On a night where the theme was “Cram the Coliseum,” the ISU volleyball team made a lot of noise and pushed No. 2 Nebraska to the brink before falling 3-1 (25-21, 20-25, 27-25, 25-18) to the Cornhuskers on Saturday.

Iowa State (9-6, 1-3 Big 12) came firing out of the gates in the first set, taking a quick 5-0 lead to force a Nebraska time-out, but the Cornhuskers (12-0, 4-0 Big 12) would show why they are the second-ranked team in the nation throughout the match with the help of Kori Cooper’s 12 kills on 0.524 hitting percentage.

As a team, the Cornhuskers outhit the Cyclones 0.226 to 0.193 and held a 10-6 edge in blocks. Iowa State outdug Nebraska 75-70, with sophomore Ashley Mass coming up with a match-high 27 digs to her credit.

In the first set, the teams went back and forth and the Cyclones held a 17-14 lead before some key errors on serving and passing helped Nebraska come away despite having one of its best players, Jordan Larson (fourth in Big 12 in hitting percentage), being held to a hitting percentage of zero.

“I thought we had a good block set up against her [Larson] and we were able with our block to neutralize her a bit,” said head coach Christy Johnson.

Even though several opportunities slipped away for the Cyclones, the team was set up for a strong second set.

“The energy meant the world in this game and we needed it in order to be in this game,” said junior Kaylee Manns.

The Cyclones came up big in set two, outhitting the Cornhuskers 0.209 to 0.095. A key block by freshman Rachel Hockaday with Iowa State leading 21-19 helped Iowa State tie the match up at 1-1 going to the intermission.

“That can be a little unnerving sometimes,” Johnson said in regard to freshmen playing on such a big stage. “But I think our freshmen are good. They’re tough, and I think all three of them played well tonight. They aren’t scared of anybody. That’s a nice quality to have when you have two or three of them out there.”

Coming into the match, the Cyclones were 0-72 against the Cornhuskers, but at the start of the third set, it appeared as though the streak could end as Iowa State came out with a quick 3-0 lead.

Problems arose quickly as errant passing and struggles on serving helped Nebraska take a commanding 20-11 lead.

But the Cyclones mounted a fierce comeback to take a 25-24 lead. On the next point, freshman Caitlin Mahoney stepped to the service line but dumped it into the net. Nebraska would go on to take the set and ultimately the match after dominating a tired Cyclone team in the fourth set.

“Your window is always so small,” Johnson said. “If you make one easy shot then they are going to bring it back at you. You just don’t have as many chances to convert.”

These errors in the passing game and on serve on big points took a lot of momentum away from the Cyclones.

“Certainly it’s important that we still have good serving and passing at the end of the games and matches,” Johnson said. “It seemed like we got a little fatigue at the end and that’s when they got a string of points.”

Even though they lost, Johnson was pleased with how they played against one of the top teams in the nation.

“I’m pretty fired up,” Johnson said. “I told them I was fired up Wednesday night after we played Texas so close, and I thought we played better tonight then we played Wednesday night, so I think we’re getting better.

“I’m really excited about our team. We have people in the right spot now and I think we’re only going to get better.”

Iowa State failed to capitalize on Nebraska’s mistakes, and in order to beat an elite team, finishing is a must, Manns said.

“When a team makes a mistake, you have to make them pay for it,” she said. “We can’t come back and make a mistake and say it’s even. We can’t come back and miss our own serves.