In front of a season high 2103 fans, the No. 11 Iowa State (10-3, 2-2 Big 12) volleyball team was able to sweep the Kansas State Wildcats (6-7, 0-3 Big 12) 25-15, 25-22 and 25-23. The sweep also snapped Iowa State’s season high two-game losing streak.

Kansas State was never able to find its rhythm during the first set as Iowa State’s defense held Kansas State to a .037 hitting percentage while committing six errors. Iowa State on the other hand was able to use a .346 hitting average to its advantage to take the first set.

Iowa State showed no signs of slowing down as they came out firing again. Kansas State was finally able to get past the Iowa State defense and made a late rally, but were once again denied the set. Iowa State hit above .300 with a hitting percentage of .333.

The Cyclones were able to overcome a 23-21 deficit and surge past the Wildcats to take the third set. Kansas State came out on the offensive end and held on to the lead for most of the set despite hitting just .220. The late push would not be enough as the Cyclones would prevail for the victory and the sweep.

Iowa State was able to hold Kansas State to a .159 hitting percentage despite only having two blocks in the game. For the Cyclones, senior setter Kaylee Manns was able to collect 41 assists for the second straight game.

The win was the second conference victory and Iowa State’s third straight victory over Kansas State. Sophomore middle blocker Debbie Stadick believes that this victory could really help boost the team’s morale.

“We just needed to get on a roll and get a little confidence back,” Stadick said. “We learned that we need to be going hard at it all the time and that’s what we wanted to do tonight.”

After hitting .171 during their two-game losing streak, the Cyclones were able to get back on track hitting .327 for the match. After the game head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch credited the strong offensive play to a total team effort that had been lacking as of late.

“We had other people step up offensively that haven’t necessarily done that the past two matches,” Johnson-Lynch said. “[Junior outside hitter Victoria Henson} really had to carry us [the past two matches]. This game other people stepped up.”

Despite sweeping Kansas State, Iowa State still had some issues with errors and allowing the Wildcats back into the game. Johnson-Lynch was still happy with the way that the team was able to stay focused and not let the opposing team shatter their confidence.

“We really wanted to do a better job on some of their hitters and block the ball, I don’t think we blocked very well,” Johnson-Lynch said. “We try to tell them when the score gets tight to just stay composed and aggressive and I thought we stayed aggressive at the end. We took some pretty good swings at the end and weren’t tentative and that’s good to see.”