Wednesday’s marquee matchup of the Big 12 was at Hilton Coliseum when the No. 8 Iowa State Cyclones (19–3, 11–2 Big 12) hosted the No. 2 Texas Longhorns (18–0, 13–0).

Both teams were taken to the limit, and it would take five sets to determine a winner, but in the end, the Cyclones won the match 3–2 (22–25, 25–22, 25–15, 20–25, 15–12).

The opening set remained close with the Longhorns holding on to a 14–12 lead. Iowa State was able to recapture the lead at 18–17 when an attack error by the Longhorns’ junior outside hitter Juliann Faucette gave the Cyclones their first lead since being up 12–11. The Cyclones would rally to cut the lead to 23–22, but it would not be enough as the Longhorns would take the first set 25–22.

Iowa State’s defense did a nice job against the Longhorns’ senior outside hitter Destinee Hooker. Hooker came into the match the Big 12’s leader in hitting percentage but was held to just .083, a fact coach Christy Johnson-Lynch was very pleased with.

“Honestly, it wasn’t a big part of our game plan because it seems no matter how hard we prepare for [Hooker], we never slow her down, so we figured, we’ll just let her get her kills and slow down the other players,” Johnson-Lynch said. “We were fortunate enough that we could slow her down.”

Both teams came out looking to take the early advantage in the second set. Iowa State and Texas exchanged points, tying the game at five, then the Longhorns tied their biggest lead of the set at 11–9 off a kill by Hooker.

Texas was never able to put much distance between it and the Cyclones. Iowa State came charging back, tying the set at 14–14.

Utilizing a 3–1 run and a thundering kill by junior outside hitter Victoria Henson, Iowa State took its biggest lead of the set at 17–15. After a Longhorn kill that cut the lead to 17–16, the Cyclones used three straight errors by Texas to increase their lead to 20–16.

In an energetic end to the set, the Longhorns put together a strong comeback effort but fell short, allowing Iowa State to tie match at 1–1.

Iowa State opened the third set with a hot start.

Henson sparked the Cyclones’ offense with four kills to help give Iowa State a commanding 17–7 lead. However, Texas was not ready to give up and used a 5–1 run to cut the lead to 18–12.

Once again, Iowa State would respond.

Not wanting to allow the Longhorns to get back in the game, the Cyclones got hot once again, scoring seven points and closing out the third set with a 25–15 win, taking a 2–1 match lead into the fourth set.

After enduring their worst set loss of the season, it was the clear the Longhorns were looking to redeem themselves. Texas was quick to create space between it and the Cyclones, opening up with a 10–5 lead.

Momentum began swinging back to Iowa State’s side as the Cyclones rallied to cut the lead to 14–12. Texas was holding on to a 23–17 lead when Iowa State once again rallied and cut the lead in half, 23–20. Eventually, Texas would prevail and take the fourth set 25–20.

The decisive fifth set began with the two teams exchanging points, leading to a 10–10 tie. Iowa State scored the next three points and never looked back. A final kill by freshman middle blocker Jamie Straube put the exclamation point on a classic match and gave the Cyclones the match, 3–2.

The win was Iowa State’s first over Texas since Sept. 17, 2005.

Wednesday’s win marked the first time senior setter Kaylee Manns has been able to win against the Longhorns. She credits the win to the team’s ongoing belief in the power of positive thinking.

“Personally, I know after the Baylor game anything was possible,” Manns said. “We just stay positive. Coach talked about this before — positive body language, always act like you’re winning and that’s what we did.”