The Cyclone volleyball team dropped another pair of Big 12 matches last week, falling in straight sets on the road to Missouri on Wednesday and Kansas State on Saturday.

Against the Tigers, Iowa State showed steady improvement as the match wore on, falling 15-3, 15-6 and 15-11.

Missouri held the Cyclones to a .167 hitting percentage while hitting .262 themselves.

Chandra Hopkins was the most successful Tiger attacker, killing 10 of 14 attacks with only one error.

Heather Gerber and Jodi Maune combined for nine kills, no errors and a hitting percentage over .700.

For the Cyclones, Verginia Hoss, Tanisha Woods and Stacy Nicks had the best games on offense, managing seven, four and six kills, respectively.

Mandy Middleton was the biggest ISU defender on the night, picking up five digs and five blocks.

Against the No. 21 ranked Wildcats on Saturday, ISU fared little better, falling 15-9, 15-1, 15-4.

The Cyclones hit a miserable -.044 from the floor compared to the blistering .359 average turned in by the Wildcats.

Liz Wegner, Val Wieck and Kelle Branting were the heaviest KSU hitters, recording 19 kills and an attack average of near .500 among the three of them.

Mandy Middleton and Nanette Allen were the only Cyclones with positive offensive numbers, Middleton connected on three kills with no errors and Allen collected five with two errors.

Stacy Nicks was the only defensive threat on an ISU team that managed only 15 digs and four blocks.

Nicks finished the night with five digs and three blocks.

Senior Julie McGrath led the Cyclones in assists both nights with 20 against Missouri and 10 against Kansas State.

The losses to the Tigers and Wildcats complete series sweeps by both teams over the Cyclones in 1998.

Iowa State finishes its season at home with four matches over the next two weeks.

It is scheduled to face Texas, Texas A&M, Kansas and Oklahoma, beginning with the Sonners this Friday night at the Forker Building.

The Cyclones’ only conference victory of the season came against Oklahoma at Norman on Oct. 17.

The match, which the Cyclones won in four games, was also the only time Iowa State has won even a single game against a Big 12 opponent in 1998.