Kansas University’s Allison Mayfield attempts to return a serve against Winthrop. Kansas held off Winthrop, but fell to Northern Iowa on Friday at Horejsi Center.

Kansas University’s volleyball team fell in five sets (25-16, 25-20, 23-25, 20-25, 15-11) to No. 18 Northern Iowa on Friday night at the Kansas Invitational in Horejsi Center.

KU, which defeated Winthrop earlier in the day, fell to 8-2. UNI improved to 7-2, including 2-0 on the weekend.

During the final set, the Panthers used a 6-2 run to close out the match. The Jayhawks committed seven attack miscues in the fifth set, while the UNI front line combined for 4.5 of its 17.5 blocks in the last frame.

KU’s Karina Garlington finished with a team-high 18 kills. Sophomore Tayler Tolefree had a career-high 11 kills.

The Jayhawks conclude the Kansas Invitational against Arkansas at 4 p.m. today.