On paper, Kansas State only has one obvious strength.

The Wildcats rank in the bottom half of the Big 12 in hitting percentage, kills, assists and digs, but rank second in blocks with 2.76 per set. 

The ISU volleyball team, while aware of this fact, was not getting around Kansas State’s defense easily early on in Wednesday night’s match at Hilton Coliseum, which the Cyclones won in straight sets (26-24, 25-19, 25-18).

Iowa State had a lead for much of the first set, but the Wildcats managed to come back and had blocked the Cyclones six times before ISU coach Christy Johnson-Lynch called a timeout with her team down 23-22.

“I think I said the same thing we always say: ‘Hit high and cover each other,’” Johnson-Lynch said of her timeout adjustment. “We knew K-State can be a pretty big and pretty dominating blocking team, and the philosophy when you play those teams is you better hit high. Don’t hit low; hit high and cover, and I don’t know that we did a great job of that the first half of the match.”

After the timeout, the Cyclones picked up a couple points including a block of their own to go up 24-23 before eventually winning the first set 26-24.

The adjustments resonated throughout the second set, as well. The Cyclones went on an 8-1 run in the middle of the set to go up 21-12. 

Kansas State made another comeback attempt, but the Cyclones thwarted it, taking the second set 25-19.

“I just think it was [due to] a lapse in intensity,” said ISU right side hitter Mackenzie Bigbee of the Wildcats’ comebacks. “It’s just about staying focused the whole time, being intense, ready to go 100 percent of the time. I think we’re still working on that. We struggle with that sometimes but we’re still working to make it better.”

There was once again a comeback effort to be stifled in the third set. The Cyclones led throughout but found themselves up 20-17 when Johnson-Lynch called another timeout. This proved effective once again, as they took the final set 25-18.

The Wildcats finished the match with nine blocks after tallying six in the first set. The Cyclones, who had just one block in the first set, ended the night with six and a half, using the adjustment not only to get around the opposition but to set up a wall of their own.

“This week we’ve been focusing a lot on our blocking,” Bigbee said. “I think we just all kind of applied it tonight and it worked out really well.”

Iowa State improved to 3-1 in the Big 12 and 9-5 overall following Wednesday’s match. The Cyclones will move on to face West Virginia on Saturday afternoon at home.