Although the ISU volleyball team was celebrating the final home match for its four seniors, it was a junior who stepped up with the key performance.

Jen Malcom scored a career-high 18 kills and hit .441 as the Cyclones (17-13, 11-9 Big 12) solidified their NCAA Tournament resume with a 3-1 victory (30-23, 29-31, 30-18, 30-22) over the 21st-ranked Oklahoma Sooners in their season finale.

Coach Christy Johnson said Malcom’s competitiveness helps her out in big matches like Saturday’s with the Sooners (21-9, 13-7 Big 12).

“When it’s time to play and really get after it, she is so fiery and competes day in and day out,” Johnson said.

Malcom said she knew she needed a big performance since senior Lauren Cummings was playing on two sprained ankles.

“I knew I had to step up my game and not force as many balls to her,” Malcom said. “I just had to get myself open and take a lot of pressure off of other people.”

Cummings, however, did not show any ill effects from the injury, joining Malcom in double figures with 16 kills. Fellow senior Erin Boeve contributed another 12.

Sophomore Kaylee Manns had her 14th double-double of the season, with 56 assists and 17 digs, and freshman Ashley Mass had 30 digs -the first 30-dig match for a Cyclone in two years.

Johnson said Cummings’ level of play was a very pleasant surprise, considering her condition.

“We didn’t even think she’d play up until I submitted the lineup two minutes before the match,” Johnson said. “We said, ‘We’ll give it a try, and, if you can’t play, we’ll pull you back out.'”

Malcom and Cummings also started a Cyclone block that shut down the Oklahoma offense – to the tune of a .153 hitting percentage – while outblocking the Sooners 12-9 and hitting .233 themselves. Iowa State also outdug Oklahoma, 80-72, and had five service aces.

One of the members of the Cyclone defense, senior Laura Cady, was elated to obtain the victory in light of the Iowa State’s postseason situation.

“It was great to go out with a win, and it puts us in a lot better position than if we wouldn’t have won,” Cady said.

This victory may have cemented an at-large tournament berth for Iowa State, as the Cyclones scored their third victory over a ranked team this season while finishing fifth in the very tough Big 12 Conference. Last season, Missouri, which also finished with a conference record of 11-9, secured an at-large berth.

Johnson said the victory was very important for the program with so much riding on the match and the celebration of Senior Night.

“It was great for our team to rally around them and to play so well in this last home match,” Johnson said.

Malcom said the other players just wanted to get a victory and send the seniors out with a victory.

“These seniors have been working here for four years, and they deserve a senior night where we just go out and kick some butt and just dominate a team,” Malcom said. “You just need to go out and respect that and give your all for the seniors – and I just went out and played for the seniors.”