The Cyclones defeated the Oklahoma Sooners in four sets Wednesday in Norman, Okla. 

With the win, the No. 13 Cyclones (18-4, 9-2 Big 12) remain in second place in the Big 12 behind only No. 9 Texas. 

“We knew Oklahoma was a good defensive team and we talked about keeping our composure as the rallies go on,” said coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. “That’s how Oklahoma plays, they try to force you into making a mistake through playing good defense.

“I thought we responded really well. It was good to see great defensive play on both sides and I thought we held our composure very well.”

The Cyclones had a number of contributors on the offensive end. Senior Carly Jenson nearly matched her career-high in kills with 25 to lead the team.

Jamie Straube and Kelsey Petersen added double-digit kills with 16 and 12. Behind them was Tenisha Matlock with eight and coming off the bench was freshman Victoria Hurtt. 

“I feel like we’re as healthy as we’ve ever been. I think a good sign of that is how Jenson is playing,” Johnson-Lynch said. “Last year, she started huge and then faded. This year, I think she’s playing right now as well as she has her whole career.”

Setter Alison Landwehr posted her career high in assists with 64. That mark is the highest since last year when she posted 62 in a five-set loss to Creighton in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

“I think our passing picked up,” Landwehr said. “Their blockers had trouble knowing where we were going, and we were mixing it up more than usual, which helped us in that situation.

“I was also going to Carly a lot and they couldn’t stop her. I think it was just a result of the hitters putting the ball away.”

Landwehr’s assist total was a career high, as was Jenson’s 65 attack attempts. It was the first time a Cyclone attacker had more than 60 this season. 

“Once we got to the third and fourth set, I was definitely getting a little tired,” Jenson said. “But I just tried to keep pushing through because I knew it was a big win down there.”

With redshirt freshman Hannah Willms struggling against the Sooners, Hurtt filled in and pleased her coach. 

“Hurtt came off the bench and was really big-time for us,” Johnson-Lynch said. “It’s really nice to have that bench that you can go to. We’re fortunate that we have great players coming off the bench for us right now.”

Iowa State will host Texas Tech at 4 p.m. Saturday. Last time it faced the Red Raiders (13-11, 1-9) in Lubbock, Texas, it was a quick three-game sweep for the Cyclones.

The match may not have been one to remember, but it did mark Johnson-Lynch’s record-breaking win to give her the most wins all-time as an ISU volleyball coach. 

When she was reminded that she broke the record at that match, Johnson-Lynch laughed and said with a smile that, “They all run together at some point.”

One player the team mentioned it would have to look out for is Amanda Dowdy. When the two teams faced last time, Dowdy was seemingly the only stand-out, recording a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs and was only one of two players to have a positive hitting percentage. 

“You’ve always got to continue to keep an eye on Dowdy,” Johnson-Lynch said. “We’ll figure that out over the next day. [Oklahoma] showed us some things that we need to work on. They served us short really well and we got very much exposed, so I bet you anything we’ll see that over the next couple weeks.”

It’s hard not to overlook a team like Texas Tech that only has one win in Big 12 play, but Johnson-Lynch said every match counts when trying to win out. 

“We have a pretty mature team that realizes that it’s really important for us to win out,” Johnson-Lynch said. “We’ve got to do everything we can that’s under our control to keep our high RPI and get us a host first- and second-round and get a good seed.

“When you keep that in the back of your head, you know how important this match is.”

The match against Texas Tech starts at 4 p.m. Saturday. Tickets can be bought for only $2 by any fan that comes with a ticket stub from the Iowa State-Kansas football game that takes place earlier that day at 11:30 a.m.