The Iowa State women’s volleyball team tamed the Wildcats of Kansas State in a five game hard-fought marathon match Wednesday night for a second time this year.

Earlier this season in the first round of Big Eight matches, the Cyclone netters overtook the Wildcats in five games in Manhattan. The grudge match continued Wednesday night as both teams were hunting for critical wins.

For ISU a win meant another step towards sealing second place in the conference and a bid to dance in December in the NCAA Tournament. For the Wildcats a victory meant hope for a seed in the Big Eight Tournament and possible postseason play.

ISU snatched all of those hopes from Kansas State with come-from-behind play working up to a 5-15, 15-10, 12-15, 15-10 and 15-13 winning score. This win brings the cardinal and gold to 16-6 overall and 6-1 in the conference.

Head Coach Jackie Nunez reflected on how important the double-win over the Wildcats is to her program and her squad’s chances to capture a bid to the NCAA’s.

“This win means a lot for the NCAA’s. In each match we get closer and closer to clinching the second place seed in the Big Eight. We needed this win to keep our footing on that second place hold,” she said.

“Pretty soon if we continue winning, it won’t be long before we absolutely solidify that.”

The Cyclones are striving for a second place seed in the conference tourney to hopefully ensure a place in the championship match which would most likely turn into an invitation to the national championships.

Nunez, who was carried through the locker room door by her assistant coach Sarah Lewis in a miniature after-game celebration, was pleased that her team was able to come back and know how to play to win.

“I have a lot of respect for my team in their desire to never give up. They never have. It’s not their style of play,” Nunez said.

“They want the second seed in the Big Eight Tournament badly. That’s in their hearts and minds as their goal. They’re always keeping that in mind every time they take the court,” she said.

In the first game, goals of an NCAA berth seemed to be the furthest thing from the minds of the Cyclones as they stepped onto the court. The Cyclones experienced a sluggish start running their offense and had trouble with service reception and ball control.

“We didn’t pass well at the beginning of the match at all. They [Kansas State] were serving short at us and we didn’t adjust very well at all. As the match progressed our passing got better and better,” Nunez said.

During a timeout when ISU was down 3-9, senior middle hitter Dana Mucha clenched her fists and said, “Come on guys. Be determined.”

“We need to be role models out there. We’ve been there before and we know what’s going on,” Mucha said.

Despite lineup switches and team leadership from Mucha, the fans in Hilton Coliseum blinked and the game was over as ISU was stunned 5-15.

“I told my team that we needed to play to win. We needed to find ways to get to 15 first. I told them, ‘I don’t care how pretty it is. Don’t get frustrated; just find ways to win,'” Nunez said. “Sometimes we need to keep it that simple.”

Nunez and her players regrouped in the second game. The intensity characteristic of the Cyclones was back along with the reappearance of senior Kirstin Hugdahl. Hugdahl injured her foot in the match against Minnesota and had been seen in the lineup only occasionally in the last few ISU matches.

Hugdahl switched to her usual outside hitting position and looked like the All-American hopeful of old.

“I know I have to work a lot harder now. I have to keep pushing my way back to where I was,” Hugdahl said. “The injury took me down a little bit and I had to work through it, but I’m coming back.”

“Kirstin put the ball away for us at real critical times. I was real pleased when I pushed her back to the outside that she came in and started terminating for us,” Nunez said.

Hugdahl is back and a force for ISU. She registered 13 kills and 15 digs in the night.

Hugdahl and her teammates came out with aggressive play in the third game, but couldn’t catch the third game win. Both teams were vying for the serve, but ISU was struggling to convert on the opportunities they had to score. The Cyclones lost 12-15.

In the final two games, the cardinal and gold displayed their abilities enabling them to capture the much-needed win. ISU got out of the Wildcats’ claws fighting tooth and nail and posted 15-10 and 15-13 victories.

“There were a lot of areas of our game that we just weren’t executing in very well, but in terms of effort towards winning, I’m real pleased with my team. I just wish they would have played better,” Nunez said about the match.

Nunez did feel some of her players had good performances, however. She cited the three seniors, Mucha, Hugdahl and Steph McCannon, as strong influences on the turnout of the match.

“Steph McCannon played well for us in terms of the timing of some of her kills. She reeled off points for us in that rally scoring game that were crucial,” Nunez said.

McCannon is fourth in the nation in average digs per game. She averages 4.70 per game. Her team follows her lead. The Cyclones are 11th in the nation in average digs per game with 19.18, which is also good for tops in the Big Eight.

Nunez also mentioned juniors Rachell Frese and Sonya Van Helden as big hitters and freshman Colleen Henican as a key blocker for ISU.

The Cyclones next take on No. 1 Nebraska for a second time in Lincoln on Saturday and then go to Oklahoma to battle the Sooners.