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Iowa State University Athletics
A Season To Remember: 2007 Season In Review
12.20.2007 | Volleyball
The Arrival Of A Program...
Iowa State's meteoric rise through the ranks of the collegiate volleyball programs has been nothing short of miraculous. In her first two seasons as ISU head coach, Christy Johnson led the Cyclones to their first NCAA Tournament berth and lifted the Cyclones into the national spotlight. But still, to the casual volleyball fan, Iowa State was still relatively an unknown heading into the 2007 season. That can no longer be said following an amazing end-of-the-season run that took the Cyclones into the NCAA Regional semifinal, volleyball's version of the Sweet 16.
Iowa State finished the season 19-14 overall and fifth in the Big 12 with an 11-9 record. The Cyclones earned their first-ever national ranking and were ranked No. 17 in the final AVCA Coaches Poll. ISU was also ranked No. 20 in the Molten/Volleyball Magazine media poll, another first for the program.
The Cyclones won five matches against ranked opponents on the season after beating nationally ranked teams just seven times in school history prior to this season.
Defensively, Iowa State again proved itself to be one of the top teams in the country. The Cyclones finished the season ninth in the country with 3.28 blocks per game while leading the Big 12 with 18.08 digs per game in conference matches.
For the second straight season attendance was up as Hilton Coliseum truly became a home court advantage with the Cyclones averaging 1,565 fans per match and finishing 20th in the country in attendance.
The Season In A Nutshell...
Iowa State started slow out of the gate, dropping four of the first five matches before rattling off seven straight wins to get above .500. During the streak, ISU swept Northern Iowa, Iowa and Drake to capture its second straight mythical state championship. The Cyclones also had wins over No. 21 LSU and No. 25 Texas A&M.
After a loss to Texas, Iowa State beat Missouri, 3-2, in front of 1,312 fans at Hilton Coliseum, snapping a 10-match home losing streak to the Tigers. ISU then beat Texas Tech and Kansas to improve to 11-5.
The Cyclones, winners of 10 of their last 11, hit a cold spell, dropping matches to Oklahoma and a pair of nationally ranked squads in Nebraska and Kansas State.
ISU got back on track with a thrilling five-game win over Colorado and a sweep of Texas Tech before falling in four at 15th-ranked Kansas State. The Cyclones teetered back-and-forth going 2-2 in the next four matches.
Iowa State then welcomed No. 2 Nebraska to Hilton Coliseum for what turned out to be a special evening as the state of Iowa single-match attendance record was shattered. A crowd of 6,705 fans watched the Huskers prove worthy of their ranking, sweeping the Cyclones.
After 27 matches, Iowa State's tournament resume was filled with question marks as the team hit the road for a match at Kansas. The Cyclones had beaten the teams they were supposed to but didn't necessarily have any of the marquee wins that the tournament committee likes. With a RPI in the high-40s, one win shy of being tournament eligible with a 15-12 record and matches against nationally-ranked Texas and Oklahoma to close out the season, ISU would need a victory at KU to stay in the NCAA Tournament eligibility chase.
The Jayhawks, emotionally charged and playing in their final home match of the season, presented a real obstacle for ISU in what many considered a “must-win.” Trailing 2-1 and 10-2 in the fourth game, Iowa State's tournament dreams seemed to be fading. Then something happened, like a flick of a light switch, the Cyclones seemed to find an answer to their problems. ISU stormed back, chipping away the KU lead. Three points here. Two there. A block here. A thunderous kill there. As quickly as they had fallen into the 10-2 deficit, Iowa State tied it up at 22-22 on back-to-back kills by its senior leader Erin Boeve. The Cyclones lived to play a deciding fifth game by holding on for the 30-26 win.
ISU again played itself into a deficit in the fifth game, falling behind 12-10 in the race to 15. But as was the case in game four, the Cyclones didn't quit, scrapping back and eventually taking the game 17-15 after back-to-back kills by Jen Malcom.
And so the “Cardiac Clones” were born. Through the course of the next two weeks, ISU would take its fans on a thrilling ride that firmly placed the Cyclones among the nation's elite programs.
“It was a really good season but I wouldn't say it was a great season until the last two or three weeks,” Johnson said. “I think once we got above .500, once we qualified, the players relaxed a little bit and were able to elevate their play. Our seniors played as hard as they could those last two weeks. We had Lauren Cummings playing on two sprained ankles and you would never know based on how she played. I would include Erin Boeve, Jenna Malcom and Laura Cady in that group. They just played with so much confidence and so hard that our entire team was able to elevate their play.”
The following week, with ISU still looking to cement its name on the tournament bracket, the Cyclones welcomed Texas to Hilton Coliseum. The Longhorns quickly showed why they were the nation's third-ranked team, jumping out to a 2-0 lead as the squads headed to the lockerrooms for intermission.
The Cyclones looked like a completely different team after the break, disposing of UT 30-24 in game three. ISU took a 19-13 lead in the fourth game but Texas bounced back and eventually tied it at 28 all on a kill by Big 12 Freshman of the Year Juliann Faucette. The Cyclones showed their poise and fought off a match point at 32-31 with a kill by Cummings. Consecutive kills by Mary Bisenius and Cummings gave ISU the win and forced a decisive fifth game.
The Cyclones controlled the fifth game, going up 14-9, but Texas fought off five match points to tie it at 14-14. The Cyclones then led at 15-14 and 16-15 but Texas went to its big gun, Destinee Hooker, to score the final three points and upend the Cyclones 18-16 and 3-2.
The mark of any great team is how they respond to adversity and the Cyclones proved to be just that with a dominant 3-1 win over 21st-ranked Oklahoma, securing their spot in the tournament with the victory. Malcom had her best match as a Cyclone, posting 18 kills and hitting .441 in the victory over the Sooners.
The Cyclones gathered at Wallaby's in Ames the following evening for the announcement of the field of 64. Feeling pretty confident that they were in, the Cyclones waited and waited before their name was finally called. ISU was going to Madison, Wis., for the second consecutive season. Madison was a familiar site for the Cyclones, who would face 16th-ranked San Diego in the first round. No. 8 Wisconsin and Northern Iowa joined the Cyclones in Madison. Iowa State had tangled in 2006 with San Diego taking the 3-2 win.
The Cyclones fell behind early on in the first-round duel, dropping game one 30-25. ISU trailed again in the second game and appeared to be on the verge of falling behind 2-0 but again demonstrated its never-say-die attitude. Trailing 24-16, the Cyclones chipped away at the Torero lead and finally evened it up on a service ace by Kaylee Manns. San Diego regained game point but the Cyclones scored the next three on kills by Cummings, Rachel Williams and Boeve to tie it at 1-1 on a 31-29 win.
Riding the momentum of the game two victory, ISU pounced all over San Diego in the third stanza and grabbed an impressive 30-19 win. USD rebounded for the 30-24 fourth game decision to force a win-or-go-home fifth game.
San Diego had Iowa State up against the ropes leading 13-10 in the fifth game but ISU wasn't ready for its season to end yet. The Cyclones turned to Victoria Henson and all-Big 12 first teamer Erin Boeve as Henson smashed a kill to make it 13-11. Boeve and Cummings teamed up for a block on San Diego's Amy DeGroot, who had a match-high 21 kills, to close the cap to 13-12. Boeve then ripped back-to-back kills to give ISU its first lead before USD tied it at 14-14. Cummings added her 18th kill of the match and Malcom and Williams teamed up for the block to seal the victory. Malcom had a school-record 13 block assists while Henson joined Cummings with 18 kills in the win.
For the second consecutive season, ISU would face Wisconsin in the second round after falling 3-0 a year ago. Behind 14 kills from Cummings and 11 kills and a .688 hitting percentage from Boeve, which ranks as the sixth-best single match in school history, Iowa State stunned the 10th-seeded Badgers on their home floor in sweeping fashion to advance to its first-ever NCAA Regional. The turning point of the match came early as ISU rallied from down 19-11 in the first game to take a 30-28 win and set the tone for the match. The Cyclones dominated the next two games 30-25 and 30-24 and left the Badger faithful silenced.
Perhaps, Vic Feuerherd of the Wisconsin State Journal said it best after the match when he wrote “The Cyclones were everywhere, outhitting the Badgers (.211 to .128), outdigging them (52 to 49) and outserving them (six aces to five) to complete the first three-game sweep of the Badgers this season. While those numbers may not look dramatically different, the Cyclones' timing was impeccable.”
After their improbable sweep of the Badgers, ISU earned the first national ranking in school history, debuting at No. 18 in the AVCA poll.
The Cyclones' season came to an end the following weekend as ISU dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 6 Cal, which went on to sweep second-ranked Nebraska the following day. The Cyclones played the Bears tough but in the end were unable to find an answer for Cal's powerful outside hitters, Angie Pressey and Hana Cutura, who had 16 kills each.
The Cyclones' season had its ups and downs, and maybe the 2006 squad had a better overall record and finished higher in the Big 12 standings, but the 2007 version of Iowa State volleyball played great volleyball down the stretch, stepping into the national spotlight and writing its own page in the ISU record books. They will forever be the first team in school history to advance past the second round of the tournament.
Postseason Awards Flock In...
Boeve garnered all-Big 12 first team honors for the second straight season. She finished with 437 kills, good for the seventh-best single season in school history. Boeve also averaged 1.32 blocks per game and 2.07 digs per game while being the only middle blocker in the conference to play all the way around. She was an AVCA All-Central Region honorable mention selection and earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors once.
Freshman Ashley Mass was selected as a member of the Big 12 All-Freshman squad after posting 532 digs. She is just the second player to reach 500 digs in a season, joining Steph McCannon who accomplished the feat twice. Mass was a two-time recipient of the Big 12's Defensive Player of the Week award and finished second in the Big 12 in digs per game in conference matches (4.91). The Muskego, Wis., native reached double-digit digs in a school-record 26 consecutive matches and will look to extend that streak next season.
Lauren Cummings also had a stellar season for the Cyclones, posting a career-best 422 kills and 120 total blocks. Senior defensive specialist Laura Cady finished the season with 336 digs, good for second on the team.
Iowa State also got major contributions from Jen Malcom, who led all regular attackers with a .293 hitting percentage while averaging 2.50 kills per game and setting the school record with 159 block assists, and Victoria Henson. Henson averaged 2.88 kills per game and finished fourth on the team with 276 kills.
A pair of juniors, who until this season were used sparingly, stepped into major roles and more than held their own. Mary Bisenius joined Henson on the outside and had 241 kills, including nine in the Cyclones' win over Wisconsin. Amy Vos recorded a career-best 303 digs from her defensive specialist position and was a significant factor in making the Cyclones one of the top defensive teams in the country.
Players Mentioned
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