MATCH STATS
- #24 Iowa State def. West Virginia, 3-1 (25-18, 25-18, 24-26, 25-11)
- Iowa State improves to 13-4, 4-3 Big 12; West Virginia drops to 13-7, 2-5 Big 12
- Ames, Iowa
- Attendance: 1903
- Box score
AMES, Iowa – In their best blocking match since 2007, #24 Iowa State knocked off West Virginia in four sets (25-18, 25-18, 24-26, 25-11). The Cyclones outblocked the Mountaineers, 19.5-3 and held WVU to a paltry .123 hitting percentage.
Alexis Conaway crushed a career-high 18 kills and added 6 digs and 5 blocks to help the Cyclones to victory. She was joined in double-digit kills by fellow Iowan Jess Schaben with 18 kills and completed the double-double with 16 digs. Schaben added 6 blocks of her own. Monique Harris ran an efficient offense to a .287 mark with 47 assists. 5-9 Harris also got in on the block party with five to go alone with her 8 digs. Libero Hali Hillegas dug a match-high-tying 18 digs. Grace Lazard led all blockers with 11. Avery Rhodes added 9 blocks for ISU.
For the Mountaineers, Payton Caffrey had the lone double-double, contributing 13 kills and 10 digs. Mia Swanegan added 11 kills. Swanegan was also in on all three WVU blocks on the evening. Emma Anderson provided a spark off of the bench, dishing out 22 assists in 2.5 sets of play. Libero Gianna Gotterba tied her counterpart on ISU with 18 digs of her own.
The ISU win was the 800th for the Cyclones in program history. Nearly a third of those (259) came while coach Christy Johnson-Lynch has led ISU.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of Iowa State Athletics
AMES, Iowa – No. 22 Iowa State used a stifling block to defeat West Virginia 3-1 (25-18, 25-18, 24-26, 25-11) Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum. The win improved ISU to 13-4 overall on the season, 4-3 in Big 12 play. West Virginia is now 13-7 on the year, 2-5 in league play.
Iowa State held the Mountaineers to a .123 hitting percentage via 19.5 total blocks, ISU’s highest total since posting 20.0 in the 2007 season opener. Grace Lazard led that effort with 11 blocks, while Avery Rhodes had eight. In attack, Alexis Conawayand Jess Schaben each had 18 kills, a career-high for Conaway. Schaben had a double-double with 16 digs.
Wednesday night’s win is the 800th in Iowa State Volleyball program history. 259 of those wins have come under the guidance of head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch.
First Set: Iowa State 25 West Virginia 18
Iowa State flew out of the gates, taking seven of the first eight points with strong play across the net on offense and defense. The stats spelled out ISU’s work at the net, as the Cyclones hit .429 while holding the Mountaineers to a .146 hitting clip. The ISU effort was led by four kills each from Alexis Conway and Jess Schaben, with Schaben finishing things off with a kill at 25-18.
Second Set: Iowa State 25 West Virginia 18
A 5-0 run by the Cyclones made a 5-4 West Virginia lead a 9-5 ISU advantage that would not be relinquished the rest of the set. The home team was rolling, getting up by double figures at 20-10, but WVU fought back with a 7-0 run to bring ISU back within three. However, Iowa State was able to bring the set home, as Schaben’s seventh kill of the set make it 25-18 ISU.
Third Set: West Virginia 26 Iowa State 24
Again, the visiting Mountaineers had the very early advantage, but that edge was short lived as ISU went on a 6-0 run to pull ahead 15-9. The ISU defense dictated action in the early parts of the frame, recording four blocks on the set. WVU battled hard to get back in the set, eventually tying the set at 24-24 on a Morgan Montgomery kill. The Mountaineers then had a set point at 25-24 after another Montgomery kill, and extended the match with a Mia Swanigan kill at 26-24.
Fourth Set: Iowa State 25 West Virginia 11
The Cyclone block continued to pile on the pressure on the Mountaineers, as ISU got 4.5 blocks in its first nine points to get out to a 9-6 lead. Izzy Enna helped close things out for Iowa State, as she went on a 10-0 run on her serve to bring up match point at 24-11, which she finished off with an ace to give ISU the fourth 25-11.
Player of the Game
Jess Schaben. The junior was a force in all aspects of the match. Schaben led ISU with 18 kills, which she got at a .348 hitting percentage, 16 digs, six blocks and a service ace to help guide the Cyclone victory.
Courtesy of West Virginia Athletics
AMES, Iowa – The West Virginia University volleyball team was unable to overcome offensive struggles, as the Mountaineers suffered a 3-1 Big 12 loss at Iowa State on Wednesday evening at the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. The Cyclones (13-4, 4-3) took the match from the Mountaineers (13-7, 2-5) in set scores of 25-18, 25-18, 24-26 and 25-11.
Payton Caffrey had a team-best 13 kills for WVU, followed by Mia Swanegan with 11. Morgan Montgomery just missed double-digits with nine kills, while Natania Levak finished with eight. Briana Lynch also made her first Big 12 start tonight, racking up five total kills on 11 attacks for a .364 hitting percentage.
Gianna Gotterba had a team-high 18 digs, followed by Caffrey with 10. Emma Anderson also had 22 assists, splitting time at setter with Erin Slinde, who dished out 16 assists.
WVU finished the match hitting .123 with 50 kills and three team blocks.
Iowa State jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the first set and never looked back. A pair of errors from ISU and a kill from Montgomery brought the Mountaineers within three, trailing 8-5. Levak found the court twice to cut WVU’s deficit to four, but ISU went on to score three straight, forcing WVU into a timeout down 18-11. West Virginia came out of the stoppage with guns blazing, scoring three of the next four points to come within five, 19-14. Swanegan and Caffrey each added a kill later in the set to cut the Mountaineers deficit to four (22-18), but it wasn’t enough, as Iowa State scored three straight for a 25-18 win in set one.
The Mountaineers couldn’t sustain an early lead, as the Cyclones came back to tie the second set at 4-4. Another attacking error gave WVU a 5-4 lead, but a 5-0 run by ISU put the Cyclones on top 9-5. West Virginia then capitalized on a couple of Mountaineer kills to come within two, down 9-7. However, the Cyclones used a pair of runs, including six in a row midway through the set, for a 20-10 advantage. WVU bounced back and used a 7-0 run of its own, with Caffrey recording a trio of kills in the process, to bring the Mountaineers with three. ISU called a timeout to regroup and rattled off five of the next six points for the 25-18 triumph and 2-0 lead in the match.
The teams traded points early in the third before Iowa State tallied six in a row for a 15-9 lead, forcing WVU into a timeout. The Mountaineers did not back down, though, clawing their way back into the set with a pair of late scoring runs. A kill from Caffrey and Lynch alongside two ISU attacking errors cut WVU’s deficit to two, down 21-19. The teams traded points once again before Iowa State arrived at match point, holding a 24-22 advantage over West Virginia. The Mountaineers continued to be relentless and used four straight kills to finish off the set and capture the 26-24 triumph over the Cyclones.
Iowa State used a 5-0 run for a 6-3 lead early on before rolling to three straight points for the 10-6 advantage in the fourth set. WVU scored on an ISU service error, but two consecutive kills from Iowa State pushed the Cyclones’ lead to 13-8. WVU’s momentum continued to fade, though, as the match ended with Iowa State scoring 10 straight points for the 25-11 win and the 3-1 triumph in the match.
Jess Schaben and Alexis Conaway each recorded 18 kills for the Cyclones, who hit .287 with 53 kills and 19.5 team blocks.
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