Iowa State faced off against a nationally-ranked conference clicking on all cylinders Wednesday night, falling in just four sets in front of a home crowd at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones dropped to 8-8 overall.

Iowa State came into Wednesday night's match facing much adversity following consecutive five-set losses to Houston and Kansas State, as well as the news of star outside hitter Nayeli Gonzalez would be out with a season ending injury. The Cyclones were also without Maya Duckworth and Pam McCune.

The changes brought about a new rotation against BYU. Middle blocker Tierney Jackson started the first set, and freshman libero/outside hitter Rachel Van Gorp played all around while hitting outside, outside/rightside hitter Faith DeRonde shifted outside after primarily playing back row, and both Morgan Brandt and Emily Bobbit moved into the setters' role. Iowa State was also forced to pull up a player from its club team, Jordyn Letter.

Set 1

After a back and forth start, the Cyclones pushed against the Cougars. BYU called a timeout after Iowa State opened 4-0, as Van Gorp garnered two aces. Near the end of the set, Amiree Hendricks-Walker had already notched three kills, while Bobbit and Brandt each had four assists. BYU pushed back against Iowa State, opening an 18-17 lead and forcing the Cyclones to call their first timeout. The Cougars continued to push and forced another ISU timeout after opening a 22-18 lead. BYU went on to win the opening set, 25-20. Hendricks-Walker led with three kills, while four other players had two kills each. Brandt led with six assists, and Brooke Stonestreet led with five digs.

Set 2

The Cyclones got off to another fast start in the second set, scoring the first three points, as Van Gorp secured an early ace. Iowa State’s offense improved, Wachholz and Van Gorp gained two kills each early on to push the margin to 11-7, leading to a BYU timeout. DeRonde gained two kills and following an ace from Jackson, BYU used its second and final timeout as Iowa State pushed to a 15-10 lead. The Cougars rallied to cut the deficit to 19-17, leading to a timeout from ISU head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. The Cyclones gained two kills and two aces to push to a 23-18 lead. Wachholz grabbed another kill to get to set point and won the set 25-19 after a kill from Kiersten Schmitt. Van Gorp and Wachholz led the match with seven kills, followed by Hendricks-Walker and Schmitt with five each, and 17 kills total in the set. Brandt and Bobbit led with 12 assists and Stonestreet led with 12 digs.

Set 3

Iowa State opened with consecutive points after a kill and ace from Van Gorp. Both teams traded shots throughout the next several minutes, until the Cougars were able to climb out to a 17-13 lead. At that point, the Cyclones had 11 kills, nine assists, and 13 digs. ISU responded with three straight points to force a BYU timeout, getting kills from Wachholz and Jackson, then a block from Schmitt. The Cougars answered with two points to go up 20-16, causing the Cyclones to take their final timeout. Hendricks-Walker gained two kills and Brandt gained an ace before BYU took their last timeout after Iowa State cut the deficit to 23-21. After the timeout, Brandt added another ace, followed by a kill from Wachholz and another kill from Hendricks-Walker. Iowa State fought to the end and forced extra points before falling, 26-24, ending with with 18 kills, 16 assists, and 27 digs through three sets.

Set 4

I-State again opened with an early lead, getting a pair of kills. The 24th-ranked Cougars recovered, but were forced to call a timeout following a five-point run by the hosts that included four kills and one block that led to a 9-8 lead. BYU inched ahead 16-13 to force a timeout from the Cyclones. Johnson-Lynch took her final timeout as the Cougars extended their advantage to 19-14. BYU won the match going away 25-15, and locked up another match victory in conference play. ISU wrapped up the set with 10 kills, eight assists, and 10 digs.

Wachholz and Hendricks-Walker led the Cyclones with 12 kills, while four others added three. Brandt's 23 assists were a team-high, followed by Bobbit’s 21. Stonestreet led with 22 digs.

The Cyclones remain at home and will host Texas Tech on Friday night.