The first morning match of the season got off to a slow start for the ISU volleyball team on Saturday, but it didn’t last long.

No. 22 Iowa State (9-6, 3-2 Big 12) won the final three sets against Texas Tech (11-9, 0-4) on Saturday morning after dropping the first. 

After being tied at five apiece in the first set with the Red Raiders, the Cyclones fell behind and trailed for the remainder of the set. Iowa State hit just .143 in the first set and committed nine attack errors.

The second set was a turning point for the team though, as the Cyclones started on a 10-2 run and eventually won the set 25-17. Outside hitter Rachel Hockaday contributed eight kills in the set. 

Following that second set, Iowa State led 18-5 in the third set before Texas Tech went on a small run. The Cyclones took the third set by a commanding 25-10 margin and won the fourth set 25-16 to secure the match.

Hockaday led the way for the Cyclones in the victory, going 20-of-41 in kills for a .390 hitting percentage. Overall the team ended up hitting .255 even after it’s slow start in the first set — that’s above the team’s .226 season average. 

Libero Kristen Hahn — who averaged 6.07 digs per set in Big 12 play entering the match — contributed 24 digs for a 6.00 digs per set average. 

Iowa State will return to Hilton Coliseum on Wednesday to take on new Big 12 member West Virginia. First serve for that match is set for 6:30 p.m.