The Kansas Jayhawks capitalized on an impressive defensive performance to beat their first top-10 ranked opponent in program history, defeating No. 10 Iowa State 3-1 (25-14, 25-23, 20-25, 25-17).

Kansas senior libero Melissa Manda turned in a career-high performance with 32 digs as the Jayhawks held the Cyclones (11-4, 4-3 Big 12) to a .182 hitting percentage just three nights after hitting a season-best .441 against Texas Tech. Offensively for the Jayhawks, senior Karina Garlington led the team with 18 kills on a .378 clip.

“I think they did a good job of doubling up blockers on our outside, and we just weren’t able to generate offense in our other positions,” said ISU coach Christy Johnson-Lynch.

The Jayhawks jumped out to an early lead, hitting .353 en route to a 25-14 victory in the first set. The 14 points by Iowa State was its lowest total in a set since scoring only 11 in their season-ending loss to Nebraska in the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

The Cyclones outhit the Jayhawks in the second set .261 to .231, but Kansas used three of its four service aces to put away the Cyclones 25-23 and head into the locker room up 2-0.

Leavenworth, Kan., native Victoria Henson came out for the third set and dominated at the net, putting down eight kills as the Cyclones hit .333 in a 25-20 win in the third. However that would be the end of the comeback as the Cyclones couldn’t generate any offense, hitting .026 in the Jayhawks’ 25-17 victory in the fourth set.

Henson finished with a match- and season-high 22 kills on a .308 clip. Junior right-side hitter Kelsey Petersen also hit for double-digit kills with 10. Sophomore setter Alison Landwehr ended with 43 assists, and senior libero Ashley Mass led the Cyclones with 22 digs.

“Victoria was amazing out there,” Johnson-Lynch said.

“She had two blockers on her all night, but she played with a lot of heart and she did just about everything we could have asked from her.”

Besides Henson, who accounted for 43 percent of the ISU kills, the Cyclones hit for only a .121 hitting percentage on the evening.

“We didn’t really have any standout performances at the other positions, when we really need three or four players to play well if we want to take a match like that on the road,” Johnson-Lynch said.

The loss for the Cyclones was the first to an unranked opponent since being swept at Oklahoma on Nov. 22, 2008. With 13 regular-season matches remaining, Johnson-Lynch hopes her team will be able to respond with improvement following the upset.

“We have to keep working hard,” Johnson-Lynch said. “There’s a lot of season left and a lot of matches left, we just have to get to practice this week and focus on improving every day.”

Iowa State will look to bounce back when it hosts the other Sunflower State opponent in the Big 12, Kansas State (9-9, 3-4), at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Ames High.