Following a 3-1 (16-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-23) win over LSU early Friday, Iowa State was back in action Friday night against 17th ranked Penn State for the second half of their doubleheader. The Nittany Lions, who are playing host to the event, came into the match with a 2-1 record, with their lone loss coming in their season opener against 24th ranked Georgia Tech.

After going back and forth at the beginning of the first set, Penn State settled into a groove and put themselves up 10-5. After three straight points from the Cyclones, the Nittany Lions responded with a run of their own to make their lead 14-8, forcing the first Iowa State timeout.

Penn State controlled the rest of the set, getting out to a 24-14 lead. Iowa State was able to hold off four straight set points, but ended up falling 25-18. Candelaria Herrera led the Cyclones offensively with three kills in the first set, with Alexis Engelbrecht, Eleanor Holthaus, and Kenzie Mantz each contributing two. Jaden Newsome also tallied eight assists.

Penn State got off to a hot start in the second set and didn’t look back, easily winning the set 25-11. The Cyclones had seven errors in the set, playing a big part in the lopsided score.

Holthaus led the Cyclones offensively with three kills in the set. Newsome contributed five assists.

Iowa State jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the third set, with three errors by the Nittany Lions and the first ace of Addi Heidemann’s career pacing the Cyclones. After four more errors by Penn State and a balanced attack from Iowa State, the Nittany Lions took their first timeout of the set down 15-10.

After fighting out to a 17-13 lead, two Cyclone errors were a part of a 3-0 Penn State run that forced Iowa State to take a timeout. The two teams went back and forth for the next several points, with Penn State eventually taking the lead on an Iowa State error. This put Penn State up 24-23, prompting a Cyclone timeout. Coming out of the timeout Iowa State was unable to fight off the set point, falling 25-23 and losing in straight sets.

Holthaus led the team with nine kills, with Mantz following up with seven and Herrera contributing six. Newsome assisted on 26 points, and Marija Popovic had 10 digs on the defensive side. Holthaus also chipped in nine digs.

The Cyclones only put together a .128 hitting percentage, as well as having 20 attack errors. Penn State had a hitting percentage of .337 while also having seven less attacking errors than the Cyclones.

Iowa State will look to bounce back in their final match of the Penn State Classic as it will face off against Oregon State at 4 p.m. on Saturday.