​Try as they might, the Cyclone volleyball team could not send its seniors off with a win. The Cyclones lost in four sets to Texas A&M in the final matchup between the two as conference opponents.

The lowdown

Texas A&M (22-7, 11-5) beat Iowa State (22-5, 13-3) 3-1 (25-10, 22-25, 20-25, 16-25) on senior night at Hilton Coliseum. Senior outside hitter Carly Jenson put up 12 kills, while freshman outside hitter Hannah Willms led the team with 17 kills. Willms filled in for fellow freshman outside hitter Victoria Hurtt, who was out with an ankle sprain.

The story lies in the side-out — scoring when the other team serves — percentages from set to set. Iowa State had an 81 percent side-out percentage in the first set compared to a 33 percent mark for the Aggies. The Aggies turned the tide after the first set, finishing with a better side-out percentage in the final three sets.

Turning point:

The second set

After Iowa State dominated the first set, the Aggies turned the tide in the second set and were able to keep the pace the rest of the match.

“I thought we had chances, especially that second game, where we just didn’t battle like we needed to,” said coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. “We didn’t really seem very organized. Once they got rolling, we just didn’t respond.”

Iowa State actually finished with a higher hitting percentage than the Aggies, .209-.190, but Texas A&M won the side-out battle in the second set, 60 percent to 54 percent.

The Cyclones had trouble containing Alisia Katsmo, who recorded four kills in the second set after just one in the first. She went on to record 12 in the match.

X factor:

Hannah Willms, freshman outside hitter

On senior night, it was a freshman who made the biggest impact. Willms finished the match with 12 kills and two digs while playing in place of Hurtt.

Willms noted that extra preparation helped her performance.

“Taking a couple weeks off and just practicing really helped,” Willms said. “I really needed to work on my shot. It doesn’t really matter what kind of block they throw at you. You have to know how to hit different ones. A lot of scouting went into it.”

By the numbers:

.209: Iowa State hitting percentage

.190: Texas A&M hitting percentage

17: kills recorded by Willms

Postgame chatter:

“We’ve had an incredible Big 12 season and I think we were just off tonight,”  Johnson-Lynch said on the season as a whole

“It’s been an amazing experience. We have the most fun team you could ask for, we’re all best friends. It’s really hard thinking about the fact that it’s almost over,” said senior middle back Deb Staddick on the experience of playing in Hilton over four years.

“You try to just weather the storm. The other team is going to have stretches where they play well. You can’t let that get in your head. Eventually the other team is going to come back down to Earth and you’ll get momentum back,” Johnson-Lynch said on adversity during the match.