Boeve Leads ISU Past Baylor, 3-0

AMES, Iowa - Erin Boeve was unstoppable for Iowa State, posting 17 kills, two solo blocks and seven block assists, as the Cyclones swept Baylor, 3-0 (30-26, 30-27, 30-25) in their Big 12 opener on Saturday night at Hilton Coliseum.

With the win, Iowa State improves to 9-2 overall and 1-0 in Big 12 play. Baylor drops to 12-2 overall and 1-1 in conference action.

Boeve's 17 kills came with just two errors on 28 attempts as she continually produced big kills for the Cyclones.

“Erin is such a physical presence and player,” said Iowa State head coach Christy Johnson. “If she is on she is hard for anyone to stop and that showed tonight.”

Katie Jessen also reached double-figures for the Cyclones, ripping 11 kills. Katie Churm and Kaylee Manns anchored the Cyclones' defensive effort with 10 digs each. Manns also had 38 assists on the night.

The Cyclones and Bears entered action as two of the top defensive teams in the Big 12, but ISU had the upper hand in tonight's match, out blocking the Bears 16 to 10 and out digging them 42 to 36. ISU out hit Baylor .248 to .117, keeping their season opponent hitting percentage below .100 at .097.

After falling behind 19-15 in the first game, Iowa State rallied to tie it at 19-19 on Laura Cady's serve. Baylor then pushed its lead back to two at 22-20 before the Cyclones rattled off six of the next eight points to go ahead 26-24 and force a Baylor timeout. The teams traded points before Manns and Jessica Klein put up a big block and stuffed back a Nicole LeBlanc attack to give ISU the 30-26 win.

Looking for the 2-0 lead, ISU took an early 3-0 lead in game two before Baylor came back to take its first lead at 7-6. The Cyclones were able to regain the lead and extend it to 18-13 on a Boeve kill. The Bears scrapped back, taking a 24-23 lead and going up 27-24. A service error by Baylor broke serve and ISU took advantage of it, scoring the final six points of the game to win 30-27.

Boeve and Jessen each had kills and teamed up for block that made it 29-27 Iowa State. Boeve finished the game with a powerful swing from Manns that sent the Cyclones to the locker room leading 2-0.

The Cyclones trailed just twice in the third game, taking the lead for good at 5-4 on another Boeve kill. The junior from Steen, Minn., had eight kills in the third game.

ISU controlled the match after Boeve's kill, allowing just a tie at 8-8 before running their lead to 12-8. Baylor didn't go away, getting within one at 21-20 before Klein shut the door with a kill. Another Klein kill, 13 points later, gave ISU the 30-25 win and the sweep.

“I was a little worried coming into tonight because we didn't practice real well this week,” said Johnson. “But they came ready to play from the first point. What I am most pleased with is that we stayed aggressive the entire match.”

Desiree Guillard-Young led the way for Baylor with 12 kills while Nicole LeBlanc chipped in 10.

The Cyclones will travel to No.1 Nebraska for another conference tilt on Wednesday. First serve from Nebraska Coliseum is slated for 7 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Erin Boeve

Erin Boeve

Laura Cady

Laura Cady

Katie Churm

Katie Churm

Katie Jessen

Katie Jessen

Jessica Klein

Jessica Klein

Kaylee Manns

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