CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Indiana State volleyball dropped the series finale with Northern Iowa on Monday evening, unable to overcome a strong offensive performance from the Panthers.
 
Falling in four sets [19-25, 25-20, 16-25, 16-25], the Sycamores move to 4-7 (4-6 MVC) on the year while UNI improves to 6-7 (6-4 MVC).
 
Freshman Mallory Keller put together another strong outing for the Trees on the offensive side of the net, putting away a team-best 13 kills while Kaitlyn Hamilton and Madeline Williams both added eight of their own. The UNI offensive held the advantage for much of the evening, however, out-hitting the Sycamores .304-.157.  
 
Chloe Mason earned another double-double to close out the series, dishing out 18 assists to go along with 12 digs while Mary Hannah Lewis contributed 16 assists.
 
Defensively it was Melina Tedrow leading the way with 19 digs, just one of four Trees to tally 10 or more. Taylor Shelton got down for 14 digs with six kills of her own, Mason finished with 12 digs and Ashley Eck ended with 10. As a team, the Sycamores finished with 65 digs for 16.25 digs per set.
 
In almost a mirror of game one, the Blue & White struggled offensively to begin the match, hitting just .077 in set one with 10 kills in a 25-19 defeat. They wasted no time bouncing back, however, recovering for a 14-kill second set with three service aces to even the match back up with a 25-20 victory in the second frame.
 
Despite the strong showing in set two from the Trees, Northern Iowa used a 17-kill performance while hitting .441 in set three to put the Sycamores against the wall and continued the momentum into set four, holding the Sycamores to just .111 and .175 hitting to secure their victory.
 
Even with the loss on Monday, Indiana State leaves Iowa with their first win in Cedar Falls in program history after a 3-2 comeback victory on Monday evening. They have now beaten Northern Iowa, Illinois State and Loyola during the spring 2021 campaign.
 
The Sycamores will be back in action next Sunday and Monday (Mar. 7-8) in Carbondale, Ill., for their Valley series with Southern Illinois. The matches will be streamed live on the Valley on ESPN.
 
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.