Coming off a tough loss to rival Iowa on Friday, Iowa State ended non-conference play with a second-straight loss. This time to Syracuse: 25-18, 25-16 and 22-25, 21-25 and 9-15.

The loss drops Iowa State’s record to 7-6 on the season. Syracuse, meanwhile, improves to 4-4. 

The first set started off as a close affair, remaining tied over halfway through the set at 14. However, Iowa State took over by scoring 11 of the next 15 points to take a 1-0 match lead.

Josie Herbst, Grace Lazard and Candelaria Herrera each led the way with three kills in the set, and the Orange were held to just a .029 hit percentage thanks in part to eight attack errors.

After being tied at seven in the second set, Iowa State again showcased its ability to take over by allowing nine points from Syracuse the rest of the set. Standing out in the set was senior Jess Schaben, who pitched in seven kills and six digs in the second.

The next two sets saw Syracuse fight back to tie the match. The third was a back-and-forth affair throughout, but a key 6-0 run from Syracuse was enough to put the Cyclones in a 24-20 deficit that they couldn’t overcome. Then in the fourth set, the Orange were buoyed by two different 5-0 runs to send the match to a fifth set.

The final set was controlled handily by the Orange, who jumped out to an early 6-3 lead following a 4-0 run early in the set. From there, the Orange only extended their lead, eventually finishing the match with a kill from Santita Ebangwese to take the set 15-9.

Leading the way offensively for Iowa State was Jess Schaben with 19 kills, and Josie Herbst with a career-high 13 kills. Schaben also led the team with 25 digs, while Piper Mauck added 54 assists. 

Next up for Iowa State will be Big 12 play, where the team will take on West Virginia in Morgantown on Wednesday.