A poor offensive effort by Iowa State was countered by an overwhelming Kansas force as the Cyclones couldn’t muster enough power to overcome a 3-0 sweep Wednesday night in Lawrence.

Iowa State was no match for the offense of Kansas, as well as its defensive game.

“They were clicking offensively, and their outside hitters had a good night,” said ISU coach Linda Crum. “We did a good job of blocking their slides and our middle transitions were good.”

ISU hitter Nicole Lorenzen agreed that the Cyclones weren’t as aggressive as their opponents.

“We let them push us, and we didn’t fight back,” she said.

The first game was ripped open by Kansas early on, as the Jayhawks stamped out a 10-1 run, eventually building a 15-point lead at a score of 24-9 en route to a 30-18 win.

The Jayhawks were relentless again in game two, building an early advantage which Iowa State responded to with a short run of its own. Freshman Meghan Ferrie came through for the Cyclones, pushing the team to an 18-16 lead.

A stretch of 14 points for Kansas, however, was enough to dismantle Iowa State and take the 30-24 decision. The Cyclones were limited to a .023 hitting percentage in the game.

Iowa State’s attempted rally in game three fell short, 30-28, dropping its record to 8-13 and 1-11 in the Big 12. Kansas improved to 13-7 overall and 4-7 in conference play.

Lorenzen managed eight kills on the night to carry the team, followed by seven from Katie Jessen, who put up three blocks as well.

The ISU digging defense was in small numbers on the night, with Christine Smeele garnering 14 and Katie Churm chipping in 10.

Iowa State will now contend with No. 4 Nebraska, which is fresh off a 3-0 sweep of Colorado and 18 kills from sophomore Dani Mancuso. The 18-1 Huskers will bring their 12-0 Big 12 record to Ames, but Crum said the team will be ready.

“We have to serve as aggressive as we can and set performance goals that we have to try and meet,” she said. “We may be younger and more inexperienced but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a chance to be competitive.”

The Huskers’ outside hitters will be a key element, especially the play of Melissa Elmer and Sarah Pavan, who average 2.83 and 4.59 kills per game, respectively.

Lorenzen said Iowa State has to be confident and unafraid to make mistakes in the match.

“We need to be ready to fight, and since they hit so hard, our defense has to be top-notch. We really have to be tenacious defensively,” she said.

Crum also places much of the responsibility on her team’s shoulders.

“We just have to have a balanced offense,” Crum said.

“We have to have five hitters show up to play, and that will make the difference in the match.”

First serve is set for 4 p.m. Saturday at Hilton Coliseum.