Iowa State wrapped up its non-conference slate with its second consecutive sweep, this one over in-state rival Drake.

The Cyclones were able to clean up the early self-inflicted errors, something they weren’t able to do in their loss to UCSB on Thursday.

Iowa State committed 28 attack errors on Thursday, which would prove to be the biggest factor in the loss.

The early stages of today’s match looked very similar.

The Cyclones committed nine attack errors in the first set, which helped Drake take a 19-15 lead in the late stages of the first set.

But then a switch flipped. The Cyclones then went on a 10-3 run to steal the first set from Drake 25-22 and never looked back, only committing five attack errors the rest of the way.

What did the Cyclones do to erase their attacking errors?

Sophomore Maya Duckworth said that all it took was some better communication.

“All of us outsides, we do this thing where we circle up and talk about what we see open and that really helped us get in the groove,” Duckworth said.

Get in the groove they did. After the slow start head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said figuring things out near the end of the first set gave the Cyclones confidence for the rest of the match.

“Once we started getting going and especially when we played so well at the end of the first, I think it gave us confidence going into set two,” Johnson-Lynch said.

Iowa State would go on to win sets two and three in convincing fashion (25-15, 25-18).

The Cyclones now move on to Big 12 Play, after a promising non-conference slate.

“We’ve definitely learned a lot from those matches, even the losses were valuable, we’re settling in and that’s where we want to be right now,” Johnson-Lynch said as she reflected on the Cyclones’ non-conference performance.

Big 12 play starts in Morgantown, West Virginia, for the Cyclones as they make the trip for two matches against West Virginia on Thursday and Friday night.