Through two sets at Hilton Coliseum, a buzz was palpable.

An upset was on the minds of a home-standing ISU volleyball team (11-9, 3-6 Big 12) that was playing against perennial powerhouse Texas (16-1, 8-1 Big 12), a team ranked No. 4 in the RPI that handed the Cyclones a 3-0 defeat last month in Austin.

Iowa State was able to keep up with Texas’ athleticism for two sets, but the Longhorns dominated the rest of the way to notch a 3-1 defeat (25-21, 20-25, 25-13, 25-14).

After a promising start, the air was quickly taken out of the building that housed 4,345 spectators, the fifth-highest mark in program history.

“This whole entire year we’ve been preaching how do we come out in the third set with a lot of energy, and we just need to figure that out a little bit more,” said ISU junior libero Caitlin Nolan. “I think that comes in practice every day and just kind of the will to want to get that.”

Though Iowa State was unable to seize the first set, it was able to keep up with Texas’ blocking attack that would later take over the game.

Despite coming up empty-handed after a tightly-contested 25-21 loss in the first set, the Cyclones fared much better against the Longhorns’ attack in the next set.

The Longhorns were held to a .079 hitting percentage in the second set and committed eight errors, the highest mark in any set of the match.

“I felt we played good ball for two games,” said ISU coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. “Things like blocking we did very well in games one and two, but didn’t sustain that.”

Along with her team’s inability to sustain a solid block, Johnson-Lynch referred to some inconsistency in her team’s serving, a usual strength, and its decisions on attacks.

Those weaknesses, along with Texas’ dominance at the net that resulted in 13 blocks compared to just four for Iowa State, all played a factor in Texas’ ability to close out the match definitively.

The noise and excitement stemming from a nationally televised game on ESPNU were quickly hushed as errors piled up for Iowa State and Texas continued to stymie Iowa State’s attack.

Along with the Longhorns dominance up front, their knack for keeping rallies alive with their backline was also a factor in taking the wind out of the match for the Cyclones.

“It gets frustrating because you think, ‘Oh, they’re going to dig me there,’” said ISU sophomore outside hitter Ciara Capezio. “So you try to go somewhere else, and you might error on that ball so you’re thinking about it even more.”

After a one-sided 25-13 loss in set three, Iowa State went with different lineup combinations in the fourth set to try to turn the tide but to no avail.

The Cyclones implemented a six-two offensive system that featured six attackers and two setters, a system the team has rarely used this season.

Johnson-Lynch said there were players she noticed playing well as of late, including defensive specialist Monique Harris, that she thought a six-two formation could lend itself well for different players to make an impact.

“At times we felt that, ‘Wow, that looks nice, it’s got a nice rhythm to it,’ and then we would kind of stall out,” Johnson-Lynch said. “I don’t know if it answered any questions for us, because again, playing Texas, it doesn’t matter what system you’re in it might not look great if Texas is playing great and hitting over your block.”

With two days off before its next match against Kansas State in Ames on Nov. 5, Nolan said her and her teammates will look to build off of their strong play in the first two sets rather than dwell on how the match finished.

“Knowing that we can compete with the No. 5 team in the nation, I think that should give us all the drive when we come to practice tomorrow to work hard and kind of get in this mindset.”