The opening game sets the tone for the match. The final game determines the winner of the match. 

Of all the potentially significant implications associated with a given set, the majority of them tend to coincide with the first and final games.

But that wasn’t the case for Iowa State (8-4, 1-0 Big 12) in its match against Texas Tech (12-4, 1-1 Big 12) on Saturday. It was the match’s second set — the game Iowa State won 28-26 — that proved to be most influential for the Cyclones on Saturday.

After claiming the opening set and jumping out to an early 12-7 lead in the second, the Cyclones began to lose ground to the Red Raiders — surrendering an 8-0 run. Despite the deficit, the Cyclones battled back to tie the set at 23 before eventually grabbing victory, 28-26.

“That [second set] was pretty big,” said ISU volleyball coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. “It wasn’t looking like it was going to [go] our way, but I liked the resilience we showed. That [second set] was pretty critical, and I’m glad we could figure out a way to come out of there with a win.”

Despite Iowa State taking the opening set, the momentum seemed to be shifting. The crowd had fallen nearly silent as the Cyclones were stuck in the same rotation, unable to win a point amid the mid-set drought.

There had been a shift ever since Texas Tech called its first timeout — Iowa State was then leading 12-7. Out of the break, the Red Raiders exploded on a 13-3 run. The players and coaches, in retrospect, assessed what went wrong.

“We started to be passive,” said sophomore Alexis Conaway, who notched 11 kills on a team-high .476 hitting percentage. “We made a couple errors and just kind of lost concentration.”

Johnson-Lynch’s plan for a comeback was not to “make a spectacular set or dig or swing,” it was just, “be good.” It was a simple formula to execute through consistent aggression — not to force anything, but to be effective and get out of that rotation.

The formula manifested itself on the court for the remainder of the set, and the Cyclones were able to take a 2-0 lead into the break. The comeback did more than just generate another set win, however. It served to define the remainder of the match for Iowa State.

“[The second set] gave us more confidence,” said sophomore Monique Harris, who recorded a double-double with 36 assists and 14 digs. “In the second set we kind of struggled, and then we came back. And we knew that all we had to do [then] was keep the pressure on them and keep pushing.”

As Harris mentioned, the Cyclones carried that pressure and aggression through the break and into the third set. As the statistics show, the Cyclones emerged from the second set much more efficient than they were early on. 

In the third and final set, Iowa State eliminated all attacking errors — compared to five and six in the first and second sets, respectively — and raised its hitting percentage by .285 from set two to three. The Cyclones credited the decisive second set with helping to generate their success in the match’s final game.

“It’s a lot different feeling in a locker room when you’re up 2-0 than when you’re tied at one apiece,” Johnson-Lynch said. “I think it did allow us to relax a little bit in the third [set]. We upped our level.”