Looking for some redemption, the Wildcats volleyball team took the court in hopes of defeating the Iowa State Cyclones. However, the Cyclones showed why they are the No. 2 ranked team in the Big 12 Conference as they swept the Wildcats in three sets (23-25, 21-25, 14-25) on Wednesday night in Ames, Iowa.
The Wildcats (18-10, 7-7) were able to battle the Cyclones (21-4, 12-2) in the first two sets, but the Cyclones took control in the third set and never allowed the Wildcats in the match.
K-State was led by junior captain Kathleen Ludwig and sophomore Kaitlynn Pelger, who both had nine kills for the night.
Iowa State, on the other hand, was led by senior Carly Jensen with 16 kills, including a hitting percentage of .520.
Both teams came out in the first set and battled back and forth. After the Wildcats held a 15-13 lead, the Cyclones scored six straight points to take the 4-point lead. The Wildcats would bounce back to tie the score at 22, but the Cyclones went on a run to win the first set by two.
The Cyclones continued to take over as they scored 7 of the first 8 points in the second set. The team built the lead to 23-14, and appeared to be in cruise control for a two set to zero lead.
However, the Wildcats went on a 6-point run of their own to pull within 3 and give themselves a chance to steal the set.
However, after an error on Pelger, the Cyclones were able to end the Wildcat run to take the set.
In the third set, the Wildcats hung early as the two teams were tied at 8 points. Iowa State would eventually close the match on a run of 17-6 to take the set and the match.
The Wildcats will be back in action on Saturday as they play host to the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The match has been moved to 3 p.m. due to the football game taking place in Austin.