The Iowa State women’s volleyball team accomplished something it had not done since September — it won a game.

In fact, the Cyclones won two games. But the two wins weren’t enough to pull the Cyclones through, and the team lost both of its weekend matches.

Friday at Hilton, ISU took on Kansas State and lost 3-0, with scores of 15-7, 15-7, and 15-6.

The Cyclones were at a disadvantage because starter Heidi Rogers was suspended for academic reasons and did not participate in either match.

Coach Jackie Nunez said Friday’s game was the worst her team has played this season. Having Rogers out affected the team because she is ISU’s strongest passer and stabilizes the team, Nunez said.

ISU was doomed by poor hitting and spotted Kansas State an early six-point lead because of poor serve returns.

With Rogers out, Julie McGrath left her normal setting post to play outside hitter. Freshman Sara Walters stepped up to fill McGrath’s setting position.

Stacy Nicks said the Cyclones had problems passing the ball on Friday. Walters agreed, saying that the team struggled to find a balance without Rogers.

Despite the Cyclones’ poor performance, Colleen Henican still recorded 12 digs and smashed 12 kills. Andrea Tuhl tallied four kills and seven digs. Shellie Davis came off the bench to notch a team-high five blocks. Walters and Henican were the only two Cyclones to finish the contest with positive hitting percentages.

On Saturday, the team returned to the court and gave the Kansas Jayhawks more of a run for a Big 12 win.

ISU and Kansas played in what turned out to be a grueling five-game match. Both teams were previously winless in Big 12 play, but Kansas walked away with its first conference win of the season.

The Jayhawks controlled the first game, but the Cyclones took the second and third games 15-11 and 15-12, giving them a match lead of 2-1. In game four, the Jayhawks dominated, starting off strong and never giving the Cyclones an opportunity to catch up in a 15-4 win.

Game five was hard-fought, with both teams matching each other point for point. Good serving by Jennifer Collins tied the score late in the game, but eventually, Kansas won 16-14 and picked up the victory.

Nicks said the team “picked it up a lot since Friday and executed well.”

Walters said the Cyclones did well as a team, but needed to execute better during the tough plays.

Nunez said her team had a meeting on Saturday and watched the tape of Friday’s match. The players set goals and decided that Friday was not how they wanted to play, so they stepped it up a notch, Nunez said.

She said the team played very hard on Saturday and never gave up.

Nunez emphasized that after a long dry spell, the team got a few wins, which will be a motivating factor in practices and future games.

Both Thul and Henican had kill and dig totals that reached the double digits in Saturday’s games. Henican racked up 27 kills, a career-high, and garnered 15 digs, while Tuhl added 18 kills and 14 digs.

Nunez commended Walters for doing a nice job as setter and said Walters’ performance was a bright spot for the Cyclones.

On Wednesday, the Cyclones will try to end their eight-game Big 12 conference losing streak against Missouri at 7:30 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum.