The ISU volleyball team got off to a sizzling start Wednesday night, but had to fight off a tough Baylor Bears team that took them the distance and then some.

The Cyclones (15-10, 9-6 Big 12) used a rock-solid defense to defeat the Bears (14-12, 6-9) in a back-and-forth five-game thriller (30-20, 31-33, 30-27, 25-30, 16-14).

Iowa State held Baylor to a .162 hitting percentage, which is 80 points below their season average, but only hit .222. The Cyclones also outblocked the Bears, 17.5 to 14, and outdug them, 102-90, as well.

Coach Christy Johnson said the defense was the part of the game the Cyclones were able to rely on.

“We’ve said it all year – we’re a great defensive team,” Johnson said. “Lots of coaches say defense wins championships, and I certainly believe in that.”

Iowa State took control of a tight first game with an 8-0 run and rode that to a 30-20 victory, in which they hit .438 and held Baylor to .057.

Senior middle blocker Erin Boeve said the Cyclones’ goal was to come out of the gate fast.

“Against [Texas] A&M, we struggled with that aspect of the game,” Boeve said. “One of our big things was to take over game one and the momentum kind of rolls.”

Baylor slowed down the Cyclone attack for the most part in game two, fighting off two game points before winning the last three points to take the game, 33-31. Baylor middle blocker Anna Breyfogle finished off a game in which Iowa State trailed by three, but went on a 5-1 run to take the lead before Baylor came back to win.

The Cyclones trailed early in game three, but went on a 7-0 run with sophomore outside hitter Victoria Henson at the service line and carried the momentum from that to a 30-27 victory.

Boeve said being able to fight back after losses twice against Baylor will help Iowa State down the stretch.

“This was a huge and much-needed win for us,” Boeve said. “I think just to keep that fight throughout the five games was really important for us and will really help us going into this weekend.”

Baylor refused to let the match end in game four, using key kills from their go-to players, outside hitter Katie Sanders and Breyfogle, to get a 30-25 win and send the match to a deciding fifth game.

Game five, like the first four, had no shortage of heart-stopping moments. Iowa State led early and often, but Baylor fought back to tie the game, 14-14, before the Cyclone defense rose again and forced two errors to end the match.

“It was a little bit like pulling teeth tonight,” Johnson said. “It was just tough to just get to that [16th] point in the fifth game.”

Senior middle blocker Jen Malcom said Baylor has improved since the Cyclones swept them in September.

“Baylor is a good team and stepped up,” Malcom said. “We just need to keep playing our game and just keep stepping up.”

Sanders had 20 kills, but she also had 10 errors on 65 attacks to hit only .154 for the Bears. Baylor had over half of its attacks go to Sanders and their other outside hitter, Ashlie Christenson.

Johnson said she was impressed with how those players were able to get kills against the Cyclone block.

“They put the ball away against Lauren Cummings and Erin Boeve, which is one of the biggest blocks you’ll probably ever see in college volleyball,” Johnson said. “It’s hard to have an answer to a player like that.”

Three players set personal records

In their hard-fought battle against the Baylor Bears, several ISU volleyball players were able to rewrite their own personal record books.

-Senior Lauren Cummings had a double-double, leading the Cyclones in kills with a career-high 22 to go with 12 digs

-Redshirt freshman Victoria Henson put down a career-high 18 kills.

-Freshman Ashley Mass led the team in digs with a career-high 29.