It was a tough weekend for the Cyclones at the Heartland Invitational (Oct. 11-12) as they went 1-3 overall and faced three nationally ranked teams.

Oct. 11
The first morning, the No. 18 ranked Cyclones faced No. 4 Parkland College, and they battled through five sets with Moraine Valley coming up just short (22-25, 25-22, 17-25, 25-18, 12-15). Ava Pequette finished with 35 assists and 16 digs; Sophia Davidson collected 30 digs while Lily Avelar had 26. Mary Zielinski amassed 29 kills and 19 digs.

The next match of the day was with Hawkeye Community College, which the Cyclones dominated 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-12). Pequette led with 23 assists and added eight digs. Avelar had 17 digs while Davidson had 13. Zielinski had 12 kills and Amber Kingston added five.

Oct. 12
The next morning, the Cyclones had a tough matchup with No. 5 ranked Heartland Community College (8-25, 25-21, 12-25, 13-25). This was the second time these two teams have met this season. Although the Cyclones had a solid second set, they struggled to continue that momentum into the final two. Zielinski collected 15 kills, Pequette had 25 assists and Avelar had 14 digs.

In their final match of the invitational, the Cyclones faced a tough No. 3 ranked Kirkwood Community College, falling in three sets (20-25, 14-25, 17-25). Davidson led with 17 digs while Cameron Szyszka collected 15. Pequette had 11 assists and eight digs. Avelar amassed 10 digs.