The Iowa State volleyball team’s senior day was a week ago against Texas Tech. But due to an exceptional regular season, the Cyclones captured an opportunity to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament at Hilton Coliseum due to them claiming a top-16 seed (No. 14).

With a sweep over Princeton on Friday night in the first round of the tournament, Iowa State took on the Wisconsin Badgers Saturday night in the second round with a chance to earn a Sweet 16 berth. It also allowed seniors like Alexis Conaway, Monique Harris, Genesis Miranda, and Samara West to play one last time in front of a home crowd.

But unlike senior day, there were no smiles for the cardinal and gold. There were only faces of shock and sadness as Iowa State was swept by Wisconsin (25-22, 25-20, 25-23).

Christy Johnson-Lynch’s opening statement after the season ending loss to Wisconsin pic.twitter.com/dDpib1smz5

— Garrett Kroeger (@GKroegs) December 3, 2017

“[Iowa State] knew this was going to be a really difficult match and a tough challenge,” said coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. “[Wisconsin] was really good tonight.”

The match was a back-and-forth battle. The Cyclones would go a run and then the Badgers would respond with one of their own. But once Wisconsin got on those runs, Iowa State had a tough time retaliating.

“We just allowed them to get on runs and everything,” said senior Samara West. “I feel like if we don’t allow them to get on runs, we would have been right there with them.”

On the night, there were 17 ties and six lead changes.

The reason behind the Cyclones having difficulties responding to the Badgers scoring runs was Wisconsin’s front-line, primarily its middle blockers. The Badgers front-line was undoubtedly the biggest the Cyclones had faced all year.

Iowa State had to try and create some offense while Wisconsin’s 6-foot-8 middle blocker Dana Rettke or 6-foot-3 outside hitter Grace Loberg. And those two created problems, as they combined for six out of the Badgers’ 10 block assists.

“Especially [Dana Rettke], 6-foot-8. I don’t feel like we haven’t had a middle like that before,” West said. “Even some of [Wisconsin’s outside hitters] were pretty big.”

Wisconsin also gave Iowa State fits with its slide attack, which is a difficult ball to defend.

With the loss, the Cyclones finished the year with a 22-7 overall record. Also, it meant West, Conaway, Harris, and Miranda played their last game in a cardinal and gold uniform.

During those four players’ time in Ames, they helped continue to build Iowa State legacy. They had four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, helped make the Cyclones a perennial top-25 team and helped Iowa State claim its first top-16 seed since 2012. But more importantly, they taught the next year’s returning players a lot about what it means to be a Cyclone.

“Just to keep going,” said junior Grace Lazard. “Just, no matter what you go through, injuries and just everything. Just being on a team is hard, it’s not easy. You are with the same people every single day. You got to figure out a way to make it work, keep going. I think we are going to continue this legacy.”

The senior class truly set the bar high for next season.

Despite an exceptional season, Johnson-Lynch isn’t satisfied. Yes, Iowa State got to host the first and second round of the tournament, which was a goal entering this season. However, she wants to make sure Iowa State continues the work they have been doing.

“Getting that seed was huge,” Johnson-Lynch said. “So, we are going to continue to work at the things that I call our bucket list. Things we haven’t done yet and the things we haven’t done yet are win a conference championship, get to the Final Four and compete for a national championship. Those are the things that are left for us.”

Iowa State will continue to keep clawing to achieve those things because the seniors clawed their way to get the program to where it is today. And while this year’s seniors didn’t end their career on the note they wanted, at least they got to play in Hilton Coliseum one last time.

“Just getting able to play at Hilton one last time was amazing,” West said. “The crowd was amazing. Just playing with my team, we battled a lot.”

“It was a great time in Hilton.”