No. 13 Iowa State Sweeps No. 22 Texas A&M

Wednesday, October 14

Ames, Iowa

6:30 PM

Iowa State

Texas A&M

No. 13 Iowa State Sweeps No. 22 Texas A&M

10.14.2009 | Volleyball

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa ? Rachel Hockaday had 15 kills and Victoria Henson added 12 as 13th-ranked Iowa State held on to sweep No. 22 Texas A&M, 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 26-24), Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum. The win is Iowa State's sixth-straight and improves the Cyclones to 15-3, 7-2 in the Big 12 heading into their first bye of the conference season.

"I think this built a lot of confidence for our players,” Iowa State head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said. “We played a great team tonight and we played well for the most part. Once you do that, when you head into the next game you can remember that and you'll know you can come through again. It's hard to practice for that. Every time you can pull through, you gain confidence."

Kelsey Petersen, who finished with nine kills, also had a good night for the Cyclones, notching a career-best .467 hitting percentage.

"We've been working on Kelsey's offense. I think she was ready to go tonight,” Johnson-Lynch said. “She's still finding her game. She's got way more potential but her good match tonight was the result of her being ready and focused, as well as the work she has put in."

The Cyclones were out dug, 47-45, for the first time in seven matches. Ashley Mass led the way with 12 digs, moving past her predecessor, Katie Churm (2003-06) into third all-time at the school with 1,482 career digs. Henson added 10 digs and Kaylee Manns chipped in eight to go along with her 42 assists.

Iowa State never trailed in the opening frame, taking the 26-24 win after Texas A&M (12-4, 5-3) fought off four set points to tie it at 24-24. After the Aggies tied it at 24 on a service ace from Alisia Kastmo, ISU got back-to-back kills from Petersen to wrap up the set.

The second set again saw the Cyclones hold the lead the entire way to a 25-21 win. The key run came after the Aggies got a kill from Jennifer Banse to make it 9-8 Iowa State. ISU ran off six of the next eight to go up 15-10 and take control of the set. The gritty Aggies did scrap back to make it 23-21 on another Banse kill, but Hockaday notched a kill to give the Cyclones set point and A&M backup setter Jola Kelner was called for a back row attack to end the set.

In the final frame it was ISU that trailed much of the way but found a way to rally back. The Aggies led until the Cyclones took the lead at 21-20 on an A&M attack error. ISU scored the next two points on a kill from Petersen and a block assist by Jamie Straube and Petersen. The Aggies had one last run in them, tying it at 24 all on a Mary Batis' kill, but the Cyclones responded with a Hockaday kill and a block by Manns and Debbie Stadick that sent the crowd of 1,796 in a frenzy.

Iowa State is 6-0 at home this season and has yet to drop a set in the friendly confines of Hilton Coliseum (18-0). The Cyclones have won four-straight against Texas A&M in Ames.

The Aggies were led in the match by Banse's 13 kills and Sarah Ammerman's 11.

Iowa State has a bye this weekend before heading to Nebraska to face the Huskers Wednesday evening at 7 p.m.