On Friday night, the ISU volleyball team needed someone to step up as their big name players struggled.

On Saturday, the big guns were back.

With junior Erin Boeve and senior Katie Jessen starting slowly, the Cyclones turned to two lesser-known players in senior Jessica Klein and junior Lauren Cummings to lead them to victory over Valparaiso on Friday.

“We can’t have Boeve be the woman every night,” said coach Christy Johnson. “It’s good to have to have other people be ready to go.”

Iowa State breezed through the first game, 30-17, before the scrappy Crusaders stiffened up. Game two saw both team trading points before the Cyclones used a 7-4 run to close out the game at 30-26.

The final game saw Valparaiso take its first lead before Jessen came out of her mini-funk and took over the game. She had two kills and a block in the final seven points as Iowa State pulled away for a 30-23 win that clinched the sweep.

“They are a scrappy team and can play really good defense,” Johnson said. “It can be hard to stop that. We got a little lackadaisical on our side and kind of let them score on us when they shouldn’t have.”

Jessen came back from a slow start to lead the way for the Cyclones with 13 kills, but the big boost came from Klein and Cummings. Klein had 12 kills and hit a career-high .529, and Cummings came back from a poor first game to chip in nine kills.

“I definitely like to be a communicator on the floor and give some fire, spark and enthusiasm,” Jessen said.

The Cyclones returned to the court Saturday night against a tough South Dakota State team.

Iowa State wasn’t able to continue its trend of sweeps, but was able to dispose of the Jackrabbits in four games. After losing the first game 30-28, the Cyclones found themselves trailing game two before a late run propelled them to a win, 30-28. Games three and four were a little easier as Iowa State stepped up its defense and cruised to victory in both games, 30-20 and 30-22.

Jessen was back to her dominant self, recording a double-double with 19 kills and 13 digs. Klein had another career night, notching 11 block assists to go along 11 kills.

“I’m glad that tonight I was able to get points for the team,” Klein said. “I definitely was able to see the block well and Kaylee [Manns] did a great job setting me.”

Boeve also seemed a lot more comfortable, chipping in 14 kills and six block assists. Manns led a scrappy defensive effort, one of four Cyclones to reach double-figures with 18 digs.

“I hope this is how we play every night in terms of defense,” Johnson said.