Iowa State Sweeps OU Volleyball

The University of Oklahoma volleyball team dropped a three-set decision (25-18, 25-18, 25-15) to No. 22 Iowa State on the road Saturday evening.

The loss drops the Sooners to 16-7 overall, while the Cyclones improve to 11-8 on the year. Both teams now own a 5-3 record in conference action this season.

Three Sooners, senior Morgan Reynolds and sophomores Tara Dunn and Grace Whitley, each totaled one solo block on the night, the first time this season OU has accomplished that feat.

Whitley's performance marked the fourth time in as many matches, as well as her career, that she has either led or tied for the team lead in the respective category.

Junior middle blocker Sallie McLaurin led OU in two separate categories after she knocked down seven of 16 attempts to hit a team-best .375%.

An Iowa State service error put Oklahoma on the board in the first set at 1-3. The Sooners added points sporadically in the opening minutes, but were unable to gain momentum as the Cyclones led by more than half at 13-6. Back-to-back attack errors from Iowa State put Oklahoma within six points at 16-10, but it wasn't enough to swing the momentum in their favor. ISU continued to add points and keep OU's offense at bay until they eventually secured the first set, 25-18.

The Sooners were on the board first in the second stanza and were able to clinch their first lead of the match courtesy of an ISU attack error at 2-1. Following the OU lead, both teams traded points in attempt to gain control of the set, but it took 10 score ties until a breakaway finally occurred. Iowa State finally struck with a six-point scoring run to go ahead 19-13 and secure the largest lead of the set. It was all the Cyclones needed, as the Sooners were unable to close the gap and dropped the set, 25-18.

Iowa State jumped ahead to a 6-1 lead to begin the final set as the momentum rolled from the second and into the third. The Sooners added three points to cut the ISU lead in half at 8-4,but the Cyclones answered with a 12-2 run to take a 20-8 advantage in the final minutes. Oklahoma put together its largest scoring run of the match when it strung together four-straight points to cut the lead 21-12, but it wasn't enough to change direction of the match. OU dropped the set, and match, with a 25-15 finish in the third stanza.

The Sooners will enjoy a mid-week bye before they return to their home court at McCasland Field House to take on No. 8 Texas in the annual Pledge For The Cure Match on Sunday, Oct. 28. The contest will air live nationally on ESPNU, with first serve scheduled for 2 p.m. CT.