Following a disappointing 3-0 loss to Missouri last Saturday, the ISU volleyball team rebounded to defeat Oklahoma Wednesday in Norman 3-1.

“One of the things we didn’t do well on Saturday was serve,” head coach Linda Crum said. “We weren’t real aggressive in terms of what we were doing on offense, and I thought that was something we have really focused on since Saturday.”

The Cyclones dropped the first game to the Sooners 30-22, with a kill percentage of .049 compared to Oklahoma’s .318.

“We didn’t take them out of anything offensively,” Crum said. “A lot of their balls were going right to their setter on first contact, and it really allowed them to use their outsides, which is really their strength. Their outsides alone had 14 or 15 kills.”

Iowa State turned things around, winning the next three games, 30-20, 30-19, 30-23 and dominating offensively.

It was the Cyclone’s first win over Oklahoma since Oct. 17, 2001, and the first time Iowa State has won more than one Big 12 match since the 1996 season.

“After game one we talked about how we really needed to serve and what we needed to do with our outsides,” Crum said. “Our kids just stepped up and got it done. We did a great job of going back with confidence and serving great.”

During the second and third games, Iowa State hit .314 and .419, respectively, while holding Oklahoma to .062 and .024.

“We really took their outsides kind of out in game two and Oklahoma’s hitting percentage went down,” Crum said.

“It really kind of deflated them and we just really stayed on it in game three, for the most part in game four, and really finished the match strong.”

Sophomore Ashlie McWee led the way for the Cyclones, recording 15 kills and a career-high nine block assists.

Senior Renae Pruess and freshman Katie Jessen each added 11 kills, with senior Lindsey Chapman recording 42 assists.

“Ashlie just kept demanding the ball from the setter and really created some of those kills,” Crum said. “Lindsey did a great job of feeding her the ball at the right time and really helped her get those kills.”

Defensively, senior Dana Koziol had 23 digs with junior Brittany Dalager and freshman Katie Churm ending with 17 and 12 digs, respectively.

The Cyclones ended the match with 14 blocks, 70 digs, eight serving aces, 58 kills and just 22 attack errors.

The Sooners were paced by Joanna Schmitt, who had 22 kills, and setter Rachel Jackson, who recorded 44 assists and 13 digs.

The win improves Iowa State’s record to 9-8 overall and 2-5 in Big 12 Conference play.

Oklahoma drops to 9-9 overall and 1-5 in league play.

The Cyclones’ next match is against No. 24 Texas A&M on Saturday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum.

The Aggies are coming off a win over Texas Tech and are 11-5 overall and 3-3 in Big 12 play.

Texas A&M is second in the Big 12 in kills, averaging 16.5 per game, and are led by sophomore outside hitter Laura Jones, who averages 4.2 kills per game.

“They are a good team,” Crum said. “They are a solid team but again, if we focus on our serving and our ball handling, we can compete in that match and we can win.”