The 1998 Iowa State volleyball team picked up their first win of the season on Saturday with a 3-1 victory over the Sooners in Norman, Okla.

Despite suffering seven straight conference setbacks, including a tough 3-0 loss to the Kansas Jayhawks the night before, the Cyclones came out firing.

After a tough 15-9 loss in game one, Iowa State bounced back on the strength of .405 hitting to take their first Big 12 game of the season, 15-8.

Feeding off of that momentum and the scorching play of Lindsay Robinson (15 kills, .448 hitting) and Nanette Allen (18 kills, .222 hitting), the Cyclones took game three, 15-12.

In the fourth and final game of the match, the Cyclones proved they could win the close ones that have been slipping away all season, pulling out a hard-fought 15-13 win to take the match.

Senior Mandy Boyington said the win rejuvenated the frustrated Cyclone squad.

“It was really exciting,” Mandy said. “We played really well as a team, and now we’re looking forward to the rest of the season.”

Iowa State was paced by Robinson on both offense and defense. The freshman rightside hitter who has been somewhat inconsistent this season was stellar on Saturday, leading the Cyclones in service aces, with three, and tying for the team lead in digs, with 10.

In addition to Robinson and Allen, Iowa State was led offensively by Boyington, Virginia Hoss and Stacy Nicks. Hoss and Nicks each contributed 13 kills, and Boyington managed 10 kills and a .529 hitting percentage.

Hoss, one of the senior leaders of the team, appreciated the number of contributors the Cyclones had on offense.

“The more diverse we are, the harder it is to defend against us,” Hoss said. “It’s great when there’s a lot of people out there attacking and picking up kills.”

Senior Julie McGrath set up the Cyclone attack, collecting 52 assists against the Sooners, her highest total of the conference season.

She was as excited as anyone with the victory.

“Just to know what it feels like to win is so important,” McGrath said. “We’re looking to feel this good a lot more often this season.”

Boyington gave the defense a lot of credit for the offensive numbers of the team and herself, in particular.

“In order to have strong offense, you need a good defense,” Boyington said. “We had that [Saturday].”

The Cyclone “D” featured 10 digs by McGrath and five blocks by Nicks, in addition to the inspired play of Robinson.

“We just pulled together as a team,” McGrath said. “We’re totally pumped.”

Iowa State faces Texas Tech and Baylor on the road this weekend before returning for home matches against Colorado and Nebraska on the 30th and 31st.