CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The Missouri State volleyball team was swept by 17th-ranked UNI in its Missouri Valley Conference opener Friday, losing 25-21, 25-19, 25-17 to the Panthers at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

    The Panthers (9-2, 1-0 MVC) hit .302 as a team, the highest against Missouri State (8-3, 0-1) this season, while also handing MSU its first 3-0 loss since Nov. 13 of last season.

    Missouri State used an early 5-0 run in the first set to lead 7-4, but UNI grabbed the lead back at 9-8 and trailed only once more at 14-13 after Shayla Patrick landed a kill for the Bears. The Panthers matched the largest lead for either team at 18-15, and the Bears pulled to within one point on three occasions but never tied in the loss. While the Bears hit a respectable .227 that included five kills from Christine McCartney, and UNI racked up 18 kills as a team.

     The second set was controlled by Missouri State to the halfway mark when UNI went on a 6-0 run to erase MSU’s 14-11 lead and take a three-point lead of its own. Four kills, a block and an ace turned the momentum towards the home team, and back-to-back aces by 2009 MVC Player of the Year Bre Payton made it 22-16 Panthers. UNI had 18 kills for the second set in a row, hitting .375.

    After Patrick’s kill opened the third set, the Panthers reeled off nine points in a row for a 9-1 cushion that easily held up. The Bears got no closer than seven points and hit a match-low .059 in the period.

    Cara Hackmann finished with 14 digs, taking ownership of Missouri State’s career digs record with 1,595 while reaching double figures for the 81st time. Hackmann passed Susan Ruch in both categories.

    McCartney led all players with 11 kills, and Calli Norman added nine on .333 hitting.

    The Bears play at Bradley (4-7, 0-1) at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Braves lost 3-0 at home to Wichita State Friday night.