The ISU volleyball team was back in conference action Wednesday night as the Cyclones took on the University of Texas.

The night started in hope of a victory, but as the night progressed that thought slowly faded. The University of Texas took the three game match by a score of 15-12, 15-6, 15-2.

In the first game the Cyclones led 6-5 but lost the lead on an ace by Longhorn Giby Duarte. The lead continued to change between the two teams forcing both to take timeouts and talk it over.

The Longhorns sat on 14 points while the Cyclones went from seven to 12 in a hurry. Unfortunately, the Cyclones would lose the first game on an error, giving Texas their final point and a game one victory.

“I thought we had a good first game,” said ISU Volleyball Coach Linda Grensing. “We started it a little bit slow, but once we actually started playing in that game it was a lot better.”

Game one was not entirely what Grensing had expected.

“I think they took advantage of some of Texas’ weaknesses. This is probably the weakest team that Texas has had in 15 years. We had the opportunity tonight and quite frankly, I think we wasted it. We could have had the first game in every game we played. My disappointment comes in that we didn’t step up to the challenge, we just stepped back and Texas became a good team since we let them take control,” Grensing said.

The excitement from game one would not carry over in the second for the Cyclones. Texas struck first in game two and extended their lead to eight points over Iowa State.

The Cyclones came back within six before the Longhorns decided to mix up their plan of attack to catch Iowa State off guard. The change in game plan would give Texas the 15-6 victory.

Game three for the Cyclones would be the biggest discouragement. Texas came out strong gaining a tremendous lead of ten points on Iowa State’s only two. The fast breakaway gave Texas their third and final win for the night with a 15-2 score.

“Texas was inconsistent in the first game, but once they got into a groove in the mid-point of game two, they took off from there,” Grensing said.

“They’re a team that’s struggling and they’re not the same Texas from years before.”

Mandi Harms and Nanette Allen led the Cyclones in kills having 10 each. Shortly behind Harms and Allen, Stacy Nicks contributed with seven kills and Sarah Rollman with six. Lindsey Chapman tallied 27 assists for the night in replacement of Stribe.

Defensively, Harms provided nine digs for the Cyclones and Rollmen contributed with eight.

Currently, the Longhorns own a 6-13 overall record and a 5-7 mark in the Big 12 conference. With the loss to Texas, the Cyclones drop to an overall record of 2-11 and a Big 12 conference record of 0-12.

The Cyclones will be on the road this weekend as they travel to play the University of Missouri Saturday.