Iowa State Cyclones def. Bulldogs 3-0 (25-12, 25-13, 25-5)
- Exhibition Match
- Ames, Iowa
- Attendance: 473
- Box Score
The NCAA season has arrived. Teams are reporting to pre-season training camps (read inside views of those camps here) and classes are due to begin.
On Saturday, major college volleyball began for the fall semester, albeit in exhibition. That’s when the Iowa State Cyclones beat the Drake Bulldogs in Ames in a Division I, in-state showdown. Impressively, as just an exhibition and with 9 days still until classes begin, 473 fans were still in the arena.
The Cyclones, who finished 3rd in the Big 12 last season, were dominant in their opener. In the first set, Drake scored on the first point, but then Iowa State senior outside hitter Genesis Miranda served the team to 13-straight points (14 including the side-out).
Both teams went deep into their benches, using the exhibition of a true exhibition. Drake played 15 players and Iowa State played 14, which helped keep individual stats down. Iowa State’s Alexis Conaway led all players with 11 points – 6 kills, 4 block assists, and an ace. Iowa State junior Jess Schaben, a 2016 AVCA Honorable Mention All-American, had 5 kills and 3 errors on 17 swings (just a .118 hitting percentage), but chipped in 8 digs.
As both teams got deeper into their bench in the 3rd set, the scoring became more lopsided in favor of the deeper Cyclones. They dominated all of the major statistical categories – they had more kills (33-14), more aces (8-2), more blocks (10-2), and more digs (46-33). Iowa State also out-hit Drake .288 to -1.65 for Drake (14 kills, 29 errors).
Press Releases:
Courtesy Iowa State Athletics:
AMES, Iowa – Iowa State showed its potential for the 2017 volleyball season with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-13, 25-5) win over Drake in an exhibition contest Saturday at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones hit .287 as a team and recorded eight service aces, while restricting Drake to a -.165 hitting percentage with 10.0 total blocks.
Leading the Cyclone offense was six kills each from Alexis Conaway, Josie Herbst and Samara West
. Conaway and West also had a strong match serving the ball, with Conaway posting three aces, and Herbst earning two. West led the Cyclone block with five block assists.
First Set: Iowa State 25 Drake 12
Iowa State racked up 14-straight points on Genesis Miranda‘s serve as the Cyclones flew out to a 14-1 advantage. The Cyclones had a strong variety of ways to score, with Miranda getting a pair of aces while Monique Harris did well to find Conaway during the run. ISU held Drake to a -.229 hitting clip for the frame. Iowa State closed out the set when Drake’s Kylee Macke’s set could not find any of her hitters.
Second Set: Iowa State 25 Drake 13
ISU got the first four points of the set and never looked back. The second frame was the first chance for many of the ISU newcomers to show what they could do, with Meegan Hart and Avery Rhodes each getting a couple of kills out of the middle. The Cyclones wrapped up the set on the third set point when Hannah Bailey tipped over the block for a kill.
Third Set: Iowa State 25 Drake 5
Iowa State’s third set was dominant, as Monique Harris served the Cyclones on a 12-0 run to make a 6-2 lead an 18-2 advantage. The Cyclone offense hit at a .556 hitting percentage, with Josie Herbst getting four kills on five swings, and an ace with her entertaining jump-serve. Alexis Conaway closed out the set and the match with three-straight service aces.
Up Next
Iowa State will be back at Hilton Coliseum next Saturday with the Cardinal and Gold Scrimmage. Admission is free, with first serve at 1 p.m.
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