Completed Event: Volleyball versus West Virginia on October 16, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 1
Final
Volleyball
3
West Virginia
1
Iowa State University Athletics
Monday, October 11
Des Moines, Iowa
TBA
Iowa State
3
vs
1
Drake
Cyclones Overcome Rough Start to Defeat Drake, 3-1
10.11.2004 | Volleyball
DES MOINES, Iowa - The Iowa State volleyball team moved its non-conference record to 7-1 and snapped a six-match losing streak by defeating intrastate rival Drake at the Knapp Center in Des Moines tonight. The Cyclones started slowly, losing game one to the Bulldogs, but regrouped midway through game two to hand Drake a 3-1 defeat. The Cyclones move to 8-8 with the win, while the Bulldogs fell to 3-13 on the season.
"It felt really great to get that win," said Iowa State head coach Linda Crum. "We did some things well tonight, some things not as well. But after we got past game one, we were fine. It was great to see us correct some of the mistakes we made early in the match, in our serving and passing game, and come back and play much better."
Game one went to the Bulldogs, as they built a mid-game lead, going up by as many as six points. ISU put an offensive attack together following a timeout, but Drake outlasted the Cyclones to take game one, 30-26. Nicole Lorenzen tallied five kills for Iowa State, but the team was held to a .039 hitting percentage in the game with 12 hitting errors, cosing them a chance to earn a comeback win.
Drake continued its outstanding play early in game two, building an 8-3 advantage early. ISU regrouped though, storming back with an 8-1 run to climb up by one. Kelly Melohn sparked another Iowa State run from behind the serving line, serving perfectly in game two and tallying one ace serve, as the Cyclones built a 23-14 lead. Iowa State never relinquished that advantage, and won game two, 30-20. Iowa State's serving game helped disrupt the Drake offense, and ISU recorded six service aces in the second game. Lorenzen added five more kills and Katie Kruenegel chipped in three for the Cyclone offense.
It was Iowa State's turn to jump out to an early lead in game three, as the Cyclones jumped to an 11-6 lead. Drake fought back and earned a 14-13 lead, before the teams began trading points in the mid-portion of the match. Katie Jessen, Lorenzen and Dalager sparked a late rally for Iowa State with a pair of kills apiece, however, and the Cyclones opened up a 28-23 lead late in the game. The Cyclones finished strong behind Jessen and ISU put Drake away in game three, 30-26. Jessen led ISU in game three with eight kills and Dalager slammed five to lead the Cyclones to a 2-1 advantage in the match.
The Cyclones left no room for doubt in the final game, as ISU zoomed to an early 5-1 lead. Iowa State expanded that lead to as many as 15, and dispatched the Bulldogs in the final game, 30-15. Lorenzen and Katie Kruenegel powered the Iowa State offense in the final stanza, pounding three kills apiece. Katy Amundson and Meghan Ferrie recorded their first kills since the match against Prairie View A&M on Sept. 10.
Iowa State's outside hitters dominated the match and the Cyclones attacked the edges throughout the night. Lorenzen finished her night with a team-high 17 kills, tying her career-high. Lorenzen also added 13 digs defensively and notched her second double-double in as many matches. She was an effective server at times for Iowa State as well, acing a team-high three serves despite committing six service errors.
Jessen also was extremely effective on the outside for ISU, rebounding after a slow game one to record 14 kills to go with three digs. Dalager hurt Drake on the outside and in the middle, as the senior recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 10 kills and 13 digs to her credit.
"We had set some goals for our outside hitters coming into the match," said Crum. "We talked about some things as far as hitting percentages and shot selection with those players. We knew Drake was a really big team and would be able to block well if we took poor shots, so we really had to take some good shots tonight. So they were definitely the key for us tonight."
Setter Amanda Craig was the third Cyclone to reach the double-double mark with 47 assists and 12 digs. The junior tallied her eighth double-double and leads the squad in that category. It was the second consecutive match in which three Cyclones recorded a double-double for the match.
Katie Kruenegel was the most efficient Cyclone offensively. The junior slammed 10 kills on 22 attempts, good for a .318 hitting percentage. She also added three block assists to the ISU defensive effort.
Christine Smeele and Katie Churm provided solid defensive nights for ISU, as each recorded double figures in digs with 11 and 13, respectively. Churm's serve was an offensive weapon for ISU as well, as the sophomore libero registered two aces from behind the line in the match.
"After we regrouped following game one, our serving game got more effective," said Crum. "They really started to wear down and make some errors and that disrupted their offense. Amy (associate head coach) Farber-Knowles really worked hard with these kids this week on that, and I was proud to see them execute that well tonight."
"It felt really great to get that win," said Iowa State head coach Linda Crum. "We did some things well tonight, some things not as well. But after we got past game one, we were fine. It was great to see us correct some of the mistakes we made early in the match, in our serving and passing game, and come back and play much better."
Game one went to the Bulldogs, as they built a mid-game lead, going up by as many as six points. ISU put an offensive attack together following a timeout, but Drake outlasted the Cyclones to take game one, 30-26. Nicole Lorenzen tallied five kills for Iowa State, but the team was held to a .039 hitting percentage in the game with 12 hitting errors, cosing them a chance to earn a comeback win.
Drake continued its outstanding play early in game two, building an 8-3 advantage early. ISU regrouped though, storming back with an 8-1 run to climb up by one. Kelly Melohn sparked another Iowa State run from behind the serving line, serving perfectly in game two and tallying one ace serve, as the Cyclones built a 23-14 lead. Iowa State never relinquished that advantage, and won game two, 30-20. Iowa State's serving game helped disrupt the Drake offense, and ISU recorded six service aces in the second game. Lorenzen added five more kills and Katie Kruenegel chipped in three for the Cyclone offense.
It was Iowa State's turn to jump out to an early lead in game three, as the Cyclones jumped to an 11-6 lead. Drake fought back and earned a 14-13 lead, before the teams began trading points in the mid-portion of the match. Katie Jessen, Lorenzen and Dalager sparked a late rally for Iowa State with a pair of kills apiece, however, and the Cyclones opened up a 28-23 lead late in the game. The Cyclones finished strong behind Jessen and ISU put Drake away in game three, 30-26. Jessen led ISU in game three with eight kills and Dalager slammed five to lead the Cyclones to a 2-1 advantage in the match.
The Cyclones left no room for doubt in the final game, as ISU zoomed to an early 5-1 lead. Iowa State expanded that lead to as many as 15, and dispatched the Bulldogs in the final game, 30-15. Lorenzen and Katie Kruenegel powered the Iowa State offense in the final stanza, pounding three kills apiece. Katy Amundson and Meghan Ferrie recorded their first kills since the match against Prairie View A&M on Sept. 10.
Iowa State's outside hitters dominated the match and the Cyclones attacked the edges throughout the night. Lorenzen finished her night with a team-high 17 kills, tying her career-high. Lorenzen also added 13 digs defensively and notched her second double-double in as many matches. She was an effective server at times for Iowa State as well, acing a team-high three serves despite committing six service errors.
Jessen also was extremely effective on the outside for ISU, rebounding after a slow game one to record 14 kills to go with three digs. Dalager hurt Drake on the outside and in the middle, as the senior recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 10 kills and 13 digs to her credit.
"We had set some goals for our outside hitters coming into the match," said Crum. "We talked about some things as far as hitting percentages and shot selection with those players. We knew Drake was a really big team and would be able to block well if we took poor shots, so we really had to take some good shots tonight. So they were definitely the key for us tonight."
Setter Amanda Craig was the third Cyclone to reach the double-double mark with 47 assists and 12 digs. The junior tallied her eighth double-double and leads the squad in that category. It was the second consecutive match in which three Cyclones recorded a double-double for the match.
Katie Kruenegel was the most efficient Cyclone offensively. The junior slammed 10 kills on 22 attempts, good for a .318 hitting percentage. She also added three block assists to the ISU defensive effort.
Christine Smeele and Katie Churm provided solid defensive nights for ISU, as each recorded double figures in digs with 11 and 13, respectively. Churm's serve was an offensive weapon for ISU as well, as the sophomore libero registered two aces from behind the line in the match.
"After we regrouped following game one, our serving game got more effective," said Crum. "They really started to wear down and make some errors and that disrupted their offense. Amy (associate head coach) Farber-Knowles really worked hard with these kids this week on that, and I was proud to see them execute that well tonight."
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