The Iowa State volleyball team faced defeat in their five-game struggle against the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday. It was back and forth until the final game, which Colorado won in extra points, 17-15.

The Cyclones took control in the first game, winning 15-6, but Colorado quickly evened up the odds by taking the next game at 15-13. The third game put ISU back on top with a 15-13 victory, but the Buffaloes kept the match alive taking the fourth at 15-11. The fifth and final game found Colorado as the winner.

Rachelle Frese led the attack against Colorado with 19 kills. Senior Dana Mucha was right behind her with 16 kills and 13 digs.

According to senior outside hitter Kirstin Hugdahl, ISU’s hitting errors cost the team the match. Mistakes like those must be stopped if the team expects to succeed on the next level, she said.

“We went in there with the attitude that we should have won in three games, and that hurt us. We have to reduce our errors,” Hugdahl said.

Teammate Sonya Van Helden agreed that the hitting was lacking in their match with the Buffaloes. After they lost the second game, the team’s momentum began to fizzle out, she said.

But it was the fifth game that was the clincher. The cardinal and gold came back from a 14-11 score, but Colorado nabbed the win at 17-15 to take the game as well as the match from the ISU squad.

“We came down to the wire,” Van Helden said.

Hugdahl had 14 kills and 23 digs during thematch. She said the cohesive level of the team varied throughout the games.

“We had our times when we played well together and when we didn’t play so well together,” Hugdahl said.

The Cyclones’ outcome of this game may affect their Big Eight standings, she said. Presently ISU is tied for second place, with two conference matches left to go before the Big Eight Conference Tournament.

What happens to their rankings now depends on how Colorado performs against Oklahoma and Kansas State, Hugdahl said.

The Big Eight standings after this game are anybody’s guess, junior right-side hitter Van Helden said.

Colorado, Oklahoma and Iowa State all have a run at second place, and it may come down to overall team records, she said.

For now the team can concentrate on their last home match against Kansas on Wednesday in the Physical Education Building. This weekend’s loss should have no effect on their upcoming games, Van Helden said.

“We’re a really smart team. We’ll fix what we need to fix,” she said.