Iowa State Beats No. 21 Oklahoma, 3-1, On Senior Night

Saturday, November 24

Ames, Iowa

6:30 PM

Iowa State

Oklahoma

Iowa State Beats No. 21 Oklahoma, 3-1, On Senior Night

11.24.2007 | Volleyball

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa- Freshman Ashley Mass' career-high 30 digs and Jen Malcom's career-best 18 kills made Iowa State's Senior Night a successful one with a victory over No. 21 Oklahoma, 3-1 (30-23, 29-31, 30-18, 30-22), Saturday night in Hilton Coliseum.

“These are a great group of seniors that have really helped put the program on the map,” said ISU head coach Christy Johnson. “Tonight's win was a nice way to bid them farewell. This was a huge match for us with so many implications. Our team rallied around our seniors and it was an important win for our program and possibly a NCAA Tournament bid.”

The 30 digs by Mass are the most by a Cyclone since 2005, when Katie Churm had 33 against Kansas State. Seniors Lauren Cummings and Erin Boeve tallied 16 and 12 kills respectively, and sophomore Kaylee Manns led ISU with 56 assists. The victory for Iowa State (17-13, Big 12 11-9) clinched fifth place in the Big 12. Oklahoma (21-9, 13-7) stays in fourth place in the conference with the loss.

Both squads stayed even with each other in the first game, tying the score ten times, but ISU began to pull away with the game tied at 17. The Cyclones earned four of the next five points to gain a 22-18 advantage and carried the lead to a 30-23, game one victory. Senior Erin Boeve had six kills in the stanza, and senior Lauren Cummings added four more, as the Cyclones hit .342 in the game.

In game two, ISU battled back from deficits of at least three points on three different occasions, but ultimately fell 31-29. OU jumped out to a quick 9-4 lead, but the Cyclones chipped away and tied the set at 15. After the Sooners regained the lead, ISU proved resilient again, tying the match at 22. The squads exchanged points, but a setting error by Boeve secured the game for Oklahoma.

The Cyclones reeled off five straight points in game three on sophomore setter Kaylee Manns' serve to give ISU an early 6-1 advantage. Two service aces by Manns and four kills each by juniors Jen Malcom and Mary Bisineus made sure ISU maintained its lead, and the Cyclones cruised to a 30-18 win.

Game four continued the theme of the match, as both squads tied the game eight times. With the match tied at 15, Iowa State rallied for four straight points and a 19-15 lead, and sustained the breathing room, capturing game four 30-22 and the match 3-1.

Iowa State awaits its NCAA tournament fate when bids are announced on the NCAA Selection Show held at 7 p.m. Sunday evening on ESPNU. Tournament play can begin as early as Thursday.