Iowa State lost to No. 14 Creighton on Friday in the first game of the Bluejay Invitational to drop to 5-3 overall, despite strong performances from seniors Jess Schaben and Grace Lazard.

Creighton is the third ranked team Iowa State has faced this season, having won versus then-No. 17 Northern Iowa and lost versus then-No. 22 Utah.

Creighton won’t be the only ranked team Iowa State faces this weekend as Iowa State will travel to Lincoln to take on No. 7 Nebraska on Sunday.

Before facing Nebraska, Iowa State will face Wichita State in the final game of the Bluejay Invitational on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Iowa State took the first set 25-22 behind four kills from sophomore middle blocker Avery Rhodes. Freshman hitter Eleanor Holthaus chipped in two more kills and a .400 hitting percentage along with two blocks.

Creighton then evened the score at 1-1 after taking the second set 26-24. After the second set, middle blocker Lazard was sitting at five kills, four digs and four blocks.

Creighton took the third set 25-22 which gave the Bluejays a 2-1 lead.

Schaben, a two-time AVCA Honorable Mention All-American, had a total of 12 kills, 11 digs and an ace after the third set.

The Bluejays then sealed the match 3-1 in the fourth set with a score of 25-16.

Iowa State’s attack finished the game with 45 kills and a .156 hitting percentage, and the Creighton attack finished with 57 kills and .176 hitting percentage.

Iowa State had two players finish with double-digit kills in Schaben and Lazard. Schaben finished the game with 16 kills and a .208 hitting percentage while Lazard had 11 kills and a .292 hitting percentage.

Creighton’s Taryn Kloth lead all players in kills registering 23 with a .281 hitting percentage.

Iowa State sophomore setter Piper Mauck lead all players with 41 assists. Creighton’s Madelyn Cole was second in assists with 33.

The Cyclones also had 10 service errors on the night.

Defensively, the Cyclone’s finished the game with 13 blocks to Creighton’s nine. Lazard and Holthaus were tied for most blocks for all players with six each.

In addition, redshirt junior Hali Hillegas had 25 digs which was good for second in the game behind Jaali Winters, who had 26 digs, for Creighton. Schaben finished third in the game with 17 digs.