Sometimes losing a match against a good team is better than dominating a weaker opponent.

That’s the message coach Christy Johnson had after the ISU volleyball team dropped its first match of the year, 3-1, to Middle Tennessee State University.

The Blue Raiders (4-0 overall) reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago.

Johnson said she learned a few things the Cyclones need to do better.

“We took a couple of plays off, we got tentative a couple of times, and we are going to have to change that to beat a team like Middle Tennessee,” Johnson said. “We can do a little bit better than we just did, it was a good chance to see what we need to work on.”

Already playing without sophomore setter Kaylee Manns, the Cyclones (0-1) struggled in game one, falling behind early and never really recovering, losing 30-21.

In what was a recurring theme early on, Iowa State struggled with their hitting at the beginning of game two, which caused them to be down 20-11 midway through the game.

A combination of outside hitter Victoria Henson and middle blockers Jen Malcolm and Diane Kieger helped the Cyclones storm back and win the game, 30-26, using the momentum from a 13-1 run.

Iowa State led early in game three, but the Blue Raiders used a very aggressive attack to earn and then stretch out a lead, winning 30-20.

Game four was the most competitive of the match, featuring seven ties and six lead changes, and the Cyclones used four straight blocks to take a late 27-25 advantage. Iowa State could not hold on, however, and Middle Tennessee came back and won, 30-28.

Johnson said the blocking was one of the main bright spots in the loss.

“It took us a while to get used to the pace Middle Tennessee was running, but once we did we were able to get up a little quicker on the blocks,” Johnson said. “We need to have our outsides hit more efficiently, and that is something we need to work on over the next weeks.

Henson said the team could have played with a little bit more energy, but playing a tougher opponent really helped the team.

“We can start out at a good pace instead working our way in,” Henson said. “We saw their fast pace and we know how we should be too.”

Malcolm said adjusting to the opponent and her teammates was why the Cyclones started slow.

“We started settling down and playing our game and doing what we needed to do,” Malcolm said. “We just didn’t have enough gas to do it for the full four games.”

The Cyclones will take on Creighton – a team the Blue Raiders defeated in three games already this year – at Hilton Coliseum on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m.