The ISU volleyball squad suffered its third consecutive Big 12 loss Wednesday night at Missouri in a 3-0 sweep by the Tigers in Columbia.

Mizzou came out swinging and never relented in margins of 30-23, 30-18 and 30-16. The Tigers’ offense raged over the Cyclones and finished with a .350 percentage for the match. Iowa State was held to .091.

“They are a good team, especially in terms of passing and offense,” ISU head coach Linda Crum said.

“They blocked us well, shut us down and we ran our defense poorly. We couldn’t find the kills, and that was our crutch on the night.”

An overwhelming and balanced offense boosted Missouri in both outside and middle hitting. Three hitters reached double figures in kills, with Merrill native Jessica Vander Kooi leading the way with 13. Lisa Martin tallied 12 kills, while Shen Danru pounded 10, along with 10 digs.

“Our ball handling wasn’t good, and without that we can’t run an offense,” ISU sophomore Nicole Lorenzen said.

“Our serving didn’t help either.”

Lorenzen led the Cyclones as the only player to reach doubles in kills, totaling 12 on the night. She also finished with eight digs.

Setter Amanda Craig, who was ranked fourth in the Big 12 in assists, garnered 36 assists as well as eight digs. Katie Churm again led the digging department, with 12, followed by senior Brittany Dalager, who had 11.

This loss was another disappointment to the 7-5 team that started its 2004 campaign with a 4-0 record, but the team “hasn’t lost its confidence,” Lorenzen said.

“The Big 12 has so much competition, and we have to step up the level of fight,” Lorenzen said.

“Our expectations haven’t changed, and we have the same goals.”

Crum agreed, stating that capitalizing on ball control would be the key in the game of momentum.

The competition won’t come any more difficult than Saturday, when Iowa State travels to Manhattan, Kan., to take on No. 15 Kansas State. The Wildcats won the Big 12 title last year.

Kansas State (9-4) is sparked by senior hitter Lisa Martin, who leads the Big 12 in hitting percentage with a .484 clip. Sophomore Joy Hamlin is on her heels with a .329 percentage. Hamlin regularly puts up 1.85 blocks a game for third in the conference, while Martin stuffs back 1.62 for fifth.

Senior Vali Hejjas is ranked 10th in the conference in kills with an average of 3.77 a game, while senior setter Gabby Guerre pumps out 12.08 assists a game.

The team is ranked third overall in hitting percentage and kills, second in blocks and claims first in service aces.

“They are a solid team and a team you just need to be ready for. They don’t make a lot of mistakes, and their hitters don’t make errors. We have to match that on our side,” Crum said.