MADISON, Wis. – ISU volleyball coach Christy Johnson needed just one word to describe the play of her team in the last few weeks of the 2007 season: inspiring.

“I have really been inspired by these guys,” Johnson said.

“It’s wonderful to watch someone overachieve, and great to see people perform in crunch time. And you don’t get to see that very often in life.

This group of seniors has done something special. I think they have started a tradition and a legacy that our underclassmen have learned from and will be able to follow.”

The Cyclones’ late-season run included three consecutive wins against teams ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Top 25, and the program’s first-ever trip to the NCAA Regional round of 16.

But the magical postseason run was ended on Friday night when the No. 18 Cyclones were swept (30-27, 30-27, 30-24) in Madison, Wis., by 10th-seeded California.

Iowa State was unable to contain the Bears’ powerful left-side attack, as outside hitters Angie Pressey and Hana Cutura were able to hit past everything the Cyclones threw at them. Each registered 16 kills and hit a combined .324 in the match.

“Their outside hitters were very hard to slow down,” said senior Erin Boeve. “They would just look for your hands and use them. It was frustrating as a blocker, because you want to get a few more blocks on them and slow them down. And sometimes we were able to do that, but sometimes we weren’t.”

The Cyclones have relied on solid blocking all season and knew it would be crucial against a team like California. But Pressey and Cutura still made the ISU block seem almost nonexistent as they continuously found ways to get around or through it.

“When we have Erin Boeve and Lauren Cummings blocking together, that’s one of the best blocking duos in the country,” Johnson said.

“We tend to block a lot of balls with those two together, and there were times when [Cutura] was hitting over us, and I haven’t seen that very often.

There are aren’t many hitters in the country that can hit over those two like that.”

The Bears also rely heavily on their blocking abilities, which was evident from early on in the match. California won the blocking battle 12-6.5, which was the third-largest margin that the Cyclones were outblocked by all season.

Junior Jen Malcom was in on five of the Cyclones’ 6.5 blocks and set a new school record for block assists in a season with 159, edging out Boeve’s 2006 mark by just one block.

Freshman libero Ashley Mass posted another match of double-digit digs, extending her streak of consecutive 10-plus dig matches to 26, dating all the way back to Sept. 7 against Louisiana State. Her 11 digs against California ran her season total to 532, good for third on the all-time single-season list.

Redshirt freshman Victoria Henson led the Cyclones with 12 kills on the night, the only player who was able to reach double-digits.

“It has been a remarkable season for us,” Johnson said. “And tonight, even though the scores may not reflect it, we fought and played with a lot of heart all match.

We’ve all been inspired by what our seniors have been able to do, and we’re excited for this program’s future.”