Momentum played a large role in the ISU volleyball team’s 15-8, 15-5, 15-5 loss to Missouri Wednesday night in a home match held on the DMACC campus in Boone. The Cyclones fell behind early in the first game 5-0 before forcing Missouri to call a time-out by scoring four straight points to tie the score at 6-6. Iowa State took their first lead of the game directly following the time-out on a Stacy Nicks/Nanette Allen block and pushed their lead to 8-6 before Missouri recorded three straight points to take the lead for good. The Tigers ended the first game with five straight points on serve to gain the game victory 15-8. Senior Stacy Nicks led the charge in the first game, registering six blocks in the opening stanza. “I thought Stacy Nicks had a really good night, both in terms defensively with her blocking and offensively as well,” said ISU Head Volleyball Coach Linda Grensing. “I thought there were points where we dominated the match in blocking, and I think you’re starting to see a real confidence in that area in our play.” The Cyclones were able to gain the momentum in the next game gaining the early lead before Missouri battled back to a 5-5 tie. Missouri proved to be too strong pushing the lead out to 14-5 before a Nicks’ kill produced a sideout for the Cyclones. The kill just delayed defeat as Iowa State and Missouri traded sideouts before Missouri was able to get the win. The Tigers clinched the victory by taking the third game 15-5. Iowa State again started off strong scoring the first three points of the game before the Tigers answered with a sideout that resulted in the next seven points scored. The Tigers pushed their lead to 12-3 before Iowa State was able to answer back. Missouri ended the game and the match with three straight points to gain the win pushing their record to 11-1, 2-1 in the Big 12, while Iowa State fell to 2-8 and 0-3 in the Big 12. Coach Grensing was quick to give Missouri credit in the win. “The one thing I really saw is that they’ve improved a lot over the last year, and part of it is that last year they had a lot of sophomores and freshmen,” she said. “As kids mature and they get to those junior and senior years, it makes a big difference in what they look like.” Missouri’s setter senior Heather Gerber currently holds the Tigers’ school record for assists, and it was very evident by the way she played. Gerber recorded 39 assists on the night. “Their setter does a really nice job. She’s very good at reading middle blockers, and that created a lot of openings for their outside hitters,” said Grensing. “That just means that their hitters are going to hit at a higher percentage, because she’s creating those holes for them.” Nicks led the Cyclones with eight blocks on the night including three solo blocks. She also recorded a team-high seven kills on her way to hitting for a .235 percentage. Sarah Rollman added six kills in the loss, while Sarah Stribe paced the offense with 18 assists. Grensing remained positive in defeat instead of focusing on the improvements in first contact. “[First contact] got better,” she said. “I think we started out a little weak in that area, but by the end of the first game I really saw the kids gaining confidence as far as that was concerned.” Next action for the Cyclones will be on Saturday vs. Kansas in a home match scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. “It’s going to be a good match for us. I think that Kansas is a team similar to a Missouri where we’re going to have to have a lot of confidence in our game and come into the match with a presence,” said Grensing. “We’re going to have to look to use our blocking and look to use consistent first contacts to be in our favor going into the match.”