Travis J. Cordes – Daily Staff Writer

Despite their best efforts, the ISU volleyball team was unable to overcome a 2-0 deficit on Wednesday night, falling in five sets (25-15, 25-15, 16-25, 22-25, 15-7) to the Missouri Tigers in Columbia. The Cyclones (9-7, 1-4 Big 12) dropped into 10th place out of 11 teams in the Big 12, and have started conference play 1-4 for the first time since 2004.

 Missouri (8-6, 2-2 Big 12) rolled through the first two sets nearly uncontested, hitting a blistering .338 while holding Iowa State to a lowly .100. The Tigers never trailed in either of the two sets, and were tied with the Cyclones just twice.

 But a completely different team emerged from the Cyclone locker room after intermission, as Iowa State used five kills from Victoria Henson and three blocks from Diane Kieger while hitting .295 and regulating the Missouri offense to a .073 hitting percentage.

The success continued into the fourth set, where the Cyclones used three consecutive service aces from freshman Caitlin Mahoney to help distance themselves from Missouri and force a fifth set for the third time this season.

 However, all of the motivation the Cyclones built in the third and fourth sets was thrown out the window in set five, as the team was dominated due mainly to a poor offensive showing, hitting -.033. Iowa State is now 0-3 in five-set matches this season, and have been outscored 45-28 while hitting .077 in the three fifth-set performances.

 Although the Cyclones managed to out block the Tigers 12-5, three Missouri hitters hit above a .375 clip on the night, including Keota native Julianna Klein, who threw down a match-high 17 kills on a .385 hitting percentage.

Sophomore libero Ashley Mass continued to shine brightly in the back row for the Cyclones, as she extended her streak of consecutive matches with 10 or more digs to 42 after digging up 32 Missouri attacks. Missouri libero Caitlin Vann, the only Big 12 libero ahead of Mass in digs per set, came away with 24.

 Offensively, the Cyclones had three players with double-digit kills, as Rachel Hockaday, Victoria Henson, and Jen Malcom notched 15, 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Hockaday and setter Kaylee Manns both notched double-doubles for the Cyclones, as Hockaday added 12 digs while Manns tallied 44 set assists and 13 digs.

 The Cyclones return home this weekend for a conference showdown with Oklahoma (7-7, 3-3 Big 12) on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum.