Cyclones fall to DePaul in four sets to finish weekend series in Chicago

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Iowa State talks in a team huddle in a timeout against Baylor on Oct 23, 2020.

Adarsh Tamma

DePaul completed the weekend sweep of the Iowa State volleyball team on Saturday afternoon by a score of 3-1 at the McGrath-Phillips Arena in Chicago. The Blue Demons beat the Cyclones in four close games, ultimately coming out as victors for the second consecutive time after defeating Iowa State on Friday in five sets.

Junior Eleanor Holthaus led the Cyclone attack with 14 kills on the afternoon, followed closely by sophomores Annie Hatch and Kenzie Mantz who had 13 and 11 kills respectively. Holthaus finished with a 0.116 hitting percentage, as well as scoring 20 of Iowa State’s 95 total points across the four sets. Hatch also finished with her first double-double performance of her collegiate career, recording 15 of Iowa State’s 69 digs. Senior Piper Mauck also had another strong passing performance with 47 assists on the afternoon.

Junior and senior liberos Taylor Baranski and Izzy Enna led the Cyclones on the defensive end of the floor, as both players had double-digit dig totals. Enna led all players with 22, while Baranski had 13 as well as serving two aces.

The Cyclones took the first set 26-24 after making a successful comeback down 15-22. They went on a 10-2 run, which included saving a match point at 24-22 on a kill by freshman Abby Greiman. DePaul made three consecutive errors to let their lead slip away, and the Cyclones led 1-0.

The Blue Demons capitalized on Iowa State’s mistakes in the second set, as the Cyclones served four service errors by four different players and would finish the match with eight in all. The Cyclones led 19-14, but the Blue Demons fired back with offensive play of their own through freshman Jill Pressly and senior Avarie Evans-Allen, the former of whom finished with 15 kills and 17 digs to lead her team. DePaul eventually won 26-24 in another close finish.

Sets three and four were not much better for the Cyclones, as DePaul got off to an 11-6 start in the third frame. Iowa State made a bit of a comeback at 10-12 through errors by the Blue Demons, but DePaul came right back through Pressly, who combined with sophomore Bailey Nelson for six kills. The Blue Demons closed it out 25-23.

The fourth set was again a tight affair early, but DePaul kept feeding to their hitters in Pressly, Nelson and Evans-Allen, going on a 3-0 run to take the lead at 12-9. The Cyclones tied things back up on a Mauck ace at 13-13, but it was DePaul from that point. The Blue Demons went on a 12-9 run to close out the set and match at 25-22. The Blue Demons outhit the Cyclones 0.213-0.195, with Iowa State hitting just 0.095 at the net.

Iowa State has now lost three matches in a row dating back to their 3-0 loss at Marquette on Feb. 27th, and now sit at 6-12. The Cyclones’ next matchup will be at home on March 19th when they take on Oklahoma in the first of a pair of matches at Hilton Coliseum