KEARNEY, Neb. (Sept. 21) – Early leads evaporated in the final two sets as No. 21-ranked Central Oklahoma dropped a tough four-set decision to No. 10 Nebraska-Kearney Thursday night in a key Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association showdown.

UNK took the first set 25-16 before the Bronchos rebounded for a 25-20 second-set victory, but the Lopers rallied to claim 25-23, 25-20 wins in the final two sets to end UCO's seven-match winning streak.

The hard-fought loss dropped UCO to 11-2 on the season and 2-1 in league play, while UNK improved to 12-1 and 2-1. The Bronchos move on to Hays, Kan. Saturday for a 6 p.m. contest against Fort Hays State.

"It was a tough match and we just came up a little short," head coach Edgar Miraku said. "I was proud of the way we battled against a great team. We had our chances and just didn't make enough plays. Now we have to put it behind us and get ready for tomorrow."

UCO had one of its worst hitting matches of the season, finishing with 26 errors and a .192 attack percentage. The Lopers, meanwhile, committed just 11 miscues in hitting .296.

Addison Wimmer led the Bronchos with 16 kills and 13 digs. Jenna Karp added 12 kills and three assisted blocks, Sydney Huck had 10 kills and 16 digs and Mallorie Koehn chipped in nine kills, nine digs and two assisted blocks.

Riley Roberts directed the offense at set, handing out 39 assists to go along with eight digs. Jaedynn Evans (17 digs) and Katie Le (12) led back-row defensive effort.

UCO grabbed a 3-1 lead early in the first set, but the Lopers came back quickly to go on top 12-7 and appeared in control after taking a 14-8 advantage.

The Bronchos rallied to within four at 20-16 after a Wimmer kill, but UNK responded with five unanswered points to close out the set.

UCO never trailed in the second set, going up 6-3 on a Wimmer shot down the line, building that to 13-7 on a UNK error and making it and eight-point cushion (16-8) on Karp's slam dunk at the net.

It was still a 20-14 lead following a Kearney service error, but then the Lopers reeled off six straight points to make it 21-20. UCO called timeout and responded with a 5-0 spurt to take the set.

A UNK service error started that run, then Koehn followed with an ace before back-to-back kills by Karp and Wimmer ended it to even the match at 1-1.

The Bronchos jumped on top 4-0 in the third set and were ahead 11-6 after a Huck kill. It was still a 14-10 advantage following a combined block by Roberts and Karp, but UNK went on a 6-1 lead to surge in front 16-15.

Koehn's kill put UCO up 21-20, then the Lopers scored four straight points to make it 24-21. A service error and Mikiah Perdue's kill made it 24-23, but the Bronchos couldn't complete the comeback.

It was more of the same in the fourth set. Wimmer had three early kills to stake UCO to a 6-2 lead and the Bronchos were still up four at 15-11 following a Huck kill before a 6-1 run put UNK on top 17-16.

Central never regained the lead and the Lopers went on to close out the match.