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Iowa State University Athletics
Cyclones Face UNI in NCAA First Round Match
12.02.2008 | Volleyball
AMES, Iowa - The Iowa State volleyball team travels to Minneapolis, Minn. to face Northern Iowa in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Volleyball Championships on Friday at 5 p.m. It marks the Cyclones' third-straight tournament appearance and fourth overall. The winner of the ISU/UNI match will face the winner of North Dakota State and Minnesota on Saturday at 7 p.m. All matches will be played at the Sports Pavilion on the campus of the University of Minnesota.
First & Second Round Schedule
Friday, Dec. 5
Match 1 - Iowa State vs. Northern Iowa, 5 p.m.
Match 2 - North Dakota State at Minnesota, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 6
Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2, 7 p.m.
Live Stats: Live stats will be available at cyclones.com.
Live video: Free live video will be available at cyclones.com.
Complete Pre-Event Coverage
Cyclone Notebook
? Iowa State received its third straight NCAA Tournament at-large bid Sunday evening. This will be the Cyclones fourth overall appearance and third under Christy Johnson, who is in her fourth year at the school.
? The Cyclones are 4-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. ISU went 2-1 last season, earning a spot in the NCAA Regional Semifinal after beating nationally-ranked teams San Diego and Wisconsin in the first and second round.
? The Cyclones return eight players from last season's NCAA team, including five that saw significant action in the postseason and are in the regular rotation this year.
? ISU will face intrastate rival Northern Iowa to open the tournament Friday at 5 p.m. The winner of the match will face the winner of sixth-seeded Minnesota and Summit League champion North Dakota State on Saturday at 7 p.m.
? The Cyclones placed a school-record five players on All-Big 12 teams this season. Kaylee Manns and Victoria Henson were first-team picks while Ashley Mass and Jen Malcom were named honorable mention. Rachel Hockaday earned a spot on the all-freshman squad.
? ISU has posted 19 wins in the regular season for just the 12th time in 36 seasons.
? The Cyclones are coming off wins over 13th-ranked Kansas State (3-0) and Kansas in the season's final week.
? In Saturday's season finale against Kansas, Victoria Henson led the way with 15 kills while Jen Malcom racked up 11. Ashley Mass had a match-high 18 digs in the win.
? Four matches ago against Colorado, junior Kaylee Manns became the second player at ISU to record 4,000 career assists. She currently sits second with 4,146 and needs just 260 to break the mark.
? Mass has 574 digs on the season, which ranks third in school history.
? Breaking the single-season school record for digs isn't completely out of reach for the sophomore. Mass needs just 33 digs to break the single-season ISU mark, which is currently held by Steph McCannon (1995).
? With her 458 kills on the season, Victoria Henson owns the ISU sophomore record and sits in seventh on the ISU single-season charts with one regular season match remaining. She needs just 21 more to move up to sixth.
? Henson is 23rd all-time at ISU with 745 career kills.
? Jen Malcom is the career leader at ISU for hitting percentage with a .330 average.
? Malcom will most likely finish her career as a Cyclone as the school record holder for single-match, single-season and career hitting percentage.
? Malcom is sixth all-time at ISU with her 267 career block assists.
? Malcom surpassed 1,000 collegiate kills in her last match. The transfer from Syracuse has 1,005 kills, 619 of which have come since she arrived in Ames.
? Kaylee Manns needs just 16 digs to become just the second player in school history to record 1,000 assists and 1,000 digs (Lisa Burke, 1988-91).
? Manns would also be just the 11th player in ISU history to post 1,000 digs.
? Manns owns the top-three single-season assists per set marks in school history. Her 11.71 this season, which is second in the Big 12 and ranks seventh in the nation, is the third highest in school history.
? Malcom needs one total block to move into sole possession of ninth for a career at ISU.
? Each Christy Johnson team in her first four years has ranked in the top-10 in school history for block assists. The first three seasons rank as the top three in school history. For this team to jump into the top four it needs 40 more.
? Freshman Rachel Hockaday broke Victoria Henson's freshman record for kills. Hockaday has 302 kills on the season.
? Iowa State's freshmen class has 500 kills this season, the most ever by a rookie class at ISU.
Scouting Northern Iowa
? Northern Iowa is 25-8 overall and playing in its third-straight NCAA Tournament and 14th overall. The Panthers earned an at-large bid after finishing 13-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference and capturing a second-place finish at the league tournament.
? UNI has won three of its last five matches, including a big 3-2 win over Creighton in the second round of the MVC Championships. The Panthers fell to Missouri State in the championship match.
? In its loss to the Bears, UNI was outblocked 8-5 and was outhit .287-.200. All-MVC first-team picks Ashten Stelken and Amy Sampson led the way for the Panthers with 13 and 10 kills, respectively.
? In all, six Panthers earned all-league honors on the season led by Stelken and Sampson. Shannon Aschoff and Ellie Blankenship were second-team selections. Michelle Burow and Bre Payton earned freshman-team accolades.
? The Panthers boast a well-balanced offense, with three players posting 360 kills or more. Sampson (396), Stelken (363) and Aschoff (360) lead the way for UNI, which hits .237 as a team. Payton, the team's setter, averages 9.84 assists while Blankenship posts an impressive 5.58 digs per set.
? As a team, UNI averages 2.64 blocks per set.
Last Time Out Against Northern Iowa
? The Panther stopped a three-match slide against ISU with a 3-1 win over the Cyclones at Hilton Coliseum in early September.
? UNI dominated the net in that meeting, holding a 16-4 edge in blocks and hitting .323. Only Texas hit better in a match against the Cyclones this season.
? The Cyclones were led by Victoria Henson's 27 kills while Rachel Hockaday chipped in 15 and Jen Malcom finished with 10. Ashley Mass had a match-high 21 digs.
? Amy Sampson paced the Panthers with 17 kills while Ashten Stelken had 13. Shannon Aschoff also reached double-figures with 11. Aschoff finished with a double-double, digging 15 balls in the match.
The Players Against the Panthers
? Victoria Henson posted a then career-high 27 kills in the last meeting with the Panthers and averages 5.60 kills per set in two meetings with them.
? Kaylee Manns has averaged 14.00 assists per set in two meetings with UNI. Manns also averages 4.43 digs per set when playing the Panthers.
Quick Look at Minnesota
? The Gophers went 26-6 on the season to receive an at-large bid out of the Big Ten. Minnesota is the No. 6 seed in the tournament.
? Junior libero Christine Tan was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and garnered All-Big Ten first team honors. Brooke Dieter and Lauren Gibbemeyer were also named to the first team.
? The Gophers have held their opponents to a .159 hitting percentage this season.
Quick Look at North Dakota State
? The Bison earned the Summit League automatic bid after winning the league championships and finishing the regular season 24-3. NDSU went 16-0 in league play during the regular season.
? North Dakota State earned four of the five awards handed out by the Summit League, including player and freshman of the year, which were given to freshman middle hitter Chrissy Knuth. Defensive player of the year went to freshman outside hitter Kelly Lopez.
Iowa State NCAA Championships History
? This marks ISU's fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones are 4-3 all-time. Here is a breakdown of each year they made it:
1995 - Second Round
Def. No. 22 Idaho, 3-0
Lost at No. 12 Notre Dame, 3-0
2006 - Second Round
Def. UW-Milwaukee, 3-0
Lost at No. 10 Wisconsin, 3-0
2007 - NCAA Regional Semifinal
Def. No. 16 San Diego, 3-2
Def. No. 8 Wisconsin, 3-0
Lost to No. 6 California, 3-0
Manns Nearing 1,000 Digs
? Kaylee Manns is just 16 digs shy of 1,000 digs and becoming the second player in school history to reach 1,000 assists and 1,000 digs.
Efficiency Factor
? This season's squad is aiming to become the most efficient hitting team in school history. The Cyclones are hitting .238 as a team, which ranks first over the 1984 team's .231 hitting percentage. The Cyclones, who have never finished higher than fifth (2005) in the Big 12 in hitting, are currently fourth.
Cyclones Break Attendance Mark
? With 4,026 fans at the Texas match, Iowa State broke the single-season mark for attendance, going over 20,000 fans for the first time in school history. Here is how this seasons mark stacks up all-time at ISU:
1. 23,398 (2008)
2. 18,781 (2007)
3. 14,577 (1995)
4. 14,151 (2006)
5. 13,815 (2003)
Big 12 In the Tourney
Friday, Dec. 5
Kansas State vs. Santa Clara - 4 p.m. - Match played in Seattle, Wash.
Lamar at Texas - 6:30 p.m.
Liberty at Nebraska - 7 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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