Cyclones struggle at home against No. 18 OSU
AMES — The nationally ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys took advantage of three Austen Arnaud interceptions and led 13-0 at halftime before cruising to the 34-8 win over Iowa State at Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday.
Oklahoma State rushed for 331 yards in the win as Keith Toston gained 206 yards on 25 carries. Toston also scored three second-half touchdowns as the Cowboys lead grew to 27-0 after three quarters.
Iowa State got a 45-yard pass play from Arnaud to Alexander Robinson early in the fourth quarter but that’s all the points the Cyclones could muster as they dropped to 5-5 on the season and are now 2-4 in Big 12 play.
Robinson gained just 51 yards on 16 carries, while Arnaud was 14-of-27 for 188 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.
The Iowa State defense was led by James Smith’s 12 tackles. Fred Garrin and Jesse Smith each had 10 tackles as well.
Patrick Lavine had eight tackles, one interception and one sack to lead the Cowboys defense. Oklahoma State also sacked Arnaud three times in the win.
The Cyclones will try to become bowl eligible this weekend when they host Colorado at Jack Trice Stadium. Iowa State then travels to Missouri in the season’s final week for a date with the Tigers.
ISU falls to No. 10 Nebraska before record crowd
AMES (ISU) — Tenth-ranked Nebraska used a balanced attack and hit .327 to defeat No. 8 Iowa State, 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-23), Saturday night in front of a standing room only, school-record crowd of 10,203 fans at Hilton Coliseum.
The Cyclones (20-4, 12-3 Big 12) struggled to find an answer for the Huskers attack as five NU players posted eight or more kills.
“It was probably a combination of things. It is hard to regroup and recover after some of the big wins we’ve had. With Nebraska, then Baylor and then Texas, it tends to wear on you after awhile,” ISU head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said. “What we talked about is that there is big difference in going into a match as an underdog, which we’ve done most of their careers. The tide turns. Now we are the ones with something to lose.”
The Huskers (18-6, 11-4) controlled the match with strong passing that allowed for setter Sydney Anderson, who finished with 39 assists, to distribute the ball all over the court.
“If you looked at the perfect passes they had, they passed to their setter every time,” Johnson-Lynch said. “It is tough to stop a team that passes to the setter every time. On the opposite side, we passed to our setter 10 or 12 feet off the net and had high passes to the outside all night. I think the nerves and the tentativeness showed up a lot in the passing and setting aspect of the game.”
Iowa State was led by Rachel Hockaday’s 10 kills and Ashley Mass’ match-high 18 digs. Debbie Stadick had eight kills, while Kelsey Petersen and Victoria Henson finished with seven each.
Iowa State returns to action Wednesday at Texas A&M. First serve for the match is 6:30 p.m. from Reed Arena.
