The Iowa State volleyball team concluded its first weekend of the spring season with a loss on Saturday, falling to the No. 24 Marquette Golden Eagles in three straight sets by a score of 15-25, 19-25, 27-29.

The Cyclones had previously defeated Saint Louis 3-0 on Friday, and are now 6-10 on the season overall.

The match began with a touching moment, as Marquette senior Sarah Rose was substituted in by Head Coach Ryan Theis for the opening serve of the match.

Rose was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma last September, a pediatric strain of cancer that has caused her to miss her senior season and instead undergo treatment. The Golden Eagles wore gold in honor of Rose, who served an honorary ace for her final match at the Al McGuire Center.

The rest of the 1st set proved to be tough for Iowa State, who were ahead 2-1 off of an ace by senior Piper Mauck, but Marquette charged back on a 7-0 run to quickly build up an 8-2 lead.

The Cyclones had a difficult time capitalizing on their attack attempts, as both teams had 29 in the first set, but the Cyclones only had 6 kills compared to the Golden Eagles’ 14. They also finished with a .000 hitting percentage compared to Marquette’s 0.414, as the Golden Eagles slowly pulled away to take the opening set 25-15.

The second set again began quickly for Marquette, who opened up a 9-5 off of an attack error by sophomore Annie Hatch. The Cyclones rallied however, led by Mauck’s block and junior libero Taylor Baranski’s serving an ace to tie things back up at nine apiece.

Mauck proved to be a bright spot in Iowa State’s attack, leading the Cyclones in hitting percentage (0.750) and assists (23), while Baranski had 2 aces on the day.

The Golden Eagles continued to go on scoring runs however, taking a 21-16 off of a 3-0 run and never looking back to clinch the second set 25-19. The Golden Eagles averaged 0.368 on hitting compared to the Cyclones’ 0.205, while both teams combined for 9 attack errors.

The third set was much closer than the previous two, as Iowa State again closed down an early Marquette lead by tying things up at 9-9. The Cyclones continued to stay with the Golden Eagles in the mid-game, eventually taking the lead at 13-12 off of a big spike by Hatch.

The Mesa, Arizona, native proved to be clutch down the stretch for the Cyclones, as Marquette charged back again on a 3-0 run to tie it back up at 16 all.

The Cyclones’ defense then proved to be key, as juniors Eleanor Holthaus and sophomore Kenzie Mantz denied the Golden Eagles’ attack to create a 2-point cushion at 18-16. The teams traded points until Marquette had match point at 24-22, but ISU answered back through a Hatch kill to tie things again at 24 apiece.

Both teams were now in extra time, as the side who scored two consecutive points first being declared the winner of the set. Iowa State had a set point opportunity at 25-24, but Marquette answered back with a kill by senior Kaitlyn Hines.

The Cyclones fought off another match point before finally succumbing to the Golden Eagles 27-29 on a block by Savannah Rennie and Taylor Wolf to deny Holthaus.

Iowa State is now 6-10 on the season and 1-1 for the spring season. The Cyclones will have some time off before their next match, when they will face Illinois State on March 10 at Hilton Coliseum. The game is expected to start at 2 p.m., with the match also being broadcasted live on ESPN+.

A full recap of the stats from today’s match can be found here.