Iowa State lost in a hard-fought match against Baylor late Wednesday night by a score of 3-1 (13-25, 19-25, 25-19, 21-25). The Cyclones fell to 12-13 overall (5-7 Big 12) while Baylor racked up its fourth-straight victory to improve 16-7 on the season (8-4 in conference play).

Iowa State was its own worst enemy for the most of the match, unable to attack with rhythm while also being unable to slow down Baylor’s offense, which hit .714 in the set with no attack errors. 

Iowa State was held to a low .074 hit percentage for the first frame, but found its offensive groove in later sets which provided more competitive sets as the game progressed.

Iowa State managed to streak together points for a few periods in some sets but would then relinquish control right back to Baylor, who capitalized on mistakes the Cyclones made far too often.

Iowa State had eight service errors, five of which came in the final two sets, costing them a chance to take the momentum back. 

Despite losing in a gritty back-and-forth match, Iowa State got a tremendous performance and a career night from senior Jess Schaben. Schaben broke her season-best kill mark, set at 20 when Iowa State beat Texas Tech on Sept. 28.

Not only did she break her season-high in kills, but she tied her career-best with 26. The last time she had that statline was against West Virginia last season. 

Iowa State will return home Saturday night to take on West Virginia. First serve will be at 8 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum.