MATCH STATS
- #23 Iowa State def. #7 Creighton 3-2 (25-21, 22-25, 25-16, 19-25, 15-8)
- Iowa State moves to 8-1; Creighton falls to 7-4
- Wichita, Kansas
- Attendance: 320
- Box Score
WICHITA, Kan. – Three players registered double-doubles as No. 23 Iowa State upset No. 7 Creighton at the Shocker Volleyball Classic on Saturday night.
Junior outside hitter Jess Schaben paced the team with a 13-kill, 17-dig effort, while senior middle blocker Alexis Conaway added 10 kills and 11 digs. Junior middle Grace Lazard (12) and redshirt senior right side hitter Samara West (10) also turned in double-digit kill efforts. Freshman middle Avery Rhodes put up a team-leading 10 blocks, while West chipped in six. Redshirt sophomore libero Hali Hillegas pulled up a team-best 20 digs, followed by Schaben, senior setter Monique Harris (16) and Conaway. Harris rounded out a double-double with 38 assists.
Junior outside Taryn Kloth (15 kills), sophomore middle Megan Ballenger (12), senior middle Marysa Wilkinson (10) and junior outside Jaali Winters (9) split the offensive load for Creighton. Freshman middle Naomi Hickman registered a team-leading four blocks. Winters paced the defense with 20 digs, just missing a double-double. Sophomore libero Brittany Witt (19) and junior defensive specialist Samantha Bohnet (10) also turned in double-digit dig tallies.
Creighton played without All-American setter Lydia Dimke due to an undisclosed injury. Dimke was on crutches on the sidelines during the match.
The Cyclones outblocked the Bluejays 15-8 and outhit them .180 to .117 Creighton bested ISU 56-55 in kills and 3-1 in aces.
Iowa State jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the decisive fifth set with two blocks by Lazard and two Creighton errors. The Cyclones led 8-5 at the changeover after three more Bluejay miscues. A pair of Winters kills brought Creighton to within two at 10-8, but Rhodes lifted ISU to the 15-8 win with three kills in a final 5-0 run. The Bluejays hit at a -.043 clip in the final stanza.
Creighton boasted the early lead in Set 1, going up 5-3 after three-straight ISU errors. A 4-0 run, including three Bluejay miscues put the Cyclones up 7-5. Creighton tied it up at 10 and 11, but Iowa State scored five straight, with two blocks and a kill by West, to pull away at 16-11. The Bluejays chipped away and cut the margin to one at 21-20 and 22-21 as Ballenger turned in three kills. Two Schaben putaways and a solo stuff by Rhodes ended the 25-21 win.
The teams split the first 12 points of Set 2, before Creighton broke away, vaulting ahead by six at 13-7 as Wilkinson notched two kills and a block. Down 15-9, Iowa State fought back with a 6-0 run starring West to the tune of two kills and a block, setting off a string of five ties, last at 19. Creighton went up 24-21, scoring five of the next seven points including kills by three different players. A Lazard kill kept the set going momentarily, before Kloth gave the Bluejays a 25-22 victory.
Iowa State overcame a 4-1 deficit in Set 3, going ahead 9-5 on a solo block by Rhodes after four Creighton errors. Up just two at 10-8, the Cyclones put the set out of reach at 19-10 behind four Bluejay miscues and two blocks. Down 10 at 21-11, Creighton made one last ditch effort with a 5-1 run, capitalizing on three ISU errors. Kills by Bailey and Schaben and a Harris ace put the Cyclones up 2-1 in the match.
Creighton used a 4-0 run to take a 9-6 lead in Set 4 and held on the rest of the way to force the decisive fifth set. Iowa State was within one at 12-11 and 13-12, but the Bluejays held, raising the advantage to six at 20-14 on a kill by Winters. The Cyclones were within three at 22-19, but could not complete the comeback as Wilkinson and Kloth putaways set up an attack error which closed out a 25-19 Creighton win.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy: Creighton Athletics
Playing without the services of 2016 BIG EAST Player of the Year Lydia Dimke, the No. 8 Creighton Volleyball team lost a five-set match against No. 19 Iowa State on Saturday to wrap up play at the Shocker Volleyball Classic.
Scores of the match in favor of ISU were 25-21, 22-25, 25-16, 25-19, 15-8.
Iowa State (8-1) won the opening set, 25-21. The score was even at 11 before ISU went on a 5-0 run and would not trail again. CU drew within one at both 21-20 and 22-21, only to see the Cyclones reel off the final three points to win the opening set. Megan Ballenger had four kills in as many swings for CU in the first sset, while Grace Lazard had five kills in six swings for ISU.
Creighton (7-4) turned the tables on the Cyclones in the second set, taking a 25-22 decision to even the match. Creighton used an 8-1 run to move ahead 15-9 and didn’t look back. ISU did get within one at 22-21 before CU scored the final three points. Taryn Kloth had seven kills in the second set and Samantha Bohnet set nine assists for the victors.
The third set was all Iowa State after the Cyclones overcame an early 4-1 deficit. Genesis Miranda served a 6-0 run to give ISU the lead that would end up as a 25-16 victory. Creighton alternated among three setters in the frame but hit -.100 with just five kills in 40 swings.
The Bluejays forced a fifth set with a 25-19 victory in the fourth frame. Kloth had five kills and Jaali Winters dug eight balls. Creighton raced to an 11-7 lead thanks to a 6-1 run, only to see ISU draw within one at 13-12. The Bluejays regained their cushion with a 5-1 run and held on from there.
Iowa State blitzed to a 5-0 lead to begin the fifth set, but Creighton rallied within two at 6-4 and 10-8. A timeout helped the Cyclones regroup and answer with the final five points of the match.
Creighton opens BIG EAST Conference play next Friday with a 7 pm home match against Georgetown.
Courtesy: Iowa State Athletics
For the eighth time in Iowa State volleyball history, the Cyclones knocked off a top-10 opponent as ISU defeated No. 8 Creighton 3-2 (25-21, 22-25, 25-16, 19-25, 15-8) Saturday at the Shocker Volleyball Classic. The win, ISU’s first over a top-10 foe since taking down No. 5 Texas last November, improved the Cyclones to 8-1. Creighton wrapped up non-conference play with a 7-4 overall record.
In her first career start, Avery Rhodes finished with seven kills at a .357 hitting percentage and 10 blocks (2 solo, 8 assists). Jess Schaben had a double-double of 13 kills and 17 digs, as did Monique Harris at 38 assists and 16 digs and Alexis Conaway with 10 kills and 11 digs. Hali Hillegas had 20 digs.
Set One: Iowa State 25 Creighton 21
Both teams came out in different systems, Iowa State running a 5-1 offense, while Creighton was forced into a 6-2 after usual setter Lydia Dimke was injured last night against Wichita State. ISU got some breathing room with a 5-0 run to move ahead 16-11. The Jays battled back, cutting the lead to one on multiple occasions but could not get the elusive tie. ISU got to set point at 24-21, and put it away when Avery Rhodes, in her first career start, put a huge block on Marysa Wilkinson to make it 25-21 ISU.
Set Two: Creighton 25 Iowa State 22
The Jays started to click offensively, getting improved chemistry and an early advantage at 13-7. The Cyclones looked to break up an 8-1 Creighton run by moving back to their 6-2 offense. The move paid off, as the Cyclones worked their way back to tie it at 15-15 on a Samara Westkill, and ahead at 17-16 when Jaali Winters fired wide. The Jays battled back ahead at 19-18, and were able to pull away from there. The Bluejays tied the match when Hannah Bailey was called in the net on a block at 25-22 Jays.
Set Three: Iowa State 25 Creighton 16
Back in the 5-1, ISU ran off six-in-a-row behind strong Genesis Mirandaserving to get ahead 7-4. The Cyclone defense smothered the Jay attack, keeping CU in a negative hitting percentage for much of the frame. The Cyclones continued to press from behind the service line and at the net, pushing the advantage to double figures at 21-11. Set point came at 24-16, and was put away immediately on a service ace by Monique Harris at 25-16 Cyclones.
Set Four: Creighton 25 Iowa State 19
The Jays went on a 4-0 run to make a 6-5 ISU lead, a 9-6 CU lead. The Cyclone offense began to pick up the pace and was able to help cut the Jays’ advantage to a single point on multiple tries. However, the Jays found a 5-1 run to extend its advantage to six at 20-14. Creighton forced a fifth set when Samara West’s shot sailed wide at 25-19 Jays.
Set Five: Iowa State 15 Creighton 8
Iowa State flew out of the gates, forcing the Jays into four attack errors to make it 5-0 Cyclones. The Jays recovered, but some sloppy serving allowed ISU to maintain an 8-5 lead at the change of sides. The Bluejays cut it to 10-8, but Rhodes went off for three-straight kills to open the ISU lead back up to 13-8. ISU wrapped up the match on first asking when Samara West put away her 10th kill at 15-8 ISU.
Player of the Game
Avery Rhodes. Her first career start was one for the record books. The Waco, Texas native finished with seven kills at a .357 hitting percentage and 10 blocks (2 solo, 8 assists). She is the first Cyclone to have 10 blocks in a match since Alexis Conaway had 11 against Tulsa in 2014.
Up Next
Iowa State closes out the Shocker Volleyball Classic tomorrow against hosts Wichita State. First serve between the Cyclones and Shockers will be at 2:30 p.m.
Leave a Reply