Cyclones Fall to No. 25 Colorado

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Colorado	26	25	25	3
Iowa St.	24	16	23	0

Colorado

Iowa St.

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State (11-7, 5-2 Big 12) was handed just its second Big 12 loss by No. 25 Colorado (13-4, 4-3 Big 12) Thursday night in three sets by scores of 24-26, 16-25, 23-25.

After a career-high 14 kills and the first 10-plus kill match of her career last time out, Mesaiya Bettis kept her double figure kill streak alive and improved on her career high hitting 16 at .312. Nayeli Gonzalez was the second Cyclone in double figures with 13 at .321.

The reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week Rachel Van Gorp led the match with 16 digs. Freshman setter Ella Florez dialed in a new career high of 32 assists.

SET ONE

Colorado got on the board first, but ISU answered with a run of four capped with a Ti'a ace. Bettis would tally her fourth kill early to put the scoreboard at 8-4 with ISU up. Colorado kept things close and would retake the lead at 13-12, while the Buffaloes held the lead at the media timeout (15-13). Deep in the set Bettis went back-to-back with kills as ISU pulled within one at 21-20. Bettis again made it a one-point set at 22-21 as the hitter put down a ninth kill, and the set was brought to a tie at 23s. A big D'Aaliyah Kemp kill made for another tie at 24s, but Colorado took the next two to seal the set.

SET TWO

Bettis hit kill No. 10, continuing to lead the match, bringing the score to 5-3, CU early. Gonzalez then delivered back-to-back kills to come within one at 9-8. Shortly after, the visitors went up 12-9 to cause an ISU timeout, and Colorado remained with the advantage at 15-11. Both teams hit efficiently above .500 in the set, but Colorado's offense powered the Buffaloes to an 18-12 lead as ISU called its second timeout. CU kept control of the set to win 25-16.

SET THREE
Taylor Johnson halted a 4-0 Colorado run with her first kill of the match as CU held the narrow 5-3 lead. That kill sparked a Cyclone run of six that featured five kills by four Cyclones and an ace by Van Gorp. Iowa State won its challenge after a pancake was ruled successful, resulting in a replay as ISU remained up at 9-8. Colorado would find the lead at 13-12 and again reached the media timeout ahead by one. Iowa State provided another lead change at 18-17 and won the race to 20 (20-18) on the 15th kill by Bettis. CU went back ahead at 22-21 and pressed on to win by a sweep with a score of 25-23.

Next up

Iowa State hosts Utah this Saturday, Oct. 17 at 2 p.m. for the Pink Out match. It will be streamed on ESPN+.

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Players Mentioned

Mesaiya Bettis

Ella Florez

Nayeli Gonzalez

Taylor Johnson

D'Aaliyah Kemp

Rachel Van Gorp

Mesaiya Bettis

Nayeli Gonzalez

Pam McCune

Nayeli Ti'a

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