The Cyclones traveled to Houston for the unexpected final leg of their road trip and left with a 3-2 loss against the Cougars.
Houston got an early 7-1 lead in the first set, but Iowa State brought it back to a 10-12 deficit. Sophomore outside hitter Nayeli Gonzalez went up for a kill but ended up getting injured on the point. The Cougars were able to sustain around a two-point lead the rest of the way and pulled away for a 25-21 set win.
Iowa State looked to be playing very similarly in the second set, trailing 12-14 around the set’s midway point. After trailing 20-24 at Houston set point, the Cyclones rallied and went on an impressive 8-2 run to steal the set 28-26.
Houston took over the third set. After a kill from junior Faith DeRonde gave Iowa State a 10-8 lead, the Cougars decided it was time to turn it on. They went on a 5-0 run and kept it going from there. Houston took set three 25-17.
The Cyclones got a good start in set four with an 11-6 lead, fueled by kills from five players. Iowa State sustained the lead up until a kill from freshman Rachel Van Gorp made it 22-19 in favor of Iowa State. Houston went on yet another 5-0 run and had set point and a two-point lead. The Cyclones then went on a 4-0 run of its own and won off a bad Cougars set.
Set five was all Houston from the get-go. The Cougars took a 5-0 lead and played some relentless defense that completely shut down the Iowa State offense. Houston took set five and the overall match 15-8.
Nayeli Gonzalez goes down early
After missing three straight matches before the Oct. 2 match against West Virginia, Gonzalez went down with what appeared to be a knee injury in the first set.
Gonzalez is one of the Cyclones biggest offensive threats, tallying just under three kills per set at 2.98. Despite playing in only 10 of the 14 matches played for Iowa State, she entered Wednesday third on the team with 125.
With a 10-12 deficit in the first set, Gonzalez went up for a hit, landed awkwardly and immediately started grabbing her knee. The injury caused a lengthy stoppage of play before she was taken to the locker room.
The loss of Gonzalez added to the list of players that were out Wednesday night. Junior Maya Duckworth was out with an injury and sophomore Pam McCune was out with a sickness. The three combine for 7.42 kills per set, a significant portion of the offense missed Wednesday night.
Van Gorp shows her versatility
Van Gorp has spent nearly all her time as the libero or a defensive specialist. Her stats show that as well, as she entered Wednesday with 161 digs at 3.50 digs per set and only one kill.
Senior Brooke Stonestreet was given the libero jersey Wednesday, which gave Van Gorp some freedom to play elsewhere. With two outside hitters and a middle blocker sidelined, Van Gorp got her name called to play on the front lines.
Van Gorp contributed on both sides, with eight kills on offense and 12 digs on the defensive end.
A career night for DeRonde
With a lot of offensive firepower sidelined for Iowa State, the Cyclones needed someone to step up offensively. Redshirt sophomore Lilly Wachholz has been successful recently and continued that with 16 kills.
Head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch put DeRonde in a position to have plenty of offensive opportunities. DeRonde had 17 kills on 49 attempts, as junior setter Morgan Brandt kept feeding her the ball.
DeRonde had a previous career-high of nine kills, as she usually plays from the back in more of a defensive role. Wednesday night, she nearly doubled that with 17 kills, three digs and two blocks.
Iowa State now has a week off after its match Friday against UCF was canceled. The next time the Cyclones take the floor is at home Wednesday against BYU.
