It was a record-breaking performance for the Iowa State women’s volleyball team at the season-opening Cyclone Tournament this weekend.

One team and two individual marks fell as the Cyclone netters swept three opponents in straight games.

The squad opened up the season Friday night with a 15-11, 15-13, 15-8 victory over Western Michigan.

Head Coach Jackie Nunez said the Cyclones experienced “opening match jitters” but still had a “solid performance.” She singled out the performance of freshman Julie McGrath, who led the team with 24 set attempts against Western Michigan.

“I was proud of the way the team finished strongly in this match,” Nunez said.

The records began to fall in the next match against Valparaiso on Saturday.

Kirstin Hugdahl set a Cyclone mark for kills in a three game match with 27. Her 27 contributed to a team record 67 kills in a three game match.

“I didn’t know I broke the mark until after the game,” Hugdahl said. “I just went out there and tried to give a team effort.”

Coach Nunez expressed a mixture of caution and praise for her squad after the 15-4, 15-9, 16-14 conquest of Valparaiso.

“We came out pretty strong in the first game, but after that we seemed to fall into a lull,” Nunez said. “We did, however, do a good job of being aggressive.”

The Cyclones finished the tournament with a strong performance against Utah. They routed the Utes 15-6, 15-10, 15-6 for the championship Saturday night.

During the match, Steph McCannon broke an Iowa State career mark for digs. She finished the tournament with 1,340 digs for her career.

“It was exciting getting the record at home,” McCannon said. “I knew going in I was pretty close.”

McCannon joined Hugdahl and Dana Mucha on the all-tournament team. Hugdahl was named most valuable player.

There doesn’t seem to be a consensus on the team regarding the subject of the Cyclones being a legitimate top 20 team in the nation.

“We are definitely a top 20 team,” McCannon said. “We just need to play like a top 20 team. We are very persistent and scrappy.”

“I don’t know if we are a top 20 team or not at this point,” Hugdahl added. “Right now we have to work on sustaining our level of execution.”

“In some aspects of our game we are a top 20 team, and in some aspects we are not,” Nunez said. “There is a lot of room for improvement. I’ll have a better grasp of it after the New Mexico tournament.”

The Cyclones take on Penn State in the first round of the New Mexico Tournament this Friday.