The Cyclones were trying to finish strong in their final attempt to knock off a ranked Big 12 team as Texas came to town.

The Cyclones opened the first set with a few quick kills, and picked up the early momentum with a 4-1 lead. The Longhorns fought back and evened the score at 6-6. The set continued to go back and forth, but a couple of Cyclone errors helped Texas move to a 15-11 lead.

ISU continued to trade points with Texas, but made errors that eventually gave way to a 22-17 Longhorn lead. Texas worked their way to an eventual set point after a Cyclone net violation, and put down an ISU comeback with a kill from Paulina Cerame to win the set 25-19.

The second set began with alternating points, with the teams splitting 5-5. The Longhorns began to pull away to a 14-10 lead, and the Cyclones tried to battle back but could never cut into a growing Texas lead. The Longhorns won the second set, 25-17, capped off with a kill from Amy Neal.

The Cyclones erupted out of the break to open the third set 4-0, but the Longhorns battled back quickly to a 5-4 lead. Iowa State would work its way back, evening the score 10-10 early in the set. Texas tried to break away, but Iowa State evened the score again at 16-16 behind a Caitlin Nolan ace.

The Longhorns pulled away late, but the Cyclones wouldn’t go down easy, keeping the score within two points for most of the set. Iowa State was finally able to tie it up 20-20 after a Texas error, but couldn’t sustain the comeback falling 25-21.

The Cyclones are back in action on Nov. 18, when they take on Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan.