In Iowa State’s last matchup versus the Oklahoma Sooners, it dropped in the first by ten points 25-15. The Cyclones lost the match 3-1.

Oklahoma looked well on its way to winning the first set on Friday in convincing fashion, as it held a 20-12 lead in the first set.

However, the Cyclones rallied back, went on a 13-3 scoring run to win the first set 25-23 and would go on to win the match (score) at Hilton Coliseum.

What led the Cyclones to make the comeback in the first set and were Sophomore right side player Eleanor Holthaus and junior setter Piper Mauck. 

Both dominated against the Sooners, as they each had a double-double in Friday’s match.  

Holthaus finished the match with 19 kills to go along with 14 digs. 

“Eleanor carried us tonight,” coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said. “She was phenomenal tonight blocking, defensively and offensively this is probably one of the best matches I’ve seen her play.”

Holthaus came two kills shy of tying her seasons high in kills which she set against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers on September 20. 

She hit .310 Friday night.

“We had good passes and good set [by Mauck],” Holthaus said. “I hit the ball high and mixed up my shots so they (the Sooners) didn’t know where the ball was going.” 

Mauck dished out 46 assists and had 15 digs against Oklahoma. 15 digs is tied for the most digs she’s had in a conference game this season. The last time she had 15 digs in a conference game, came in a 3-1 loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders on October 12. 

While these two played tremendously on Friday, the Cyclones as a team did not get off to a hot start. 

Iowa State was out of sync on the attack in the first set. Iowa State’s passing was not good, hitting less than .100. which led to Oklahoma holding a 20-12 deficit in the first set. 

Just when the first set seemed to be decided, Iowa State made a comeback, taking a 24-23 lead. 

An attacking error by Oklahoma freshman Sanaa Dotson capped off a 13-3 scoring run for Iowa State and it won the first set 25-23.

In the first set, Holthaus hit seven kills, three of which came in the Cyclones 13-3 scoring run.

The 13 points the Cyclones scored came off of six kills and seven points came from Oklahoma’s errors on the attack. One of the main reasons that Iowa State scored 25 points was because of Mauck sets.

Mauck hit 10 of her 46 assists came in the first set. Mauck dished out 36 more assists. 46 is the most assists she has dished out in conference play (11 games).  

“I felt pretty confident in all our hitters, so I was able to spread out the ball easily and we ran balanced offense tonight,” Mauck said. 

From that point on, Holthaus and Mauck took control of the match for the Cyclones.

Early in the second set, Holthaus had already hit her tenth kill of the night, when the Cyclones were trailing 7-5. 

By the middle of the second set, Mauck dug her tenth ball of the night to go along with her 18 assists at that time.

Holthaus got her double-double when she dug her tenth ball of the night in the fourth set, while having 18 kills at the time. 

Mauck made her presence know early in the game and helped put away the Sooners at the end of the match

Iowa State led the match 2-1 and but trailed 24-23. the fourth set. Iowa State outscored Oklahoma 4-1, hitting four kills, all of which were assisted by Mauck. Mauck’s last four assists gave Iowa State a 27-25 victory in the fourth set and 3-1 victory for the match. 

With Friday’s win, Iowa State improves to 17-8 (8-5 Big 12) and Oklahoma falls to 16-8 (8-5 Big 12). Both teams are tied for third in the Big 12.