After some extreme ups and downs Saturday, No. 13 Iowa State managed to grind out a four-set win over Texas A&M (25-22, 21-25, 25-11, 26-24). This was the Cyclones’ second win in a row after a loss to Kansas that continues to haunt the team.

Iowa State (13-4, 6-3 Big 12) started out slowly in set one, which is nothing new this season. Despite being sluggish, the team still managed to keep Texas A&M (9-10, 3-6 ) at bay, holding its best hitter Kelsey Black to a .056 hitting percentage for the first set.

Cyclones Carly Jenson and Victoria Henson contrasted with .364 and .133 percentages.

It wasn’t until the second set that the team’s complete lack of energy manifested itself to the extreme. The Cyclones’ lack of passion provided an opening for the Aggies, and they took the chance and sprinted to a quick 25 points to take the set.

“We just got tentative,” said middle blocker Jamie Straube. “We got a little slow, is the best way to put it. We just didn’t have enough emotion or enough heart to play.”

Even though the air had been deflated out of Iowa State’s game during the second set, two Cyclones had hit significant milestones by halftime.

Senior libero Ashley Mass tied the all-time Big 12 record for digs, reaching 2,032 for her career. She continued on to break that record in the third set and is now number one in the Big 12.

“She’s so consistent, and she’s an exceptional player,” said coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. “I think the reason she’s the Big 12 leader is because she does that night after night.”

Henson also had a performance for the record books, reaching and surpassing 1,500 career kills. She is only the third Cyclone in ISU history to reach that mark.

“[Henson and Mass] work so hard,” Straube said. “I think it’s motivation for the whole team to keep improving. To see how far they’ve come says a lot for our program.”

Following ISU’s flatness in the first two sets, the team that jogged back out of the locker room for the second half couldn’t have been more different.

“The talk after game two was about energy and excitement,” Johnson-Lynch said. “It was all about seeing people get excited after points. We told them to jump up and down, scream, fist-pump, whatever you need to do to get yourself into it.”

Not only did the Cyclones get excited, but they also rebounded to display an authority during the third set that saved their match. This was something they were not able to do against Kansas a week prior.

Part of the improvement involved better blocking. The team only had two blocks for the first two sets. During the third and fourth sets, the Cyclones more than doubled that, adding five more to their tally.

“Our blocking was not great most of the match,” Johnson-Lynch said. “That haunted us down at KU and it almost haunted us tonight. I thought we came back though and had several blocks at the end.”

After dominating the third set with a 14-point margin, the Cyclones become slightly tentative again during the fourth. They still managed to hold on for the win, hitting at .254 for the night, with the Aggies only notching .169.

The Cyclones also managed to contain Aggie go-to hitter, Black, who only managed .120, lower than any of the Cyclones’ starting offense.

“It’s always good to get their best player frustrated,” said setter Alison Landwehr. “Just her knowing that maybe she’s not going to get up there and get a swing and kill every time kind of puts doubt in her mind.”

Although the Cyclones have another win under their belts, they have still identified things they need to work on for the rest of the season. This includes their trend of slow starts, which Johnson-Lynch attributes to the tough schedule the team has and will continue to endure.

The team will continue its Big 12 competition as it heads to Colorado to take on the Buffaloes at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.