Iowa State Sweeps Past Ole Miss

Saturday, August 30

Milwaukee, Wis.

Noon

Iowa State

Ole Miss

08.30.2008 | Volleyball

By: cyclones.com

MILWAUKEE, Wis. ? After struggling offensively against UW-Milwaukee on Friday night, 18th-ranked Iowa State looked like a different team Saturday, blistering the ball for a .333 hitting percentage to defeat Mississippi, 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-19), at the Panther Invitational. With the sweep, Iowa State clinches the championship for the tournament. Jen Malcom was named the tournament MVP and Victoria Henson and Kaylee Manns captured all-tournament team honors.

“I think we redeemed ourselves a bit today after struggling last night,” Iowa State head coach Christy Johnson said. “Offensively we were much better. Jen (Malcom) was pretty much unstoppable and I was pleased with the performances of Carly (Jenson) and Caitlin (Mahoney) off the bench when we needed them.”

The Cyclones (2-1) were led by 12 kills each from freshman Rachel Hockaday and senior Jen Malcom. Hockaday hit .478 and Malcom hit .550 to lead the attack. Kaylee Manns added her third double-double in as many matches, dishing out 38 assists and digging 12 balls. Ashley Mass reached double-digit digs for the 29th straight match with 10.

Mahoney and Jenson saw the most extensive action of their young careers. Mahoney finished with just one dig but was solid passing and Jenson entered in the third game and ripped four kills on six swings. Another freshman, Debbie Stadick, dominated at the net, finishing with a solo block and eight block assists. As a team, ISU out blocked Ole Miss (2-1) 12.5 to two, and held the Rebels to a .049 hitting percentage.

The Rebels got five kills each from Katie Norris, Emily Jones and Regina Thomas.

The Cyclones blistered the ball at a .452 clip in the first set, committing no hitting errors and ripping 14 kills, while turning it up a notch defensively as well, holding Ole Miss to a .057 hitting percentage. ISU rolled out to a 10-5 lead out of the gate and extended the lead to 14-6 on a kill from Hockaday. The lead continued to grow and ISU scored the final four points of the set to win 25-11. Malcom and Henson paced the attack with four kills each and no hitting errors between the duo.

Led by nine kills from Hockaday, ISU cruised to a 25-17 win in the second set to go up 2-0 in the match. Hockaday hit .533 in the set and ISU trailed just briefly at 11-10 before going on a 7-1 run to gain control of the set. Hockaday had kills on the final four points of the set to ensure ISU would go into the third frame with a 2-0 advantage.

In the third set, ISU continued to control the tempo with timely blocking and precise hitting. The Cyclones jumped out to a 12-5 advantage on a kill from freshman Carly Jenson. Ole Miss didn't go down easily, however, cutting the edge to 16-14. The Cyclones regrouped and turned to their block to hold off the Rebels and win 25-19.

The Cyclones return to the court Tuesday with a match at Creighton. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. Live video of the match is available to Clone Zone subscribers.

All-Tournament Team
Jen Malcom, Iowa State (MVP)
Kaylee Manns, Iowa State
Victoria Henson, Iowa State
Rachel Kieckhaefer, Ole Miss
Allison Weber, Ole Miss
Mallory Leggett, Illinois State