Iowa State battled all night against a tough Big 12 opponent in No. 9 Arizona State but lost in a sweep Thursday.
The Cyclones dropped to 10-15 with the loss, and their 4-10 conference record ties them up with Cincinnati at 13th in the Big 12.
In the first set, both teams played well offensively, reaching above a .220 hitting percentage on both sides. A lot of the match felt as though the Sun Devils and Cyclones were trading points back and forth up until the score was 20-19 in favor of Iowa State. Arizona State took some momentum and took the set 25-21. Junior middle blocker Tierney Jackson led the way with four kills and two blocks.
The second set did not go as well offensively for the Cyclones. With seven kills at a .022 hitting percentage, Iowa State had a hard time getting into any sort of rhythm or groove, and the Sun Devils dominated the set 25-15.
With a 2-0 deficit, the Cyclones tried to avoid the sweep and keep their chances alive against the ninth-ranked team in the country. Iowa State won a challenge to make the score 21-24, but the Cyclones could only win one more point as they lost 25-22 and 3-0 in the match.
Jackson has an efficient night offensively
Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Lilly Wachholz and junior outside hitter Faith DeRonde have been carrying the Cyclones offense as of late, but Jackson led the way in their losing efforts.
Jackson has averaged 1.14 kills per set on the year, but outperformed that rate with 10 kills on 16 attempts across the three sets.
Despite the Cyclones having a .142 hitting percentage overall on the night, Jackson had a .562 hitting percentage, her best of the season with at least five attacks.
Errors hurt the Cyclones’ chances
In the Cyclones’ recent win over Texas Tech, they were able to limit the attack errors to 14, along with two service errors. That was not the case Thursday night, as Iowa State had 19 attack errors and 10 service errors against the Sun Devils.
Junior outside hitter Maya Duckworth and Wachholz struggled in the errors department, as Wachholz had six and Duckworth had four. Duckworth had a tough hitting percentage of -.059.
Wachholz also had a tough time serving with three service errors, the same amount as junior setter Morgan Brandt. Errors have been a key problem for Iowa State, especially during its six-game losing streak.
Sun Devils’ distributed offense couldn’t be stopped
Playing against a top-10 opponent is a tough matchup, no matter how they play or who they put on the floor, and that was especially the case against the Sun Devils. Arizona State had 41 kills at a .248 rate against the Cyclones.
Five Sun Devils had five or more kills, making it hard for the Cyclones to dial in on one attacker when setting up the block. Additionally, Arizona State was efficient, with only 11 attack errors.
One of the five who dominated Iowa State was Savannah Kjolhede, who had 10 kills at a .471 rate, topping her season average and Big 12 seventh best of .364.
The Cyclones will stay in Arizona to take on the Wildcats at 3 p.m. Saturday in Tucson, Arizona.
