The Iowa State volleyball team was on the verge of setting the program record for the best start to a season. That is, until they played the Northern Iowa team Tuesday night at Hilton Coliseum.

The Cyclones (7-1) played tough against in-state rival Northern Iowa (8-3), but they ultimately lost in five sets (21-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-17 and 11-15).

All five sets were back-and-forth battles. Altogether, the match saw 32 tied scores and 10 lead changes. 

The turning point of the match was the fifth set. After winning comfortably in the fourth set, the Cyclones struggled in the final one. 

UNI built a comfortable 8-4 lead in the fifth set. Iowa State made a small comeback but could not get over the hump that was the Panthers.

Iowa State was led by the trio of Alexis Conaway, Grace Lazard and Jess Schaben, who recorded 11, 12 and 12 kills respectively.

The Cyclones will retake the court on Sept. 16 when they travel to the Shocker Volleyball Classic in Wichita, Kansas to take on the Creighton Blue Jays at 4:30 p.m.