By Shelby Hoffman

Daily Staff Writer

In a series that the ISU volleyball team has failed to capitalize on in the past 11 outings, the chance was again squelched by a hot-hitting Northern Iowa team Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum.

Though Iowa State (8-11, 1-9) began the contest with a focused and seemingly easy 30-21 trouncing over Northern Iowa (14-6, 7-2), the Panthers raged back the next three games to take a 3-1 win. Winning the first game before losing the rest continues to plague the Cyclones.

“We had an opportunity, but we just couldn’t get it,” said ISU coach Linda Crum. “I’m proud of the girls for going out there and competing, even if some of the breaks didn’t go our way.”

Northern Iowa found its niche in its blocking game, which Iowa State responded to well in game one for second chance hits. However, the blocks became sturdier, and the Panthers dominated the category 15-8.

Game two found Northern Iowa storming back for a 30-27 win, despite phenomenal play by freshman Erin Boeve. Both teams traded points in a series of long volleys, most ending in Iowa State’s favor, but not enough to clinch the win.

A thriller ensued in the third set as it was taken into extra points for a 35-33 Panther win. Boeve kept the Cyclones in the rally for consecutive kills until a decisive tip by Northern Iowa sent the match into four games, the last of which was again nabbed by an in-groove Panther team in a margin of 30-26.

“In the first game, every first ball was flawless for us, but our passing started to break down, and we made them look like they knew exactly what they were doing,” Crum said. “When it comes down to one or two breaks in the rallies, one specific angle, touch or non-touch call can be the difference.”

Service errors were another factor that took the wind from Iowa State, as the Cyclones racked up 14 mistakes to Northern Iowa’s three.

“It’s a trade-off that if you’re an aggressively serving team, you can have a one ace to one error ratio,” Crum said. “But you can’t have as many as we did tonight.”

Shari Vermeer was the instigator for the Panthers the entire night, pummeling 24 kills to sweep the category. Rachael Tink nailed a double-double outing in 16 kills and 15 digs, and freshman Laura Rowen made a big impact with 10 kills. Setter Erin Hirsch tallied 65 assists on the night to pair with her 12 digs, while libero Stephanie May led the team with 16 saves.

Boeve proved to be the nagging thorn in Northern Iowa’s side by slicing a career-high 19 kills and five assisted blocks, second only to Nicole Lorenzen who had 20 kills. Katie Jessen totaled 17 kills on the night and setter Amanda Craig helped on 57 assists.

Katie Churm and Brittany Dalager led in digs with 22 and 17, respectively.