AMES – Iowa State dropped its sixth straight match in a 3-1 loss to Colorado at home Wednesday night with too many errors being the difference-maker for the Cyclones.
The Cyclones fall to 9-14 overall and retain their spot near the bottom of the Big 12 with a 3-9 conference record.
The first set was all Colorado from the jump. The Cyclones could not find the gaps while attacking, giving them nine errors, leading to a poor .075 hitting percentage compared to the Buffaloes .267. The offensive discrepancy gave Colorado the edge in the set, taking down the Cyclones 25-19.
Iowa State picked things up offensively in the second set, but the Buffaloes offense did not slow down either. A .324 hitting percentage, featuring five kills from freshman outside hitter Rachel Van Gorp, was not enough to take down the Colorado attack that hit at a .444 rate in the set. Iowa State took on a 2-0 deficit as Colorado took it down 25-20.
The Cyclones finally got a set win in the third. The offense and defense both put together a strong showing to take down Colorado 25-17. Iowa State hit at a .415 rate and had 21 digs in the set, both highs for the night.
Iowa State could not keep up the strong and fast pace of play in the fourth set, as the Buffaloes offense and Cyclones errors gave Colorado the overall win with a 25-21 set four win and a 3-1 match win.
Slow offensive start
It is hard for a team to win a match if the offense is not scoring at a high level, and the way the Cyclones offense came out Wednesday night, it looked like the match would be over quickly.
The Cyclones had 40 total attacks in the opening set but were only able to capitalize on 12 of them, two of which came from junior middle blocker Tierney Jackson. Jackson ended the night with eight kills and led Iowa State in hitting percentage for players that had 10 or more attacks.
Iowa State hit a .075 rate in the set, its lowest rate of the match. The slow offense of the first set translated to the second set, and even though the Cyclones hit at a much better rate, Colorado had the momentum and took advantage of it to steal the second set from the Cyclones as well.
Third set shows fight in Cyclones
Despite trailing 2-0 heading into the third set, Iowa State showed fight and had its best set all-around for the match. The Cyclones won the set 25-17 on impressive offensive rates and successful defense. It was important that Iowa State avoided yet another sweep.
“We all came out with a chip on our shoulder,” Jackson said. “I think we’re all tired of the losing streak that we’re on, and we just want to protect our house. Our coaches also came in and gave us a stern talking to. You never want to disappoint your coaches.”
Iowa State took a 4-0 lead to start the set, giving the Cyclones plenty of momentum to fuel them for the rest of the set. The Cyclones got up to an 11-5 lead from a Jackson slide, sending a surge of energy throughout Hilton Coliseum.
“It’s hard for teams to pick it up [the slide], and it’s really easy to hit it around the block,” Jackson said. “So when I get the big kill, my reaction and the team’s reaction after that helps. It gives it like a big energy riser if that’s the correct way to say it.”
The Cyclones continued to dominate the set, and they took the biggest set win of the match, regardless of the winner. Iowa State limited its errors to only three attack errors in the set.
“Didn’t make very many errors, we were a little high error in that match at times,” head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said. “Just seeing us not make a whole lot of errors and putting the pressure on them.”
Errors slow Iowa State down
In the sets that the Cyclones lost, errors were a common theme when they struggled and when they hit the ball poorly.
In the first set, when Iowa State had its worst offensive set, it had nine attack errors to go along with two service errors. When the other team has 11 points in a set, it makes their jobs a lot easier.
“In all these sets, for the most part, the difference isn’t that much,” Johnson-Lynch said. “A couple of errors here and there, a couple of plays are the difference.”
The Buffaloes only had six total errors in the first set and exploited the lackluster play from Iowa State. The strong play from Colorado outside hitter Ana Burilović put the Cyclones in some tough situations, and the Cyclones were unable to recover.
Error differential was a common theme in the outcome of the sets and Iowa State had 35 total errors and the Buffaloes only had 21.
The Cyclones had 13 more kills than Colorado and a higher overall hitting percentage, but all the errors came back to bite the Cyclones and handed them their sixth straight loss.
Iowa State looks to leave it all on the court the rest of the season, and its next test is at 1 p.m. Saturday against Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas.
