The ISU volleyball team struggled Wednesday against Texas A&M, which is not a formula for a win against a team playing for its NCAA tournament life. 

The Cyclones (16-11, 8-8 Big 12) dropped the first two sets and were unable to come back, losing 3-1 (25-23, 25-14, 18-25, 25-20) to the Aggies (11-14, 6-9). 

Jen Malcom was one of the lone bright spots with 11 kills, hitting .321. Setter Kaylee Manns had a double-double with 37 assists and 15 digs and libero Ashley Mass had 19 digs. 

The Aggies outhit Iowa State .189 to .126, outblocking the Cyclones 12-5. The Cyclones did hold a 73-71 advantage in digs but had 11 service errors, which contributed to them falling to 1-13 all-time in College Station. 

Set one was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team leading by more than four at any point. Iowa State took a 9-5 lead early with a 5-1 run, but Texas A&M scored five straight points to take a 10-9 lead. The two teams traded points until the Cyclones were hampered late with three service errors. The Aggies finished the set with a Kelsey Black service ace. 

The Cyclones trailed only 11-9 in set two but Texas A&M went on a 5-0 run to extend their lead to 16-9. After an Iowa State point, the Aggies scored four more straight points that propelled them to an easy victory. The Cyclones were hurt by more serving problems, having eight errors going into intermission. 

Iowa State looked much more in sync in set three, going on a 7-1 run to take a 10-5 lead. Texas A&M closed with 15-13 but the Cyclones were able to score three straight to re-extend the lead to five. The Aggies would get no closer than four and Carly Jenson closed out the set will a kill. 

The Cyclones continued the momentum, scoring six straight points to take a 7-2 lead in set four. The Aggies fought back to tie the match at 11 and eventually took a 20-17 lead. They took that momentum and finished off the match with a Mary Batis kill. 

Iowa State has a week off before hosting Colorado on Nov. 19 at Hilton Coliseum at 6:30 p.m.