What began as an offensive frenzy for the Cyclones ended as Iowa State’s first loss of the season.

After sweeping George Washington and Auburn in the first two matches of the Diet Coke Classic in Minneapolis, the Cyclones lost a tight, four-set match to No. 13 Minnesota in the final game of the tournament on Saturday.

George Washington — In the first game of the Classic, Iowa State was led by junior Victoria Henson who posted 13 kills in the match after being sidelined against Northern Iowa on Wednesday due to a team rule violation. Henson also compiled 10 digs, displaying her all-around capabilities in Iowa State’s 3–0 sweep of the Colonials (25–18, 25–18, 25–15).

Sophomore right side hitter Kelsey Petersen posted a career high .450 hitting percentage consisting of 10 kills and just one hitting error against the Colonials. Sophomore Rachel Hockaday added a double-double in kills and digs with 10 each.

Both Hockaday and Petersen have made an impact after a year of playing under their belts.

Iowa State’s defensive effort was displayed in the score, as Iowa State didn’t allow the Colonials to reach 20 points in any of the three sets. The Cyclones also held George Washington to a weak .111 hitting percentage and only 28 kills on the night.

Auburn —  After Friday night’s annihilation, Iowa State continued its offensive authority in a 3–0 win over Auburn Saturday afternoon (25–14, 25–18, 25–13). The Cyclones had their highest-hitting performance of the season with an attacking percentage of .367 against the Tigers.

Hockaday led the way for Iowa State with 11 kills while Petersen posted nine. Auburn’s attack was led by Kelly Fidero’s nine kills, but the Tigers were only able to post a .033 hitting percentage throughout the three matches, and hit in the negatives in sets one and three.

Iowa State’s defensive effort was displayed through blocking with 10 compared to the Tigers’ four. The Cyclones were led by a solo block from freshman middle blocker Jamie Straube, who also had four block assists.

With the win, the Cyclones improved to 5–0 for the first time since 2006.

Minnesota  — In the championship game of the Diet Coke Classic, Iowa State suffered its first loss of the season to No. 13 Minnesota in a tight, four-set match on the Gophers’ home court.

For the first time in the tournament, Iowa State wasn’t able to convert offensively against the Gopher defense, hitting just .160 as a team. Henson posted another double-double with 21 kills and 10 digs, while Hockaday contributed 13 kills.

Minnesota put up a block defensively that the Cyclones hadn’t seen in the tournament. With a total of 15 blocks, the Gophers dominated in that category compared to Iowa State’s six. Behind the defensive wall for the Gophers was junior middle blocker Lauren Gibbemeyer with seven block assists and one solo. Freshman Tabitha Love added five block assists and a solo as well.

Love led Minnesota with 18 kills while junior Brook Dieter posted 17 as the two outside hitters dominated the Gopher’s offensive attack.

Iowa State and Minnesota were nearly even in every statistical category other than blocks and hitting percentage. The Cyclones finished with .160 while the Gophers posted a cumulative .216.

The Cyclones had more hitting errors against the Gophers than they had all season, with 31. The defensive pressure was more than Iowa State could handle to convert offensively the way it had in the first two games of the tournament.