Going into the season, the ISU volleyball team set a goal to win its first three tournaments to start the year.

Three match wins and one tournament victory later, the team has one down and two to go.

“We’re thrilled,” said ISU head coach Linda Crum on starting the season 3-0.

“In your first tournament, you want to get wins, you want to be aggressive and you want to put some things together. I couldn’t be more pleased.”

The Cyclones beat Wisconsin-Green Bay 3-1 on Friday and then turned around and beat the University of Missouri-Kansas City 3-1 and Morgan State 3-1 on Saturday to secure the ISU Heritage Classic title.

“We saw things we obviously need to work on, but the bottom line is no matter how bad anything was and how good anything was, they won the tournament,” Crum said. “That was their goal and they did a great job.”

Senior Mandi Harms garnered MVP honors after recording 38 kills and 30 digs in three matches.

Harms made a switch from outside hitter to middle before the season, and Crum said she’s adapted well.

“Mandi Harms did a nice job adjusting in the middle, stepping up and getting it done,” she said.

Also earning all-tournament honors for Iowa State were Renae Pruess and Brittany Dalager.

“We’ve matured a lot,” said Pruess, comparing last year’s team to the current Cyclones. “We’re that much older this year. We just have more experience.”

Redshirt freshman Ashlie McWee said the newfound confidence is a benefit too.

“Everything we did this weekend was expected,” the outside hitter said. “We all knew we could beat these teams. It was just about how we played.”

The Cyclones totaled 184 kills on the weekend, compared to 119 for their opponents.

“You look at it, and there’s not just one person taking a swing,” Crum said. “If you take one player out of it, you still have another stepping up.”

Iowa State showed its balance throughout the weekend with Harms, Pruess, Dalager, McWee and Christine Smeele all recording double-digit kill totals in at least one match.

“You could really see what we were saying in terms of depth and the excitement that brings onto the floor,” Crum said.