Volleyball grabs 3-1 road win over Oklahoma
Candelaria Herrera goes up for the kill against No.1 Texas on Oct. 21.
November 5, 2021
Once again without Marija Popovic and Eleanor Holthaus, the Iowa State volleyball team knew that it would be a tall task to take down Oklahoma, but the players had confidence that they could get the job done all week. And then, Iowa State ended up topping the Sooners three sets to one Friday night in Norman.
Candelaria Herrera came out of the gates swinging with four early kills as Iowa State led 8-7. As expected, the opening set was a close one, with Iowa State clinging to a 15-13 lead. Oklahoma was able to capitalize on a low hitting percentage from the Cyclones, taking a 23-21 lead. Oklahoma went on to win the set 25-23.
Herrera and Annie Hatch led the Cyclones during the opening set with six and five kills, respectively. Getting out-hit .158 to .116 was the difference maker between winning and losing the set for Iowa State.
The second set opened with a big run for the Cyclones, jumping out to an 8-2 lead. The Cyclones would continue to hold the momentum, extending the lead to 13-5. Iowa State was able to maintain the lead from start to finish in set two, taking it by a score of 25-15.
Similar to set one, the story of set two was the hitting percentages. The Cyclones were able to flip the script on the Sooners, outhitting them .522 to .083.
The Cyclones did not blink as they began set three, grabbing an 8-4 lead. Knowing the importance of this set, the Sooners made a push to cut the Iowa State lead to 10-9; however, the run would be short lived with the Cyclones pulling back to a 15-11 lead. To end the set, Iowa State stormed to a 7-0 run led by Mariah Mitchell with a handful of kills.
Oklahoma got off to a solid start in a must-win fourth set, leading the Cyclones early. This lead did not last long though, as Iowa State fought back to an 11-10 lead. Battling back and forth for the majority of the set, before Iowa State made one final run to take the set and the match, 25-17.
Hatch led the team overall with 18 kills, 14 digs and three kills. Herrera and Mitchell also each made contributions on the attack with 13 and 12 kills.
