The Cyclones found themselves locked in a tough battle all night with the Kansas State Wildcats.
It seemed no matter what the Cyclones did, the Wildcats clawed their way back in each set to sweep the Cyclones (20-25, 16-25, 18-25), and Iowa State fell to 13-4 overall and 4-2 in the Big 12.
Here are the three biggest takeaways from Wednesday’s match on the road against Kansas State.
Iowa State couldn’t hold onto early leads
The first two sets saw flashes of success from Iowa State. The Cyclones led by four in set one and started set two on a 5-0 run.
Despite their efforts, Kansas State forced Iowa State into many errors. The Cyclones had eight attack errors and four service errors in set one.
Kansas State went on huge runs in all three sets after trailing. The early leads the Cyclones had were erased, as the Wildcats won set one on a 10-2 run and set two on a 9-2 run.
Set three was all Wildcats after the Cyclones started with a 2-0 lead. Iowa State never could bridge the gap from multiple runs by Kansas State.
Too much from the Wildcats
Kansas State was the aggressor all night. The Wildcat offense did enough to get the job done, but their defense really shined.
The Cyclones had trouble at the net, getting blocked eight times and fighting to keep the ball alive many times.
The Wildcats put the ball in places the Cyclones weren’t. A lot of the errors the Cyclones had were from tipped spikes or blocks that bounced off of the hands of Cyclone players.
Missed opportunities for Cyclones
Iowa State had 13 more attacks than Kansas State. Even with that many more chances, the Cyclones had fewer kills, and Kansas State led every stat category.
The key areas were attack errors, service errors and service aces. Iowa State had 10 more attack errors, four more service errors and four fewer service aces than Kansas State.
The Cyclones recorded 36 total kills while the Wildcats had 38. Maya Duckworth and Lilly Wachholz led the way for the Cyclones in kills, with 12 and 10, respectively.
It was a quiet night for Nayeli Gonzalez. The reigning Big 12 Rookie of the Week was held in check all night and did not record a single kill. Expect her to get back on track next week against BYU
Iowa State will travel to Provo, Utah, to take on Big 12 newcomer BYU next Thursday and Friday. Both matches will start at 8 p.m. on ESPN+.
