Iowa State Falls to No. 10 Kansas, 3-1

Wednesday, October 28

Ames, Iowa

6:00 PM

Iowa State

13-7, 6-3

Kansas

20-1, 8-1

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Kansas	20	28	25	25	3
Iowa State	25	26	15	20	1

Iowa State Falls to No. 10 Kansas, 3-1

10.28.2015 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State's volleyball team was able to take the first set from No. 10 Kansas, but was unable to build off that momentum, falling 3-1 (20-25, 28-26, 25-15, 25-20) Wednesday evening at Hilton Coliseum. The loss dropped ISU to 13-7 overall on the year and 6-3 in Big 12 play. Kansas improved to 20-1 and are tied atop the Big 12 with an 8-1 record after Texas' loss at TCU tonight.

Jess Schaben led Iowa State with 15 kills, while Morgan Kuhrt added 14 kills and Ciara Capezio chipped in with 13. Caitlin Nolan led the back row with 29 digs, while Monique Harris had a double-double of 46 assists and 12 digs.

Play of Kuhrt, Nolan Leads ISU to First Set Win
Iowa State ensured it was in command from the start, as a pair of kills by Morgan Kuhrt and one by Samara West put ISU ahead 3-0 early. The Cyclones built up a four-point lead, but KU showed why it is a top-10 team, using its dynamic offense to reduce the ISU advantage to one point at 10-9 on a Kelsie Payne kill. ISU bounced back strongly, again relying on the attack of Kuhrt to get its biggest lead of the set at 15-10 at the media timeout.

Iowa State continued to control the play out of the timeout, as the offense continued to be spread around, and the defense was anchored by the brilliant play of Caitlin Nolan, who finished the first with 14 digs. Kuhrt also had a brilliant set, recording eight kills at a .500 hitting percentage, including the set clincher that she tipped around the KU block to claim the first 25-20.

Kansas Prevails in Set Two Despite ISU Comeback
The Cyclones were slow out of the gates in the second, and the Jayhawks took advantage, reeling off the first three points of the frame. The Jayhawks fired up their Big 12-leading service game to help pile the pressure on ISU with Madison Rigdon adding an ace as ISU built up a five-point lead at 9-4. The Cyclones bounced back emphatically, with the continued offensive presence of Kuhrt and Schaben helping tie things back up at 11-11. Iowa State moved ahead next point when Kuhrt and Samara West stuffed Rigdon to make it 12-11 Cyclones.

The Jayhawks were ready to battle, and eventually worked their way back to the lead on a Rigdon kill at 16-15. It was all Iowa State from there, as the Cyclones took advantage of some Jayhawk sloppiness to run off four in a row to pull ahead 19-16. Once again, KU did not give up, running the next three points through some challenging rallies to tie it back up at 19-19. The rest of the set was full of drama as ISU had to fight off two KU set points, and Kansas had to fight off an ISU set point, too. At 27-26 KU, the Jayhawks finally sealed the set with a Rigdon kill at 28-26.

Jayhawks Dominate to Pull Ahead 2-1
The third saw Kansas use its strong serving game again to build up an early edge, as Rigdon's ace gave KU a three-point lead at 6-3. ISU struggled to get into the set, as the KU block started getting into ISU's head, as blocks by the Jayhawks led to unforced attack errors and KU pulling ahead 13-6.

There was never a reprieve for Iowa State, as the Jayhawks dominated on offense by hitting .444, and on defense by working to restrict ISU to a .000 hitting clip for the frame. KU finished off the set with a kill from Payne to take the frame 25-15 and move ahead 2-1 in the match.

Payne Inspires Kansas to Fourth Set Win and Match Win
It was more of the same for Iowa State in the fourth, as they saw the Jayhawks pull ahead early, using a 5-0 run to get ahead 5-1. After Kansas won a challenge on an Alexis Conaway shot to make its lead 9-4, Iowa State came out as a different team, going on a 4-0 run that brought Hilton Coliseum to life and chopped the Kansas lead to 9-8. The Cyclones continued to work hard to get back in contention, eventually tying the set at 12-12 on a Tayler Soucie attack error, and pulling ahead 13-12 when Tory Knuth and Grace Lazard stuffed Tiana Dockery.

The difference was Kelsie Payne, as Kansas' sophomore right side continued to dominate in the fourth set, as she recorded seven of her match-high 26 kills in the final frame. Jess Schaben did her best to keep the Cyclones in the match with five kills of her own in the frame, but it was not enough. Kansas was able to run off four points to make a 20-19 KU frame, a 24-19 KU lead, two points later, Rigdon got the kill to close the match at 25-20 in favor of the Jayhawks.

Cyclone Notes
*Morgan Kuhrt posted 14 kills, her sixth time in double figures in 2015 and 19th of her career.
*Caitlin Nolan finished the match with 29 digs, her 10th match of 2015 with at least 20 digs and 25th of her career. Nolan now has seven of the 11 highest dig totals in the Big 12 in 2015.
*In the first set, Nolan posted 14 digs, her 10th set in 2015 with at least 10 digs and the 20th of her career.
*Monique Harris finished with 46 assists and 12 digs, her eighth double-double of 2015 and 11th of her career.
*Ciara Capezio recorded 13 kills, her eighth match of the season in double figures and 37th of her career.
*Branen Berta posted 14 digs, her fifth time in double figures in 2015 and ninth of her career.
*Jess Schaben finished with a team-high 15 kills, her 14th time in 2015 in double figures.

Up Next
Iowa State is back at home Saturday when the Cyclones host Oklahoma. First serve is at noon with the match being televised on Cyclones.TV Powered by Mediacom.