The ISU volleyball team completed its first conference sweep in three years Wednesday night at home against Colorado.

The last time the Cyclones defeated a Big 12 team in three games was Oct. 26, 2002, on the road against Baylor.

The win didn’t come without hardship at the start, though, as Colorado pounced on Iowa State early and jumped out a 11-4 lead.

Colorado’s blocking, poor in previous matches, made the Cyclones look disorganized until an ISU timeout.

Erin Boeve and Meghan Ferrie began their relentless brigade against the Buffaloes, throwing up a menacing and impenetrable wall.

The duo also nailed nearly every ball they touched, and a kill by Ferrie tied the game at 14.

“We knew at the first timeout that the problem wasn’t Colorado, it was us making the errors,” said coach Christy Johnson. “They weren’t doing anything special; we just had to take a deep breath.”

The two kept plugging away as Katie Churm chipped in with eight straight serving points.

Kills by Jessica Klein, Ferrie and Nicole Lorenzen bloated the lead, and a decisive dump by setter Amanda Craig sealed game one at 30-26.

“We really concentrated on how to read the hitters,” Ferrie said.

“We just tried to provide the biggest block possible.”

Iowa State took advantage of dismal Colorado passing in game two to take an early lead, but the Buffaloes rallied back to nab a tie at point 13.

The squads traded points back and forth until a tie at 27, when a monstrous block by Boeve recharged the Cyclones.

Iowa State then nabbed two more points and the 30-28 win.

The third game was riding on the Cyclones’ shoulders and the team never looked back after a 13-6 lead.

Boeve and Ferrie clipped Colorado with a final block to ice the 30-21 win.

Johnson said the team executed its game plan precisely, which included shutting down the Buffaloes’ top hitter, Allie Griffin.

“We were really ready and contained Griffin,” she said.

“She was averaging well above five kills per game and we kept her below three tonight.

“We made sure we were aware of where she was.”

Johnson praised the performances of Boeve and Ferrie, but said there were also some unsung heroes in the victory.

“Erin and Meghan were just on fire, but I also thought Jessica Klein did very well in the quick transitions,” she said. “Nicole Lorenzen played the best I’ve seen her all season. She passed awesome and was our go-to tonight.”

Boeve led the squad with 10 kills and nine block assists, as well as a .250 hitting percentage.

She is ranked fifth in the nation, accruing 1.75 blocks a game and a total of 71 assists thus far.