The last home match of the year for the Iowa State volleyball team brought much excitement and an even happier ending.

ISU used game ending heroics to upset Kansas, 17-15, 13-15, 15-13, 12-15, 16-14, for its first conference win of the season and its first victory after a 22 match losing streak.

The win raised the Cyclones record to 3-23 overall and 1-18 in Big 12 play. The Jayhawks fell to 17-13 overall and 8-11 in the Big 12.

“It was great,” said head coach Linda Grensing. “We had been playing the way we needed to leading up to this match, and we were just finally able to close out the win.

“It was senior night and the last game that our two seniors, Mandi Middleton and Sheila Lopez, would play at Hilton,” she said. “That gave us an extra excitement, and the crowd was just tremendous. It was a great way for these girls to close out their Iowa State careers.”

Lopez, playing in her final contest at Hilton Coliseum, had the match of her career, exploding for 25 kills and 29 digs to support the winning cause.

“Sheila had an outstanding match,” said Grensing. “It was good to see that.”

ISU started off on a tear, taking an 8-0 lead in game one before Kansas was able to rally back to take a 15-14 lead.

The Cyclones were able to get the sideout and rallied off three straight points to earn the victory and its first conference game win to break a 54-game losing streak.

The game ended on a Mandi Harms and Mandi Middleton block assist to give the Cyclones the well-earned victory.

“We took our opportunities,” Grensing said. “We’ve learned from the past. We have three freshmen who are on the floor pretty much all the time, so we’re a young team.

“These girls have done exactly what I’ve asked of them. They’ve payed attention, and they’ve learned from mistakes.”

Kansas came back in the second game to take a 15-13 win, but ISU refused to quit and turned the score around in the third set to take the 15-13 victory.

The score was tied at 13-13 and once again the game went down to the wire.

The Cyclones who had previously had trouble holding on to close games scored the final two points on a Sarah Rollman kill and another Harms-Middleton block.

The Jayhawks kept things close in game four.

Earning the 15-12 victory to set up the fanatic finish in a rally scoring game five.

The fifth set displayed the hard work that the ISU women’s volleyball team has worked so hard for this season.

The game stayed close throughout, and again came down to the wire with the score knotted at 14-14 after Lopez delivered her 25th kill of the five set match.

A Lopez-Stacy Nicks block assist moved the Cyclones ahead by one and gave them the chance to close out the win.

A KU hitting mistake preserved the win and gave first-year coach Grensing her first win at Hilton as well as her first win in the conference.

“This win could go a long way in creating a competitive tradition here at Hilton,” Grensing said.

A well-rounded performance by the Cyclone team highlighted the performance.

Lopez had an outstanding match, but career-highs were also obtained by Rollman who tallied 18 kills and 14 digs, setter Sarah Stribe who totaled 59 assists and 21 digs, and Harms with a career-high seven blocks.

Blocking has been a strong facet all season long for the Cyclones, and ISU once again outblocked its opponent tallying 18 blocks to the Jayhawks 16.

Leading the blocking attack were Middleton and Nicks who both accounted for eight blocks each.

ISU outhit its second straight Big 12 opponent .206 to .171, including a impressive .333 in the final set.

“We look at the last match here at Hilton, and it was great to finish the year out with a win,” said Grensing.

“Our seniors were the spark we needed to light the fire, and hopefully we can keep that lit,” she said.