The Buffs lost to the Cyclones 25-21, 25-14, 25-16.

"(It) was a tough match, and while we were able to put together a solid performance in the first set against a top-10 team, that same high-level performance eluded us in the final two sets," CU coach Liz Kritza said. Colorado has lost 12 of its last 13 matches, all in Big 12 play to drop to 6-16 overall and 1-12 in conference action. Iowa State improved to 19-3, 11-2.

Rosie Steinhaus led the Buffs with 12 kills, 12 digs and a hitting percentage of .290 -- all team-highs. Becah Fogle added 12 kills, and hit .222.

"Both teams were fairly inefficient offensively in the first set, and we both rebounded after that," Kritza said. "But the difference is that they rebounded to hitting above .400 and we rebounded to hitting around .240."

Colorado remained within three points of the Iowa State lead in the third set until the Cyclones were able to score three points in a row, increasing their lead 11-6. The Buffs took a timeout and were able to answer back with a quick kill by Schroeder.

CU hit .175 in third set, up from .070 in the first and .139 in the second.

"Our belief is not shaken in what we are doing, but rather these difficulties thus far fuel our fire to be diligent in our training and preparation and know that success will be ours in the future," Kritza said. "It needs to be the near future though.

"While this inexperienced team is showing signs of improvement, the attitude and mentality of all the players and coaches is that we are not satisfied until we get this thing right. We are clearly making steps in the right direction, but we want success in the win-loss column."

The Buffs return to the Coors Event Center to face the Kansas Jayhawks on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The match will be televised on FSN Rocky Mountain.