Completed Event: Volleyball versus Texas Tech on October 2, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 1
Final
Volleyball
3
Texas Tech
1
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Iowa State University Athletics
Wednesday, October 20
Ames, Iowa
TBA
Iowa State
1
vs
3
Northern Iowa
Iowa State Falls to Northern Iowa, 3-1
10.20.2004 | Volleyball
AMES, Iowa - The Iowa State volleyball team put together, perhaps, its best overall effort of the 2004 season, but were unable to pull-out a victory over intrastate rival and perennial NCAA contender, Northern Iowa. The Cyclones played some of their best volleyball of the season, particularly early in the match, but were eventually overcome and lost a 3-1 decision to the Panthers at Hilton Coliseum. Iowa State moves to 8-11 on the season, while Northern Iowa improves to 14-6.
"I thought we really came out and played well," said ISU head coach Linda Crum. "I expected a back-and-forth affair with Northern Iowa, and it was. We just didn't execute at critical points and it eventually cost us the match."
The Cyclones were on fire early, with superb ball handling and a potent offense. Erin Boeve, a freshman outside hitter from Steen, Minn., fueled an offense that cranked out an impressive .371 hitting percentage in the opening game. Boeve had five kills on six attempts, hitting an amazing .833 for the game. Katie Jessen was also extremely efficient, pounding six kills on 10 attempts for a .600 effort in the first game.
Iowa State's excellent ball handling allowed the offense to exploit the deep-middle of the UNI defense, and the Cyclones' hitters hit shot after shot that landed safely in the middle of the Panther back row. Iowa State's excellent offensive performane allowed them to draw first blood in the match, winning game one, 30-21. It was the third consecutive year that ISU has taken the initial game of the intrastate rivalry.
"I thought our ball handling was about as good as it has been all year," said Crum. "It really allowed us to run great offense in game one and our hitters really took advantage."
Game two featured some extremely exciting volleyball for the season-high 1,024 fans in attendance. Both squads thrilled the crowd with some spectacular saves and long rallies, but it was Northern Iowa's offense and Iowa State's service errors that made the difference.
The Panthers hit .281, up from their .081 game one performance, and took advantage of three key ISU service errors in the game. Northern Iowa fed their best offensive player, junior Rachael Tink, a Waterloo native, who pounded five kills down the stretch to help UNI to a 30-27 game two win.
The pivotal game three was, perhaps, the most exciting of the night. Both teams went on impressive runs, ISU pulling together a 7-1 run, with the Panthers having two key spurts of 3-1 and 4-1 late in the game. Iowa State led 29-27, and was poised to take a two to one lead, but the Panthers fought back to even the score at 29-29. Several furious rallies ensued, but UNI was able to win the key points and make pivotal plays and won, 35-33.
Nicole Lorenzen, an outside hitter from Fremont, was the fireplug offensively for the Cyclones in the third game. She slammed six kills in that game, while Boeve and Jessen added four apiece. ISU was hurt by five service errors, a few of which came during pivotal stretches in the game.
In game four, Northern Iowa jumped to a 15-10 lead and looked to win the match running away. But Iowa State rallied behind the serving of senior Kelly Melohn and put together a 10-2 run to go up 20-17. The Panthers roared back though, behind the play of Tink and the nation's leader in blocks, Danielle Brazda, and won a hard-fought 30-26 decision to cap the match.
The Cyclones were led offensively by Lorenzen, who pounded a team season-high 20 kills, which also set a new career-high for the redshirt sophomore. Lorenzen hit .265 for the match and pitched in defensively as well, notching nine digs. Lorenzen was effective with her accuracy, and was able to use finesse to post her career effort.
"I thought Nicole really did a great job by not swinging as hard as she could on every hit," said Crum. "She slowed herself down and really hit great shots tonight, and it showed in her stats."
If Lorenzen was the finesse in the ISU attack, Boeve was undoubtedly the power. Boeve slammed 19 kills, a career-best, on 35 attempts, posting her second consecutive match of plus-.400 in the hitting percentage column. The freshman, who is in the top-five among all freshmen in the Big 12 in six categories was virtually unstoppable offensively, and added five block assists and a solo block to the defensive efforts.
"Boeve is obviously a very talented, very special player," said Crum. "She made our offense look very good tonight, and was spectacular for us."
Jessen was another force for the Cyclone offense throughout the match, particularly early in the contest. The sophomore racked up 17 kills and hit .286 on the evening. Jessen also posted seven digs for ISU.
Katie Churm, a sophomore libero from Irvine, Calif., was ISU's leading defensive player in the match. For the tenth time this season, Churm led Iowa State in digs, notching 22. Churm came into the match averaging 3.97 digs per game, sixth-best in the Big 12 conference.
Another Cyclone among the Big 12 leaders is junior setter Amanda Craig. Craig, who entered tonight with the eighth-best assist average in the league, racked up 57 in the match. It was the sixth time this season Craig topped the 50-assist plateau in a match. She also added three kills and five digs.
Iowa State returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 23, in a Big 12 match with Oklahoma at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones earned their only league victory over the Sooners in September with a win over OU in Norman. The match is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
"I thought we really came out and played well," said ISU head coach Linda Crum. "I expected a back-and-forth affair with Northern Iowa, and it was. We just didn't execute at critical points and it eventually cost us the match."
The Cyclones were on fire early, with superb ball handling and a potent offense. Erin Boeve, a freshman outside hitter from Steen, Minn., fueled an offense that cranked out an impressive .371 hitting percentage in the opening game. Boeve had five kills on six attempts, hitting an amazing .833 for the game. Katie Jessen was also extremely efficient, pounding six kills on 10 attempts for a .600 effort in the first game.
Iowa State's excellent ball handling allowed the offense to exploit the deep-middle of the UNI defense, and the Cyclones' hitters hit shot after shot that landed safely in the middle of the Panther back row. Iowa State's excellent offensive performane allowed them to draw first blood in the match, winning game one, 30-21. It was the third consecutive year that ISU has taken the initial game of the intrastate rivalry.
"I thought our ball handling was about as good as it has been all year," said Crum. "It really allowed us to run great offense in game one and our hitters really took advantage."
Game two featured some extremely exciting volleyball for the season-high 1,024 fans in attendance. Both squads thrilled the crowd with some spectacular saves and long rallies, but it was Northern Iowa's offense and Iowa State's service errors that made the difference.
The Panthers hit .281, up from their .081 game one performance, and took advantage of three key ISU service errors in the game. Northern Iowa fed their best offensive player, junior Rachael Tink, a Waterloo native, who pounded five kills down the stretch to help UNI to a 30-27 game two win.
The pivotal game three was, perhaps, the most exciting of the night. Both teams went on impressive runs, ISU pulling together a 7-1 run, with the Panthers having two key spurts of 3-1 and 4-1 late in the game. Iowa State led 29-27, and was poised to take a two to one lead, but the Panthers fought back to even the score at 29-29. Several furious rallies ensued, but UNI was able to win the key points and make pivotal plays and won, 35-33.
Nicole Lorenzen, an outside hitter from Fremont, was the fireplug offensively for the Cyclones in the third game. She slammed six kills in that game, while Boeve and Jessen added four apiece. ISU was hurt by five service errors, a few of which came during pivotal stretches in the game.
In game four, Northern Iowa jumped to a 15-10 lead and looked to win the match running away. But Iowa State rallied behind the serving of senior Kelly Melohn and put together a 10-2 run to go up 20-17. The Panthers roared back though, behind the play of Tink and the nation's leader in blocks, Danielle Brazda, and won a hard-fought 30-26 decision to cap the match.
The Cyclones were led offensively by Lorenzen, who pounded a team season-high 20 kills, which also set a new career-high for the redshirt sophomore. Lorenzen hit .265 for the match and pitched in defensively as well, notching nine digs. Lorenzen was effective with her accuracy, and was able to use finesse to post her career effort.
"I thought Nicole really did a great job by not swinging as hard as she could on every hit," said Crum. "She slowed herself down and really hit great shots tonight, and it showed in her stats."
If Lorenzen was the finesse in the ISU attack, Boeve was undoubtedly the power. Boeve slammed 19 kills, a career-best, on 35 attempts, posting her second consecutive match of plus-.400 in the hitting percentage column. The freshman, who is in the top-five among all freshmen in the Big 12 in six categories was virtually unstoppable offensively, and added five block assists and a solo block to the defensive efforts.
"Boeve is obviously a very talented, very special player," said Crum. "She made our offense look very good tonight, and was spectacular for us."
Jessen was another force for the Cyclone offense throughout the match, particularly early in the contest. The sophomore racked up 17 kills and hit .286 on the evening. Jessen also posted seven digs for ISU.
Katie Churm, a sophomore libero from Irvine, Calif., was ISU's leading defensive player in the match. For the tenth time this season, Churm led Iowa State in digs, notching 22. Churm came into the match averaging 3.97 digs per game, sixth-best in the Big 12 conference.
Another Cyclone among the Big 12 leaders is junior setter Amanda Craig. Craig, who entered tonight with the eighth-best assist average in the league, racked up 57 in the match. It was the sixth time this season Craig topped the 50-assist plateau in a match. She also added three kills and five digs.
Iowa State returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 23, in a Big 12 match with Oklahoma at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones earned their only league victory over the Sooners in September with a win over OU in Norman. The match is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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OH
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