Despite getting career performances from a number of players, the ISU volleyball team was unable to pull off a win, falling in a hard-fought 3-2 contest to Drake Monday.

The match, played in the Ankeny High School gym, featured senior middle blocker Stacy Nicks and sophomore setter Sara Stribe.

Nicks led all players with a personal best 26 kills on the night while also recording a hitting percentage of .489.

Stribe was on the other end of most of those kills as the sophomore tallied a personal best of 65 assists in the loss.

“First contacts were better, which allowed Sara [Stribe] to get more effective sets,” said ISU Volleyball Coach Linda Grensing. “That continued into the rest of our game.”

The Cyclones started the match on a bright note taking the first game 15-10, before Drake battled back with two straight wins, 15-7, 15-7. Iowa State took the fourth game 15-11 to stay alive in the match before dropping the fifth and deciding game, 15-10.

“We definitely had good points for us in the match,” Grensing said. “We were fairly inconsistent. We would dominate at times, while at other times we didn’t put in the physical effort.”

The loss dropped Iowa State’s record to 2-16 while still remaining at 0-9 in the Big 12. Drake’s win marked their fourth win of the season to improve their mark to 4-16.

Nicks and Stribe weren’t the only steady performers for the Cyclones Monday night.

Sophomore Sarah Rollman continued her steady play for the Cyclones totaling 15 kills and 13 digs for the night while freshman Julie Mitchell set a personal best of her own to lead the defensive effort with 10 blocks. Nicks added five blocks including two solo stops.

Despite the loss, Grensing remains positive about the way things are going.

“We look at the bigger picture, not just the wins and losses,” she said. “We’re focused on performance goals right now and how we play.”

Next action for the Cyclones will be tonight when they resume Big 12 action, hosting Texas Tech in a match scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum.

The Red Raiders will bring a 16-4 record with a 5-4 mark in the Big 12 into the match.

They recently took a game from No. 1 ranked Nebraska in a 3-1 loss. The game win was one of the few game losses of the season for Nebraska.

“Texas Tech is a real good team,” Grensing said. “They’re having a good year, and are playing really well right now. Statistically, they’re really strong in digs and blocks, and that will be something we’ll have to watch out for. They also have three good outside hitters, and two good middles that I anticipate will try to step up.”

Grensing said that optimism remains high in the minds of all players and staff.

“The players know that we’re working on what we do task-wise,” Grensing said. “We can’t compare ourselves to better teams, because we’re really not at that level. We just need to keep concentrating on our goals, and winning will fall in line.”