No. 23 Iowa State Falls to UCSB

AMES, Iowa – No. 23 Iowa State (7-2, 0-0 Big 12) fell to UCSB (9-1, 0-0 Big West) in four sets (25-20, 20-25, 18-25, 20-25) Thursday night at the Cyclone Invite.

UCSB hit over .300 on the night, while Iowa State hit just .169. The Cyclones totaled 28 attack errors through the match compared to the Gauchos' 10.

The Cyclones had three in double figures, Nayeli Gonzalez (14), Maya Duckworth (12) and Jordan Hopp (11). Duckworth extended her 10-plus kill hitting streak to five with the total.

Gonzalez put up her first-career double-double as she added 11 digs to her 14 kills. Morgan Brandt also had a double-double, her sixth this season, with 36 assists and 15 digs. Brooke Stonestreet was the third with over 10 digs with 14.

SET ONE

Pam McCune nailed down her second kill on her second swing to keep the Cyclones up at 11-8 as the match began. The Cyclones kept with the efficient hitting as Hopp sent over her third kill on just four swings to extend the lead to 18-12. UCSB rallied back to make it 23-20, but a Gonzalez kill sent the first to set point as Gonzalez followed that up with an ace to give ISU the 1-0 match lead.

SET TWO

UCSB went out to take the advantage of 5-1 as Iowa State called a timeout. As the Gauchos continued to lead at 8-4, the Cyclones began to claw back to tie things at 12. The teams tied things twice more before UCSB took three-straight points to lead 17-14. The Gauchos went on to take the set 25-20, outhitting the Cyclones .364-.179 in the set.

SET THREE

Iowa State continued to be outhit while the Cyclones tallied four attack errors, leading UCSB to run ahead 9-4. The Gauchos found 20 points while ISU held 14, making their way to set point at 24-14. The Cyclones fought it off four times, but UCSB took the set 25-18 to go ahead in the match 2-1.

SET FOUR
Iowa State hit a run of four straight to come within two at 9-7. UCSB pulled away, stretching a lead to 20-12 after the Cyclones totaled their 25^th attack error. ISU battled, taking four-straight points including two aces by Morgan Brandt as the score was brought to 21-17. The Cyclones fought off match point twice, but UCSB went on to win it 25-20.

NEXT UP

Iowa State continues the Cyclone Invite tomorrow, meeting Ohio at 6:30 p.m.

Players Mentioned

Morgan Brandt

Maya Duckworth

Nayeli Gonzalez

Jordan Hopp

Pam McCune

Brooke Stonestreet