The possibility of falling victim to an upset can be the best way to tighten sloppy play.

For the Cyclone volleyball team, this certainly applied Wednesday night.

No. 16 Iowa State (20-7, 13-6 Big 12) answered back to resurging Texas Tech (4-24, 2-17) to defeat the Red Raiders in four sets (25-19, 25-14, 25-27, 25-14).

The Cyclones started the first set on a roll, leading by as much as 13 at one point, before the Red Raiders went on a 14-3 run to pull within three. However, the Cyclones reeled off three straight points to win the first set, 25-19.

The ISU offense managed a productive first two sets, hitting for 18 kills in each set with an average of .334 in hitting percentage.

The defense clicked as well for the Cyclones, who held the Red Raiders to just nine kills in each of the first two sets with an average of .087 in hitting percentage.

The third set presented another scare for the cardinal and gold as the Cyclones fell into a 10-4 hole before a 6-0 run knotted the score at 10-10.

Outside hitter Carly Jenson gave the team its first lead of the third set with a kill with the score knotted up at 15-15.

The theme of back-and-forth competition continued from then on before the Cyclones sat at match point, 24-22.

Three blocks and two kills later, Texas Tech won the third set, 27-25, to win its first set against Iowa State since Sep. 29, 2007.

The Cyclones rebounded and sealed the deal with a 25-14 fourth-set victory.

Right side hitter Kelsey Petersen had one of her best matches of the latter half of the season with 11 kills and only two attack errors for a hitting percentage of .375.

The Kearney, Neb., native’s other two 11-kill performances came in early-season victories over Kentucky and South Dakota State. However, her season-high performance in kills was on Nov. 21 against Texas A&M, in which she had 14.

Outside hitter Victoria Henson led all hitters with a match-high 23 kills and a .327 hitting percentage. Her season-high 20 digs gives her her second straight double-double and her 12th of the season.

Jenson notched 14 kills and 16 digs for her 13th double-double of the season, a team high.

Setter Alison Landwehr had a match-high 58 assists, her second-highest total of the season. Her highest total on the season is 59, which she had in a Oct. 20 match against Colorado.

Libero Ashley Mass recorded her second-highest performance in digs with 29, a match-high. The only time she had more digs than that was in a Nov. 6 loss to Missouri, where she had 31.

The Cyclones finish their season against No. 8 Texas on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum. The first serve is set for 6:30 p.m.