Kansas State Sweeps Past Iowa State, 3-0

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State volleyball team was swept by Kansas State 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-18) Wednesday night at Ahearn Field House. The loss dropped ISU to 16-9 overall and 9-5 in Big 12 play. The Wildcats improved to 17-8 overall and moved into third in the Big 12 at 9-4.

Jess Schaben led Iowa State with nine kills and a career-high 10 digs. Caitlin Nolan led the back-line with 13 digs, and Ciara Capezio posted 12 digs.

ISU Can't Hold Big Lead, K-State Pulls Ahead Late
Iowa State totally controlled action out of the gate, racking up the first five points, which included one kill each for Morgan Kuhrt, Jess Schaben and Samara West. The Wildcats helped ISU as much as the Cyclones helped themselves, as four unforced attack errors helped fuel the Cyclones early momentum, as ISU got back ahead five at 11-6. Kansas State was not going away easily, as they got more aggressive on offense to go on a 5-0 run to tie it back up at 13-13.

The set played out intensely, as both teams exchanged ties and leads throughout the rest of the set, which finished with 10 ties and seven lead changes. A back-row kill from Schaben, followed by an attack error by Alyssa Schultejans to give the Cyclones a two-point advantage again at 20-18. The Wildcats were resilient, going on a 3-0 run to get back ahead at 21-20. ISU got ahead one more time at 22-21 on a Ciara Capezio ace, but K-State would get back ahead and close out the set on its first try via a Katie Reininger kill at 25-23.

Wildcat Block Gives KSU 2-0 Lead
Like the first set ended, the second set resumed, with both teams keeping each other within arms' reach. ISU finally got a little breathing room thanks to some Kansas State attack errors to get ahead 7-4. The breathing room was short-lived, as the Wildcats went on a 6-0 run to move ahead 11-8. The Cyclones were playing well, and able to get back within one of tying the set, but the Cyclones continued to struggle to find the breakthrough and tie the set back up.

Kansas State was finally able to pull away late, as a 3-0 run got the Wildcats a valuable four-point edge at 20-16. ISU made one final push, cutting the K-State lead to two at 21-19 on a Kuhrt and Tory Knuth block of Brooke Sassin. However, the Wildcats continued their dominant blocking advantage over the Cyclones, getting consecutive blocks to bring up set point and sealing the set on the second try via a Sassin kill to take the second 25-20.

Middle Set Run Brings Wildcats Victory
It took a while for either side to get some breathing room in the third set, but it was the Wildcats who finally got an edge right around the halfway mark of the third, as an 8-0 run powered by a pair of ISU attack errors and a pair of K-State blocks got the home side ahead 19-11. The Kansas State block stepped its already impressive game up another notch, recording four blocks in the frame.

The Cyclones made a little run to make the score of the set more respectable, but the damage was done and it was too late for an Iowa State comeback. Match point was brought up at 24-18, and was converted on the first try on a Bryna Vogel service ace to take the match in three

Cyclone Notes
*Caitlin Nolan led Iowa State with 13 digs, her 72nd career match with at least 10 digs.
*Ciara Capezio posted 12 digs, her 10th match of 2015 in double figures and 29th of her career.
*Jess Schaben recorded a career-high 10 digs, her first career effort in double digits. Her previous best was eight at West Virginia on Nov. 11.
*Schaben led Iowa State with nine kills, bringing her up to 273 on the season. She is tied with Ciara Capezio (2013) for the fourth-most kills in a season by a freshman in Iowa State history.

Up Next
Iowa State continues its Big 12 road excursion Saturday in Lubbock against Texas Tech. First serve between the Cyclones and Red Raiders is slated for 3 p.m.

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Team Stats

Jess Schaben

Morgan Kuhrt

Alexis Conaway

Ciara Capezio

Players Mentioned

Ciara Capezio

Tory Knuth

Morgan Kuhrt

Caitlin Nolan

Jess Schaben

Samara West

Sponsors

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