It took almost three hours, a fifth set and a total of 249 points, but the Panthers managed to defeat the Lady Cyclones of Iowa State.

The Panthers won their match before the fifth – largest crowd in McLeod volleyball history.

ISU was a top 30 team receiving votes while, UNI was one game over .500 and was coming off of getting swept by #4 Kansas on Saturday. Thanks to some near-record setting performances, UNI was able to overcome by a set score of 27-29, 40-38, 25-23, 25-17, 15-10.

The first set saw ISU jump to 5-0 lead only to have UNI tie at 7-7. From there it was back and forth until ISU took the lead 20-18.

UNI was able to stop the first few set points and even got one of their own at 26-25, but ISU eventually closed out the set on their fourth set point. It was the begining of what would be a very competitive match.

The second set defined UNI’s season thus far. UNI jumped out to a 14-6 lead and grew it to a 21-15 lead, but then UNI dropped two set points to allow the Clones to tie it at 24 all.

From there it was a battle that saw 16 set points, six for ISU and 10 for UNI. The Panthers overcame it thanks to junior Heather Hook’s service ace. There were 15 ties in the second set alone.

The third set saw ISU lead for the first half at 17-11, but UNI was able to tie at 20 points apiece and eventually win on the first set point. The fourth set saw ISU dominance, except for a brief 11-8 UNI lead, ISU never trailed and won the do or die set easily on their first set point. This set up for what would be UNI’s first five set match since Dec. of 2015.

While the fifth set was favorable for UNI, it was also anti-climatic. UNI never once trailed and the closest State came to a lead was a tie at three all. ISU did come close toward the end, pulling within one at 10-9. From there UNI went on a 6-1 run that ended when senior Kayla Haneline scored the game and match winner on a solo block.

This match was historic. Senior Amie Held tallied 23 kills and 22 digs, just the 24th time a Panther recorded a 20-20.

With 120 digs, UNI fell five short of tying the program record for most digs in a match. Sophomore Kendyl Sorge had the fourth highest single match dig total in UNI history with 35. ISU scored one more point than UNI 125-124, ISU ended up with the second most total points in NCAA history.

UNI will be back in action for a three-day tournament this Friday at McLeod.