CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- After bouncing in and out of the national polls for much of the season, Northern Iowa showed why Saturday at the McLeod Center as the Panthers swept Indiana State (25-20, 26-24, 25-22) to improve to 23-6 on the season and 13-2 in Missouri Valley Conference action. The Sycamores fell to 7-19 on the season and 5-9 in MVC play.
 
The Sycamores held strong in the first set before the Panthers flexed their offensive prowess midway through the frame. Indiana State took a 10-9 lead before UNI reeled off a 7-2 run to take the lead. The Panthers again put together a run to take the set, 25-20.
 
Indiana State gave UNI all they could handle in the next two sets, pushing UNI to the brink. The Panthers were able to sneak by for a 26-24 win in the second set thanks to a pair of late kills from their offensive leader Bri Weber and an attacking error by the Trees.
 
After trailing 10-5 in the third frame, the Sycamores battled UNI to just two points late at 22-20 before the Panthers used three kills from Karlie Taylor to secure the sweep with a 25-22 set win.
 
Laura Gross and Nikkie White led the way for ISU with 11 kills each. Gross also notched consecutive double-doubles this weekend with 19 digs in the match followed by Stephanie Bindernagel who had 18. Rachel Griffin had 34 kills for the Sycamores.
 
Cassie Kawa and Damadj Johnson each continued their dominance at the net as Kawa finished with four blocks and Johnson had three for the Sycamores.  
 
ISU won the hitting percentage battle hitting .226 for the match while the Panthers just hit over .200 at .209.
 
The Panthers were led by the duo of Piper Thomas and Karlie Taylor who had 13 kills each.  

Indiana State returns to the ISU Arena for the final two home matches of the season when they play host to Loyola and Valparaiso Friday and Saturday. Four seniors will be honored prior to Saturday's match.   
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Volleyball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.