Iowa State Falls to No. 22 Utah

MISSOULA, Montana – Iowa State fell to No. 22 Utah 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-17) in the championship match of the Montana Invitational Saturday at Dahlberg Arena. The loss drops the Cyclones to 5-2 on the season, while Utah leaves Missoula with a 5-1 record.

The Utes' offense clicked its way to a .287 hitting percentage to win the tournament championship. ISU was led on the day by Grace Lazard's nine kills at a .389 hitting percentage. In the back row, Piper Mauck had a double-double of 21 assists and 14 digs, Jess Schaben had 13 digs and Piper Mauck had 12 digs.

Set One: Utah 25 Iowa State 22
Iowa State's attack was clicking early, as the Cyclones raced out to a 9-4 advantage. The Utah attack settled in, and went on a 6-0 run to move ahead 14-12. ISU wasted little time getting back into it, as a quick 3-0 run put the Cyclones back in front at 15-14. The Utes moved back ahead at 19-18, and were able to pull away for the set win from there, as Hannah Bailey's shot was blocked by Phoebe Grace and Dani Drews to give Utah the first set 25-22.

Set Two: Utah 25 Iowa State 21
Again the Cyclones were better in the early portions of the set, with a Grace Lazard ace helping push ISU ahead 10-4. Utah cut the Cyclone lead to a pair at 13-11, but Izzy Enna served up a 4-0 run to push the lead back to six at 17-11. The Utes moved to a 6-2 offense and knotted the set at 21-21 on a Dani Drews ace. It was part of a 6-0 Utah run to close out the set, with Avery Rhodes being denied by Lauga Gauta and Phoebe Grace to lock up the second 25-21.

Set Three: Utah 25 Iowa State 17
Eleanor Holthaus and Lazard were the sources of the Cyclone offense early in the third, as three kills for each helped push ISU ahead early. The Utes got a strong serving run from Drews to move ahead 14-11, and it was all the gap they needed. Utah hit .414 as a team in the set, and finished off the sweep when Jenna Brandt's serve went long at 25-17.

Up Next
Iowa State has three matches in Nebraska next weekend, starting with the Bluejay Invitational on Friday. ISU will take on hosts Creighton at 6 p.m. with NET out of Nebraska showing and streaming the match.

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Team Stats

Grace Lazard

Eleanor Holthaus

Jess Schaben

Avery Rhodes

Players Mentioned

Hannah Bailey

Jenna Brandt

Izzy Enna

Eleanor Holthaus

Grace Lazard

Piper Mauck

Avery Rhodes

Jess Schaben

Players Mentioned

Hannah Bailey

Jenna Brandt

Izzy Enna

Eleanor Holthaus

Grace Lazard

Piper Mauck

Avery Rhodes

Jess Schaben

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