COLLEGE STATION, Texas - After winning a pair of matches Friday, the University of Northern Iowa volleyball team fell to host Texas A&M, 3-1, Saturday and settled for second place at the Texas A&M Invitational. The Aggies won the event with a 3-0 mark.

In the opening set, the Panthers broke a 23-23 tie with a block by Bre Payton and Michelle Burow followed by a Payton kill to claim the 25-23 win.

After UNI jumped to an 8-4 lead in the second set, the Aggies battled back and outscored the Panthers 8-2 to claim a 25-20 win. UNI fell in the third set, 25-18.

The Panthers led much of the fourth set, including an 18-14 advantage, but the Aggies tied it at 18 and went on to win 25-23.

For the match, Payton led the offense with 11 kills, 14 digs and 27 assists, making a total of 92 for the tournament. Shannon Aschoff added nine kills and Ellie Blankenship recorded 27 digs. Payton and Blankenship were named to the all-tournament team.

On Friday, UNI topped Virginia and Iona in straight sets.

In the opening match against the Cavaliers, Aschoff recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 15 digs to spark a 25-12, 25-14, 27-25 win.

The Panthers cruised through the first two sets before Virginia regrouped and took a 20-17 lead in the third set. UNI evened the score at 20 and the teams traded points before Aschoff secured the victory with back-to back kills.

The Panthers then topped Iona 25-17, 25-16, 25-15. Again UNI had little trouble in the opening two sets, but the Gaels closed an early deficit to 16-15 in the final set before UNI scored nine straight points to win the set and match.

Amy Braun and Burow each had 10 kills for UNI while Blankenship matched her first-set total of 19 digs.

The Panthers (2-1) host Iowa State at 7 p.m. Wednesday.