and outplaying the Panthers on the stat sheet. The Bears outhit UNI, .158 to .056, led in blocks by an 8-6 margin, and had nine service aces to just three for the Panthers.

It was a whole different story after intermission, however. UNI took control early in game three, turning a 9-7 lead into an 18-7 advantage while hitting .179 compared to -.140 for the Bears.

The Panthers continued to improve their hitting, as they did in every game, in game four, attacking at a .229 clip and cruising to a 30-22 win to knot the match at 2-2 entering the deciding fifth game. The Bears continued to struggle from an offensive standpoint, hitting just .073 in game four.

Game five was a nail-biter throughout, with the team’s trading points before UNI grabbed a 12-9 lead. Erin O’Connor and Sara Thomas got kills to pull the Bears within one before UNI responded with a two-point run of its own. A Panther attack error and a block from Thomas and Sarah Lansing made the score 14-13 in favor of the Panthers, but UNI’s Shannon Aschoff finished off the match with a kill to secure UNI’s 15-13 victory.

A trio of Bears reached double figures in kills, led by O’Connor and Shanda Harper with 13 each and Thomas with 11. O’Connor and Thomas each turned in double-doubles by adding 12 digs apiece, and libero Adeana McAfee dug a team-high 21 balls. Katelyn Panzau had 55 assists and topped the squad with seven blocks.

Missouri State had 13 blocks as a unit compared to 18 for the Panthers. Twelve of UNI’s blocks came in the final three games.

The Bears hit the road for one match this week, traveling to Wichita State for a 7 p.m. contest on Friday, Sept. 29.