Cyclone Rally Falls Short In 3-2 Loss To UWM

Friday, August 29

Milwaukee, Wis.

7:30 PM

Iowa State

Milwaukee

Cyclone Rally Falls Short In 3-2 Loss To UWM

08.29.2008 | Volleyball

By: cyclones.com

MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Iowa State fought back from a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth set but the rally fell short as UWM upset the 18th-ranked Cyclones, 3-2 (25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 23-25, 15-11), on Friday at the Panther Invitational.

The Cyclones (1-1) got 19 kills from Victoria Henson and 27 digs from Ashley Mass but were unable to overcome a .133 hitting percentage in the end. Kaylee Manns finished with 45 assists and 22 digs.

"We just had a lot of trouble putting the ball away tonight," Iowa State head coach Christy Johnson said. "We matched them in every other category but you need to be able to put it away and we weren't able to do that tonight."

The Panthers (1-1) got 21 kills from Maddie Sueppel and 15 from Becky Peters. Lauren Felsing had a match-high 29 digs in the match.

The Panthers out hit the Cyclones, .256 to .172, and controlled the first set to hold on for a 25-21 win to go on top. ISU led early at at 6-4 but Milwaukee scrapped back and took the lead for good at 7-6. The Cyclones made a late charge to get within one at 19-18 on a kill from Rachel Hockaday but the Panthers regained control following a timeout on a service error from Mass and an ace from Kellye Zaporski before going on a 5-3 run to close out the set.

Natalie Schmitting and Becky Peters paced the UWM offensive attack with five kills each. The Cyclones got three kills each from Bisenius and Malcom. Mass had six digs in the first frame.

After opening up a 14-7 lead on a Malcom kill, ISU was unable to hold the momentum as UWM evened things up at 16-16 with a 9-2 run. The Panthers extended their lead to 21-18 before the Cyclones scored three of the next four to close the gap to one at 22-21 following a Henson kill. That was all the closer the Cyclones would get with UWM scoring four of the next five to win 25-22 and head into the intermission with a 2-0 lead.

The Cyclones were plagued by poor hitting, striking the ball at an .039 clip. Defensively, ISU held UWM to a .095 hitting percentage in the second set.

Iowa State had to come from behind in the third set to force a fourth. The Cyclones trailed 17-15 before tying up on a block by Manns and Malcom and then taking the lead on Henson's third kill of the set. ISU went to Henson and Hockaday down the stretch, with the duo six of the Cyclones' final eight points in the set. Hockaday's fourth kill proved to be the game-winner, giving ISU a 25-21 win and closing the gap to 2-1.

ISU held off a fierce UWM rally in the fourth set after letting another big lead slip away. The Cyclones led 7-1 before Milwaukee turned up the heat, eventually taking a 12-11 lead. The Panthers grabbed another lead at 14-13 but the Cyclones rallied back. With the teams scrapping for every point they could get, the Cyclones took a four point lead at 23-19 and held on to win 25-23.

The fifth set was no different than the rest as the teams battled back-and-forth for every point. ISU led early at 6-5 but the Panthers held an 8-7 edge when the teams switched sides. The Cyclones grabbed a 10-9 lead on a Malcom kill but UWM rattled off four straight to go on top 13-11. After a kill from Henson, UWM scored two straight to get the win.

Iowa State wraps up tournament play tomorrow against Mississippi (2-0) at noon.