For the third year in a row, the ISU volleyball team is heading to the Sweet 16.

The Cyclones swept Wichita State (27–25, 25–21, 25–18) Saturday at Hilton Coliseum in another tightly-contested tournament match, making them just the third Big 12 team to make it to the round of 16 for three straight years.

“Although it wasn’t always pretty for us — I don’t know that we were always in a great rhythm, and it wasn’t always perfect — we found a way to grind it out and get it done,” ISU coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said. “Getting a win when you’re not playing perfect is part of being a great team.”

For the second match in a row, the Cyclones struggled out of the gate. Wichita State jumped out to an early lead until a 4–0 Cyclone run gave them their first lead of the night at 10–9. From there, the two teams traded points and took the set into extra action before a kill from sophomore outside hitter Rachel Hockaday ended the set.

Despite the Shockers holding a 4–1 advantage on blocks, Iowa State was able to hit .288 and recorded 22 kills, including nine from junior outside hitter Victoria Henson.

“They’re a solid blocking team, and that kind of rattled us at first,” said senior setter Kaylee Manns. “You kind of have to look back at some of the teams we play in the Big 12 and see how big their block is. We’re kind of used to that every night.”

Iowa State was able to get into an offensive rhythm in the second set and jump out to an early lead.

Consecutive violations of a foot fault, net violation and a double-hit by Wichita State gave the Cyclones an 11–5 lead. However, a 6–1 run from the Shockers would bring them back into the mix.

The Cyclones held a slim lead for the rest of the set before a block from Henson and sophomore middle blocker Debbie Stadick ended it.

The Shockers’ block began to show some holes in the set as Henson, Hockaday and sophomore outside hitter Kelsey Petersen combined for 13 kills.

“Victoria had nine kills in the first game, and we needed that to go away,” said Wichita State coach Chris Lamb. “I thought we had a good blocking performance, but it came down to plays behind the block for both sides, and I think they made more.”

The Cyclones dominated the third set, jumping out to an 8–3 lead. Wichita State’s only run in the set was ended by service error by Emily Stockman.

Johnson-Lynch was pleased with the team’s defensive effort after its shaky effort against George Mason. The Cyclones had four players in double-digits for digs and outdug the Shockers 65–49. They also took control of the net, finishing with an 8–6 blocking advantage, and held the Shockers to a season-low .28 kill percentage.

“I hope that we’re becoming known for our defensive play,” Johnson-Lynch said. “I was glad to see us get back to our identity, which is really getting after it defensively and keeping the ball alive.”

Manns, Henson and Hockaday finished the match with double-doubles. Junior libero Ashley Mass led the match with 18 digs, and freshman middle blocker Jamie Straube recorded a match-high four block assists.

The Cyclones opened the tournament with a sweep (25–22, 25–13, 25–19) over George Mason on Friday at Hilton Coliseum. George Mason provided somewhat of a preview for Wichita State as they also established a strong block that put Iowa State at an early disadvantage. Stadick led the Cyclone offense and the match with 11 kills.

The Cyclones will continue on their tournament run when they take on Big 12 nemesis Nebraska in Omaha. The meeting will be the third between the teams this season, with each team winning once.

”Here we go again,” Johnson-Lynch said. “We’ve got this huge, huge challenge ahead of us, and we’re just going to have to give it everything we’ve got.”

The match will take place at 7 p.m. next Friday in Omaha’s Qwest Center.