A&M Falls to ISU, 3-1

Friday, September 11

Iowa City, Iowa

1:30 PM

Texas A&M

4-2

Iowa State

5-2

Iowa State

Texas A&M

Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics

Sep 11, 2015 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

IOWA CITY, Iowa – No. 25 Texas A&M saw its four-match win streak come to an end as the Aggies opened the Comfort Suites Challenge with a 25-16, 25-16, 23-25, 25-20 loss to Iowa State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Other than the third set, the Aggies struggled to find a rhythm. In the opening frame, A&M (4-2) quickly found itself fighting from behind as the team was outhit .345 to .000. The Aggies trailed 15-10 following an ISU three-point run but came back to get within 18-15. The Cyclones then ripped off six unanswered points to be serving for the set. Aggie freshman opposite hitter Kaitlyn Blake, who finished the match with a career-high and team-high 14 kills, ended the run with a kill before ISU put down the set-winning kill.

ISU used a 9-0 rally to build a 17-7 cushion in the second set. A&M, which was outhit .229 to .128 in the set, chipped away at the lead, getting within 21-16 before the Cyclones reeled off four consecutive points to close out the set and take a 2-0 lead into the intermission.

Aggie senior Angela Lowak, appearing in her first match since suffering an ankle injury against Minnesota on August 29, and Blake sparked the Aggies to the third-set victory with a combined nine kills in the frame. Blake got the Aggies rolling early, teaming for a block and following with back-to-back kills as A&M pulled away from a 3-3 tie. A&M later held a narrow 8-7 advantage before reeling off five consecutive points to build its largest lead, 13-7.

ISU, which was outhit .205 to .143 in the frame, fought back and eventually tied the score at 21-21. Lowak kept A&M in the lead with a kill, and ISU followed with an attack error to put A&M up, 23-21. The teams then exchanged kills for the remainder of the set with Lowak closing it out with her fifth kill of the set.

The Cyclones jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the fourth set, but Lowak and junior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers helped get the Aggies back into striking distance, posting five kills apiece in the stanza. A Babers kill put A&M within 19-16 and Lowak later had a kill that again put A&M within three points at 20-17, but the Aggies were unable to get any closer. ISU countered with three consecutive points, two coming from A&M errors, to go up 23-17. A kill by Blake and a block by Emily Hardesty and Babers put A&M within 23-19, but Ciara Capezio put down her match-leading 15^th kill to put the Cyclones at match point. ISU served into the net to give A&M its final point before Samara West clinched the win for ISU with her 13^th kill of the contest.

ISU outhit A&M, .259 to .139, in the match and outblocked the Aggies, 10-5. The Cyclones also had eight aces to A&M's two.

Sophomore libero Amy Nettles led A&M defensively with 16 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Kiara McGee finished with 10 digs, as did sophomore setter Stephanie Aiple, who also dished out 35 assists.

A&M returns to the court at 6 p.m. today to face Milwaukee. The Aggies close out the tournament Saturday at 7 p.m. against the host Hawkeyes.

Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook and on Twitter and Instagram by following @AggieVolleyball.