Defense and blocking were two of the main elements that helped the ISU volleyball team slow down No. 10 Northern Iowa and take Game 1 Tuesday night at Hilton Coliseum.

The second, third and fourth games were where Northern Iowa was able to wear on the Cyclone team, finally pulling away to the 3-1 match win.

“The first set was good. I really feel our kids, in terms of how many blocks we had in the first game, had an impact on their offense,” ISU head coach Linda Crum said.

Despite the loss, senior Mandi Harms said she was happy with how the ISU defense played — especially in Game 1.

“I think it started off with our blocking,” she said.

“We were so strong up at the net that we just shut their outsides down. Our defense was so good that the balls that got past our blockers we were able to dig up. I think it was our blocking and our defense that got us going in the first game.”

Northern Iowa was able to keep it close most of the first game. However, with the Cyclones up 25-20, the UNI rally stopped short.

Two straight kills by ISU freshman Amanda Craig followed by a Renae Pruess kill put the score at 28-20. Northern Iowa answered with two points before a Harms kill gave Iowa State the game, 30-22.

Game 2 was another close one.

With Northern up 15-23, Crum called a timeout, and ISU freshman Ashlie McWee responded with the kill.

After a Renae Pruess kill attempt sailed wide, Northern Iowa won two more points to widen their lead to 25-16.

Iowa State answered back with three points, followed by two from Northern Iowa to put the score at 28-19.

The Cyclones managed three more points before falling 30-22.

“UNI is a good team, and they stepped it up. They responded,” Crum said of Northern Iowa’s comeback after the game one loss.

Game 3 was nothing like the first two. Northern Iowa dominated for most of the game.

After jumping out to a 3-1 lead, the Panthers scored five straight points behind the serving of Jill Arganbright to take an early 7-2 lead.

They increased it to 21-10 before consecutive kills by Craig and Pruess put the score at 21-12.

However, Northern Iowa continued its good play and took the game 30-18.

Game 4 was another back-and-forth battle.

With the Cyclones up 19-14, the Panthers called a timeout, and promptly came out of the short break by scoring four unanswered points. A kill by Harms was the only point for Iowa State before Northern Iowa scored another four straight points.

The Cyclones called a timeout, trailing 22-20, before Iowa State’s Katie Kruenegel came back out and got the kill. It was again back and forth between the two teams.

Another kill by Harms, and four hits by Northern Iowa brought the score to 28-25, but the Cyclones wouldn’t score again as they dropped the game and the match.

“It was disappointing,” Harms said. “I thought we played really well tonight. We had a lot of chemistry and everyone had a solid match.”

Iowa State fell to 9-11 with the loss while Northern Iowa improved to 18-2.

“We are definitely encouraged. My first year they beat us in 42 minutes and that was with a 10 minute intermission,” Crum said. “Every year we have gotten better. To see us, we are competing.”

Harms led the way on offense with 17 kills. Pruess recorded 10 kills, Craig had 11 and Kruenegel had five.

“I was focused,” Harms said. “The past couple of matches I’ve been disappointed with how I’ve played, and I just came in here open-minded, level-headed and I knew that I had to step up my play.”

Senior Sara Stribe added 47 assists for the Cyclones, as well as 16 digs. Dana Koziol and Brittany Dalager had 22 and 11 digs, respectively.

“This is the best we have ever played in my four years,” Harms said. “This fall we have just been so solid. I think we have come out and shown that Iowa State is a team that is going to be coming up here in the next couple of years and we’re going to show ourselves.”