Cats lose in three to Iowa State

Even playing in a gymnasium with a purple court, the K-State volleyball team could not pull out a win.

Wednesday night, No. 13 Iowa State (12-4, 5-3 Big 12 Conference) swept K-State (9-10, 3-5 Big 12) in Ames, Iowa, playing in the high school's gymnasium because flooding two months ago damaged the university's coliseum.

The Wildcats played close to Iowa State in the first two games, dropping to them 20-25 and 22-25, respectively, but they cooled down some in the third, losing 16-25.

The defense had a good showing for the first part of the match, and senior libero Lauren Mathewson's 16 digs earned her the Player of the Match honor. However, K-State had difficulty converting those passes into points, and the offense took a slight dip in play. Sophomore opposite hitter Kathleen Ludwig bolstered the defense up front with four block assists, and sophomore middle blocker Alex Muff helped her team with seven kills and a .357 hitting percentage.

The Wildcats did not waste any time in grabbing a nice stretch of points, but Iowa State returned with its own pair of runs to pull ahead 8-5, leading to a timeout from K-State. The Cyclones went 7-1 to continue their lead, but K-State eventually pulled around and quelled its opponent some, showing closely at 18-20. It was not enough, though, as Iowa State scored four in a row to win the first game 25-20.

K-State was hitting some strong numbers in the beginning of game one, but those dropped as the game progressed, and only one front-row player finished with a remarkable percentage, with freshman middle blocker Kaitlynn Pelger recording a .400 with five kills.

Having burnt both timeouts early, K-State went down 3-8 after a shaky start to game two, but changed gears and climbed up to a 10-all tie. Looking to regain the advantage, Iowa State brought itself back with nine points over two from K-State to pull far ahead. The Wildcats came back within one late in the game after an ace from sophomore setter Caitlyn Donahue, but they dropped the second game 22-25 following a kill from Iowa State.

By the end of game two, K-State was holding its opponent to a .151 hitting percentage, a low number considering the national ranking owned by the Cyclones. Senior outside hitter Victoria Henson, the Iowa State player to watch, had 11 kills — far beyond anyone else — and a .231, but those are actually lower than could be expected from her, a testament to the increased drive from K-State's defense.

Following suit from the previous game, Iowa State had a huge upswing to claim the lead in the beginning of game three, going 8-2 into a timeout. The Cyclones kept a massive pressure on K-State and continued to surge ahead, eventually winning the match 25-16.

K-State returns to action this Saturday with the last conference home match against Nebraska before the Cornhuskers leave the Big 12 next year.