The quest to a new beginning for the ISU volleyball team was fulfilled Saturday as the Cyclones swept the Bluejay Invitational.

Iowa State opened up season play against Northern Colorado and host Creighton and came away with two victories.

The Cyclones downed the Bears of Northern Colorado in the opening match, coming away with scores of 30-18, 30-26 and 30-25.

“It was a good start for us, although we were a little off,” said coach Christy Johnson of her first win. “But it was our first match of the season, so it was a little expected.”

The Cyclones out-hit the Bears .243 to .050 in the first game to set the tempo for the rest of the match. Northern Colorado jumped ahead in game two, but Iowa State pounded through with kills from Nicole Lorenzen and Katie Jessen to reclaim the lead.

Jessen was an all-around leader for the Cyclones with 12 kills and 14 digs, while Lorenzen tallied 11 kills and 11 digs. Libero Katie Churm chipped in 19 digs to complete the defensive output.

The next test for Iowa State was against Creighton, who had just pounded Northern Colorado in three straight games.

“Creighton was ranked quite a bit ahead of us in the RPI rankings, so we needed to win to take a big step up,” Johnson said.

The Cyclones did, as they started a hitting barrage early in the match, reaching their peak in game two. Lorenzen pushed four crucial kills through in the second game to help clinch the 30-14 win.

Creighton put up a fight in game three, building as much as a five-point lead, but Iowa State rallied back to tie the game at 21. The team rebounded after a time-out and topped the Bluejays 30-27.

“We did really well against Creighton with our exceptional defense,” Johnson said. “We executed our game plan very well, and solid performances had lots of people contributing.”

Lorenzen continued her impressive play with 16 digs and 12 kills, while Jessen and Erin Boeve each connected on 10 kills. Senior setter Amanda Craig notched 38 assists in the win.

Lorenzen was named MVP of the tournament, and she, Jessen and Churm were posted on the All-Tournament Team. Churm was also honored as the tournament’s top libero.

“We had really steady offense during the tournament, and everyone played consistently, which is something we had trouble with last year,” Lorenzen said. “Everybody’s percentage was high, and our defense was just tremendous. We were scrappy and able to make something out of it.”

Johnson said her team showed the results of all its hard work in practice, but even she was surprised at her team’s determination.

“They had to come from behind in a few matches, but they were so competitive,” Johnson said. “They felt they needed to be more competitive after last year’s matches, and they responded well to situations.”

She said the offense could still use some fine-tuning middle hitters being able to connect and the team able to score in transition, but overall her team is on the road to success.

“Our morale is high, and we are definitely headed in the right direction,” Johnson said.

Lorenzen agreed the team is shaping up for bigger and better things.

“Our confidence is better this year, and our experience is definitely there,” she said. “We needed to go in there thinking that we should win and to believe in ourselves, which we did.”