The residual hangover that carries from a 5-set match against the reigning national champion is to be expected, sure. Emotional weight, physical fatigue, and mental stress can linger for hours, even days. For the Jays, they had little time to nurse the hangover by having to play a solid opponent in Iowa State less than 24 hours after dropping an exciting 5-setter against Nebraska.
“If we’d won or lost last night, this was going to be a tough game. It was such an emotional match, and it was almost worst case scenario. We go five, we lose, and it’s been a tough 24 hours emotionally,” Kristen Bernthal-Booth said after the match.