When the ISU volleyball team has gone up against struggling opponents this season, closing out the match quickly has been something they have struggled with.

Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum was different, as the No. 23 Cyclones (10-6, 4-2 Big 12) swept conference newcomer West Virginia (8-12, 0-6) in dramatic fashion. Iowa State won the third set by a score of 25-16 against the Mountaineers to secure the 700th victory in program history. 

ISU coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said getting a quick win was crucial.

“I think very important because we’ve been talking this week [that] this is a primer for next week,” Johnson-Lynch said. “We knew West Virginia was a tough serving team, so that would be a challenge, so we wanted to see some things that we’ve been working on, and it was good to see that.”

With the serving aspect in mind, the team altered how it attacked West Virginia to compensate. Senior Jamie Straube said they came in trying to beat them with their own medicine, and the strategy paid off.

“We knew that since they were a good serving team that usually means they aren’t as offensive, so we knew that we had to serve tough and play that same type of game with them and get them out of their offense,” Straube said.

Finishing off that elusive third set can be a difficult feat for any volleyball team and Iowa State is no exception.

Throughout the season, Johnson-Lynch and company have tried to figure out how to avoid the slow start they often had in third sets, but it ended up being the seniors who took the initiative and solved the issue.

“I think the main thing is we want to get in there quick, talk about the things we need to adjust [or] fix, and then make sure we have time to come out here and ball handle,” said senior Rachel Hockaday. “That’s something we’ve changed to make sure that our time in there is shorter so we can get back and we don’t start the third set cold.”

Another unusual aspect of Wednesday’s match for Iowa State was the balance of hitting.

Eight different players got in on the action offensively, and Hockaday credits it to how the team finished against Texas Tech last week.

“I just feel like after Saturday’s match versus Texas Tech it was kind of a turning point for us,” Hockaday said. “The first set with them was kind of a replication with how we have been this season — just kind of slow and not up to our potential — and the last three games were a lot better and I think we carried that over into tonight’s match and just ran with that from the very beginning.”

On paper, Christy Johnson-Lynch thought at the beginning of the season her team would have a lot of success blocking.

So far, the team hadn’t been able to find a groove until Wednesday night. The Cyclones out-blocked the Mountaineers 8-2 with three solo blocks.

“We’ve worked so hard on blocking the last couple days in practice and I think it really paid off,” Straube said. “I still think there’s some balls we should block but we’re getting there so that’s really good to see what we’ve been working on is translating into the game so very, very exciting to see where that keeps going.”

When Johnson-Lynch called the win a “primer for next week,” she was referring to the team’s matchup with No. 9 Texas in Austin, Texas.

Some Cyclone fans might remember the team’s 2009 victory against Texas at Hilton Coliseum, but the Cyclones have never won on Texas’ home court. That matchup will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 17, with first serve scheduled for 7 p.m.