Iowa State Stuns #5 Texas With a Five-Set Victory

  0 Eli Noblitt | November 13th, 2016 | Big 12, College - Women's Indoor, News

 

MATCH STATS

  • Iowa State Defeats #5 Texas (23-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-21, 15-11)
  • Team’s Record: Iowa State (16-9, 8-5 Big 12), Texas (19-4, 11-2 Big 12)
  • Schedules: Iowa State here, Texas here

RECAP

After being down two sets to one, the Iowa State Cyclones put together their best match of the season to earn a five-set win against the No. 5-ranked Texas Longhorns. It is the first time the Cyclones have beaten the Longhorns since 2012.

With the loss, Texas falls to second in the Big 12 Conference behind Kansas.

Iowa State totaled 70 kills as a team, and were led by Samara West. West recorded a career-high 16 kills on a .400 attack percentage. Jess Schaben was close behind with 15 kills (and 2 blocks), and Grace Lazard (12 kills, 6 blocks) and Morgan Kuhrt (12 kills, 1 block) also reached double-digits.

Schaben had a double-double, adding 18 digs to her 15 kills, as did Suzanne Horner (29 assists, 15 digs). Hali Hillegas led the Cyclones in digs with 26.

For Texas, Ebony Nwanebu led the match in kills with 18. Paulina Prieto Cerame also had a productive match with 17 kills, and both she and Nwanebu contributed 3 blocks apiece. Morgan Johnson led the Longhorns in blocks with 9, in addition to knocking down 7 kills.

Iowa State has some time off before their next match, but unfortunately, they play No. 4-ranked Kansas. We will have to wait and see if they can continue their giant-killing ways. Texas, on the other hand, will have to make a quick turnaround and play Texas Tech this Wednesday, November 16th.

 

PRESS RELEASES

Courtesy of Iowa State Athletics:

AMES, Iowa – Hilton Magic struck again, as Iowa State rallied to defeat No. 5 Texas in five sets, 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-21, 15-11) Saturday night in front of 3,187 at Hilton Coliseum. The win, Iowa State’s sixth in a row, first over a ranked team in 2016 and first over Texas since 2012, moves the Cyclones to 16-9 on the year and 8-5 in Big 12 play. Texas is now 19-4, and falls to second in the Big 12 at 11-2 in league play.

The Iowa State offense powered down 70 kills, led by a career-best 16 from Samara West at a .400 hitting percentage. Also joining West in double figures was Jess Schaben with 15 and 12 each from Morgan Kuhrt and Grace Lazard. Hali Hillegas paced a Cyclone defense that recorded 88 digs with 26 of her own, while Schaben finished with a double-double with 18 digs. Suzanne Horner also had a double-double of 29 assists and a career-best 15 digs.

Cyclones Lose Lead Late to Longhorns
Iowa State was in command for most of the first set, with Jess Schaben being the primary pacer of the offense. The Cyclones were ahead by as many as four at 12-8 before Texas pulled it back to 13-13. The Cyclones and Longhorns exchanged the lead five times in the first, but ISU looked home free at 22-20 after a UT attack error. However, it was the Horns who reached set point first at 24-22, which they converted with a Micaya White kill at 25-23.

Dominant Offense Bounces Back to Take Second Set
Texas enjoyed an early lead, with a pair of 3-0 run keeping the visitors in front. However, Christy Johnson-Lynch made a strategic decision to move Genesis Miranda into Ciara Capezio‘s front row position. The move paid dividends immediately, as Miranda helped spark the Cyclones back ahead at 10-9, and by as many as five points at 18-13. The Longhorns hung tough, fighting back to two at 18-16, but the Cyclones had another urn in them to get the lead back to 23-17. Iowa State tied the match when Autumn Rounsaville’s serve went into the net.

Texas Powers Way to 2-1 Lead
The Longhorns got in control early, with Paulina Prieto Cerame putting UT ahead at 7-6, and the Horns not looking back. UT used a few 3-0 runs to help build the gap up to five points at 16-11. ISU got a 3-0 run to cut that Texas advantage back to two at 16-14, but UT fought back, with its offense hitting .415 on the frame, and Prieto Cerame posting six kills. Texas got ahead 2-1 when Suzanne Horner sent a serve long.

Iowa State Scraps to Fifth Set
The passion on the court and in the stands was everywhere in set four. Both teams and coaching staffs wanted every point and let it show. Iowa State went on a 4-0 run via Miranda’s serve to get ahead 12-9. UT cut it back to one at 12-11, but Alexis Conaway went behind the service line and fired a 7-0 run to put Iowa State ahead at 19-11. From there, the Longhorns were able to pull ISU back in, bringing the Cyclone lead down to three at 22-19, but Iowa State did what they needed to force a fifth, which happened when Morgan Johnson misfired on a serve to make it 25-21 Cyclones.

ISU All the Way in Set Five
Reflecting on the Cyclones’ loss in Austin back on Oct. 8 in five sets, the value of not falling in a big hole early becomes apparent. This time, it was the Cyclones who made sure they were ahead. Lazard got a kill to make it 4-3 ISU, starting a 3-0 run to give the Cyclones a 6-3 advantage. The home team led at the switch at 8-4, and ISU got it to five when Miranda recorded another kill. Ebony Nwanebu fired a service error to bring up match point, which ISU earned when Texas’ White was called in the net on an attack at 15-11.

Cyclone Notes
*Iowa State snapped a seven-match losing streak to Texas. This was ISU’s first win over UT since 2012, fifth all-time over Texas, four of which have come under head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch.
*ISU has now defeated a ranked team in all 12 of Johnson-Lynch’s seasons as head coach.
*Morgan Kuhrt posted 12 kills, her sixth match of the season in double figures and 31st of her career.
*Samara West had a career-high 16 kills, her previous high was 14 against North Dakota last year. It was her eighth match of the season in double figures and 15th of her career.
*Grace Lazard‘s 12 kills marks her seventh match of the season in double figures. All seven have come in Big 12 play.
*Jess Schaben had a double-double of 15 kills and 18 digs, her seventh double-double of the season.
*Hali Hillegas led ISU with 26 digs, her 14th-straight match in double figures and sixth with at least 20 digs.
*Suzanne Horner had a double-double of 29 assists and 15 digs, her fourth double-double of the season and 13th of her career.

Up Next
Iowa State will have a bye in the mid-week, and will be back in action next Saturday at No. 4 Kansas. The time for the match is still yet to be announced.

Courtesy of Texas Athletics:

AMES, Iowa – No. 5 Texas Volleyball (19-4, 11-2) fell to Iowa State (16-9, 8-5) on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum, 3-2 (25-23, 21-25, 25-20, 21-25, 11-15).

Sophomore Morgan Johnson led the Longhorns with a career-high nine blocks, including two solo, while junior Cat McCoy recorded a career-high 29 digs.

Freshman Micaya White had her sixth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 11 digs, also posting a career-high three service aces.

Junior Ebony Nwanebu led Texas in kills with 18, hitting .366, while senior Paulina Prieto Cerame had 17.

Senior Chloe Collins finished with 51 assists, eight digs and four kills.

As a team, Texas outblocked the Cyclones, 14.0 to 7.0.

In the first set, Iowa State went on a 6-1 run to take an 8-4 lead early, but the Longhorns stayed close and fired a 5-1 run of their own to take their first lead of the set, 14-13. Texas led from there until the Cyclones went on a 5-1 run to take a 22-20 lead, but the Longhorns won five of the next seven points to take set one, 25-23.

In the second set, neither team led by more than two points until ISU took a 15-11 lead on a 4-1 run. The Cyclones controlled the rest of the and evened the match, 1-1 after winning set two, 25-21.

The third set was similar to the second set, as neither team led by more than two, but it was Texas that went on a 3-0 run to take a 10-7 lead. The Horns created more separation with another 3-0 run, but the Cyclones responded with a 3-0 run of their own to pull within two at 14-16. From there, Texas pulled away one more time and maintained control to take set three, 25-20.

In the fourth set, Iowa State jumped out to a 7-4 lead, but Texas stayed close and took a 9-8 advantage. The Cyclones then executed an 11-2 run to take a 19-11 lead and despite pulling to within two at 20-22, the Longhorns could not close the gap. Iowa State took set four, 25-21.

In the fifth set, the Cyclones and Longhorns went point-for-point until Iowa State went on a 6-1 run and did not look back, taking set five, 15-11.

Texas will return home for three matches to close the regular season, starting with Texas Tech on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. The match will be televised live on Longhorn Network.

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