The No. 22 Sooners were a bit tired of going to five sets, having gone to five in six of the past eight matches, so they closed the door on Kansas State early Saturday afternoon.

The OU volleyball team rallied in the third set to steal momentum from the Wildcats and rode that momentum to a 3-1 (-20, 20-25, -22, -21) win against the Wildcats at McCasland Field House.

The Sooners moved to 19-5 this year and finished the first half of Big 12 play 6-2.

OU was led offensively by freshman outside hitter Tara Dunn, who had a double-double with 13 kills and 12 digs. Sophomore middle blocker Sallie McLaurin had 11 kills and seven blocks. Junior libero María Fernanda had 22 digs to pace the defense.

Senior setter Brianne Barker had a double-double with 40 assists and 13 digs and showed no signs of the injury she sustained to her left ring finger last week against Kansas.

The Wildcats were led by sophomore middle blocker Kaitlynn Pelger who had a match-high 26 kills and 14 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Lilla Porubek and junior middle blocker Alex Muff had 13 kills each.

OU coach Santiago Restrepo said it was a total team effort to make the Wildcats more one-dimensional on offense.

“We talked from the beginning about shutting down 17 (Pelger) and 11 (Porubek),” Restrepo said “We did a good job on 11, the outside hitter, but then the other middle (Muff) did another good job with them. Different players are going to step up in different matches.”

OU only had 54 kills, 12 less than KSU, but Restrepo said he wasn’t worried about it.

“What I worry about is the distribution, and it’s pretty even among four players,” Restrepo said. “When it comes down to the Big 12, everyone is pretty good.”

OU was without junior outside hitter Morgan Reynolds again, who will miss 2-3 weeks with a dislocated disc in her back. However, senior outside hitter Caitlin Higgins filled in with solid number, throwing down seven kills and picking up 13 digs.

“I’m just trying to work on getting my confidence back, just being a good defensive player and a good passer,” Higgins said. “I do what I can on the front, but I really need to work on defense, which is what our team needs and what I’m good at.”

Higgins said it was tough to not be in the rotation as much as she was used to, but a change in mindset helped her persevere.

“I really had to just focus and settle down and think, ‘I just have to contribute for my team,’” Higgins said. “Once I understood that, I started playing a little better.”

OU came out of the gate looking to establish their will on the Wildcats, and they were able to do that, forcing KSU head coach Suzie Fritz to burn both her timeouts by the time OU led 12-7.

OU continued to open up the lead behind a very efficient offense that hit .417 for the set, leading by as many as 11 at 20-9. KSU went on a 9-3 run to cut the lead to 23-18, but that’s as close as the Wildcats got. OU closed out the set to win, 25-20.

Barker nearly had a double-double in the first set with 11 assists and eight digs. Senior right side Suzy Boulavsky had five kills to lead the offense.

Kansas State roared back in the second set, taking the lead at 6-5 and never looking back. The Wildcats forced OU to call timeout, leading 9-6. KSU controlled the pace throughout the set, playing terrific defense, something that was lacking in the first set for the Wildcats.

Middle blockers Muff and Pelger combined for 10 kills in the set and helped hold OU to just a .075 hitting percentage.

The Wildcats never let OU get within four and took the set, 25-20.

KSU continued to carry the momentum into the third set, taking the lead at 7-6 and leading throughout most of the set. However, OU did not go quietly.

Down 22-17, OU began to creep back into the match, capitalizing on several KSU attack errors to tie and eventually take the lead. OU only had one kill and one block in 8-0 run that gave the Sooners the third set, 25-22.

This time, it was the OU middle blocker combination of senior Carlee Roethlisberger and sophomore Sallie McLaurin that made the big difference, combining for nine kills and three blocks.

“I thought it was very crucial for us to come back in that third set,” Restrepo said. “That was very key for us.”

The fourth set was back and forth with OU taking an 11-8 lead early. KSU went on a 5-0 run to force a Sooner timeout. However, the Sooners rallied to retake the lead at 15-14, a lead they did not relinquish. OU began to pull away down the stretch and took the set, 25-21.

“We talked about making them (KSU) play long rallies and keeping the ball in play,” Restrepo said. “They (OU outside hitters) did a great job.”

The Sooners have another week to prepare for the second half of Big 12 conference season. OU will travel to Columbia, Mo., to take on the Missouri Tigers. Match time is set for 6:30 p.m.