The Iowa State volleyball team was looking to even things up with No. 9 BYU in Friday’s second match. However, BYU had other ideas and swept the Cyclones once again (25-16, 25-20, 25-19) and handed Iowa State its third straight loss.

The Cougar offense was clicking all night, and the Cyclones could not catch up in time. Here are the three biggest takeaways from Friday night’s match:

Offense finds stride just too late

The Cyclone offense had trouble all night getting momentum building. The biggest run Iowa State had was 4-0, which happened in set three.

Iowa State had a low kill total with 32, led by Maya Duckworth with nine, Nayeli Gonzalez with eight and Jordan Hopp had six.

The hitting percentage was .209, right around the season average of .212. Nearly all Cyclones had a positive hitting percentage in the match

Even though the kills and hitting percentage improved, it was not enough to slow BYU down.

Iowa State couldn’t slow down BYU’s offense

The Cougars were lights out again. Their momentum started in set one, and though at times Iowa State fought back, the leads BYU built were enough to keep them ahead.

BYU was hitting up a storm, hitting .387 in the match, compared to their season average, which is .273. The Cougars found something that was working and ran with it, getting 49 total kills.

Serving was definitely where BYU was more aggressive. The Cougars had five service aces and eight service errors. Iowa State on the other hand had two aces and five service errors.

Not backing down

Despite being swept again, Iowa State kept sets two and three close. The Cyclones’ mentality never wavered, showing the fight the team has.

Finding a groove was how Iowa State started the second set. BYU never pulled away until midway through the set, but Iowa State kept it tight to the end, losing by five.

The Cyclones never led in the final set, but tied the match five times and only trailed by as much as six.

The long road trip is over for the Cyclones. Their past three games have been on the road and all resulted in losses. The Cyclones will look to get back to their winning ways at home against a struggling Oklahoma team.

Iowa State will head back home next weekend to take on Oklahoma. The Cyclones’ match against Oklahoma will start at 2 p.m. Oct.28 and will be streamed on ESPN+, while the second match will occur at noon Oct. 29 and will be broadcast on ESPN.