From the moment the ISU volleyball team stepped onto the court at Hilton Coliseum Friday night for its first match of the Heritage Classic, you could feel something good was about to happen.

And it did.

The Cyclones battled their way through all three matches this past weekend to win the tournament. Friday, Iowa State beat a scrappy Creighton team 3-1. Saturday, the Cyclones held off a surging McNeese State team 3-1 and made quick work of a young Auburn team 3-0. The wins gave Iowa State a 3-0 record, and the win over Creighton snapped a nine-match losing streak dating back to the 2002 season.

In the first match with the Blue Jays, the Cyclones jumped out to an early 6-3 lead in game one. Right side Renee Pruess led the attack with six kills for the game, while outside hitter Brittany Dalager had four kills.

Iowa State took the first game 30-23, then lost the second game 32-30, with middle blocker Ashlie McWee and Dalager each gathering five kills. Iowa State came back to take a 30-26 win in the third game. This time, McWee led the way with six kills and Dalager had four. Lindsey Chapman had 14 set attempts in the game. Finally, in game four, Chapman had 11 set attempts and Dalager had six kills as the Cyclones won 30-24 to beat Creighton 3-1 for the match.

Head coach Linda Crum said she was proud of the way the team played.

“Katie Churm and Katie Jessen really did a good job of coming off the bench,” she said. “They had key kills in key moments in the match. As far as the loss in game two, we ran a lot of middle attack in game one, then went to the outside more, and Creighton took advantage of that. We went back to the middle the rest of the way. [Creighton has] a scrappy bunch [that] made a lot of good plays.”

Pruess had her first triple-double of the season in the Creighton match, totaling 15 kills, 10 sets and 11 digs.

The Cyclones took on McNeese State in their second match on Saturday morning and again jumped out to an early lead before winning 30-21. Chapman had 13 sets for the game, while Pruess and Kruenegel each had four kills. Dalager also had six digs.

The second game saw McNeese State take an early lead, but after five lead changes and nine tied scores, the Cyclones prevailed 30-26. McWee led the way with seven kills and Chapman had 13 sets.

McNeese State took control early in game three and didn’t let up, winning 30-25.

But Iowa State took charge in game four, breaking an early tie and going on to a 30-17 win, and a 3-1 match victory. Dalager led the ISU attack with six kills.

The Cyclones made easy work of Auburn in the final match Saturday. Iowa State had a balanced attack as they swept the Tigers 3-0. Iowa State won by scores of 30-24, 30-17 (scoring the last 10 points of the game) and 30-16. The Cyclones were led overall by Dalager with 12 kills, Pruess with 10 and McWee with nine. Chapman also had 36 sets and 12 digs. Dalager added 12 digs in the match, while Pruess and libero Dana Koziol each had 7.

Iowa State had three players named to the all-tournament team — Pruess, Dalager and Most Valuable Player Ashlie McWee.

“It feels good [to be named MVP], but it was a team effort, and if it wasn’t for the passes and sets, we would not have won,” McWee said. “Everyone played up to their level this weekend.”

Crum continued to praise her team.

“Our goal was to be 3-0, and the key was playing solid the whole weekend. We wanted to emphasize ball control and we ran a lot of middle offense.”

Crum also praised the crowd.

“We really fed off their energy, especially against Creighton. They are really important to help create momentum. We love our fans.”

In the tournament’s other matches, McNeese State beat Auburn 3-0 and lost 3-2 to Creighton. Creighton beat Auburn 3-0 Saturday.

Iowa State will host their second tournament of the season this weekend, the Cyclone Challenge at Hilton Coliseum. It starts Friday night with an all-important matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes at 7 p.m. Western Illinois and Kentucky will also be in the field. The Cyclones will play Saturday against Western Illinois at 11 a.m. and Kentucky at 4 p.m.