CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Indiana State volleyball teams' comeback fell short at Northern Iowa, 3-1 (25-12, 25-22, 21-25, 25-19), Monday night in Cedar Falls. 

Senior Kynedi Nalls led the Sycamores (7-9, 1-3 MVC) with a match high 20 kills in the loss while Cassie Kawa and Sarah Peterson each added six kills apiece. Rachel Griffin recorded her fourth double-double of the season after assisting on 33 kills and picking up 10 digs.

Northern Iowa (12-7, 3-3 MVC) was led by Amie Held who finished with 18 kills and Piper Thomas who had 15 kills on the night. 

A slow start and an 11-0 run by Northern Iowa in the first set was too much to overcome as the Sycamores dropped the opener 25-12. INS was held to a season low .027 attacking percentage during the opening set while UNI hit at a .273 clip to set the tone. 

Much different than the first, Indiana State battled back-and-forth with the Panthers throughout leading by as many as three points at the 12-9 mark. Northern Iowa would eventually regain the lead after a pair of timeouts and timely kills from the Panther frontline duo of Thomas and Held.

After dropping each of the first two sets to the Panthers, Indiana State came out on fire in the third set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead and forcing UNI into a timeout. The Panthers would rally to tie the set at 17 all, but a kill by Peterson would put the Sycamores ahead for the remainder of the set. 

Northern Iowa didn't waste any time jumping out to a lead in the fourth and final set, pulling away early on and never allowing the Sycamores to within more than three points for the rest of the set. 

With the win, UNI improved to 30-0 all time in Cedar Falls against the Sycamores. 

The team will head to Carbondale this Friday as they face Southern Illinois inside Davies Gym at 8 p.m. (ET).