Buffaloes Up Next for Cyclones

AMES, Iowa - On Wednesday, the No. 12 Cyclones will travel west to play the Colorado Buffaloes in a 7:30 p.m. contest at the Coors Events Center in Boulder, Colo.

Iowa State (13-4, 6-3) is coming off a four-set win over Texas A&M that provided milestones for two Cyclone seniors. Libero Ashley Mass became the Big 12 all-time digs leader, grabbing 21 against the Aggies for a career total of 2,041 digs. Also in the match, outside hitter Victoria Henson collected her 1,500th career kill. Henson is only the third Cyclone to ever reach 1,500 kills in a career; she currently sits on 1,509 kills heading into Wednesday's match.

The Buffaloes (6-9, 3-6 Big 12) are coming off a come-from-behind five-set win over last place Texas Tech to make them 1-4 in their last five matches. Sophomore Kerra Schroeder was named the conference's offensive player of the week for her career-high 35 kills against the Red Raiders and her season average of 4.00 kills per set will be a challenge for the Cyclones.

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Cyclone Notebook

Senior Ashley Mass broke the Big 12 digs record in the Cyclones' win over Texas A&M on Saturday. Mass has 2,041 digs in her career with 11 regular-season matches left this season.
With 21 digs on Saturday, Mass now has 37 20-plus dig matches as a Cyclone, an Iowa State record.
Outside hitter Victoria Henson became only the third Cyclone in Iowa State history to record over 1,500 kills in her career. Henson had 14 kills against A&M to give her 1,509 for her career, just 111 away from the Iowa State record.
Henson and Carly Jenson earned their seventh double-doubles this season against the Aggies. Henson finished with 14 kills and 11 digs and Jenson added 20 kills and 10 digs.
Jenson's 20 kills against A&M is a career-high for the junior.
Henson has had 25-straight 10-plus kill matches dating back to last season.
The Cyclones rank second or third in five of seven categories tracked by the Big 12. Iowa State is second in opponent hitting percentage (.165) and kills per set (14.10) and third in hitting percentage (.272), assists per set (13.33) and digs per set (15.49).
Henson continues to lead the conference in kills, averaging 4.20 on the season.
Henson also ranks in the top ten in the Big 12 with a .299 hitting percentage (9th) and an average of 4.60 points per set (3rd).
Other Cyclones ranked in the top ten in the Big 12 include Alison Landwehr (11.41 assists per set, 2nd), Mass (4.52 digs per set, 5th) and Caitlyn Mahoney (0.26 service aces per set, 8th).

Streaks and Trends

The Cyclones 53-match win streak over unranked teams ended with their 3-1 loss to the Jayhawks on Oct. 6.
Iowa State has beaten at least one ranked foe in each of Johnson-Lynch's six years at the school.
ISU opponents have hit over .300 just 14 times in 180 matches under Johnson-Lynch. Topping .300 has happened just eight times in 117 matches since 2007.
Mass has posted double-digit digs in 106 of the 110 matches she has started at libero. Overall, she has been in double-digits 107 times.

Series Notes

Colorado leads the all-time series 39-15.
The Cyclones have won their last three meetings with the Buffaloes, including two three-set sweeps in 2009.
In the Christy Johnson-Lynch era, Iowa State is 8-2 against the Buffaloes.
Iowa State's last loss to Colorado was a five-set match in Boulder on Oct. 18, 2008.
The Cyclones and Buffaloes have played three five-set matches since 2006 with the Cyclones earning two of the three victories.
Colorado ranks in the bottom third in all major categories this season including ranking last in blocks (1.79 per set) which bodes well for the Iowa State hitters.
Buffaloes setter Alyssa Valentine was named Rookie of the Week on Sept. 27. Valentine is averaging 9.20 assists per set this season, ranked ninth in the conference.
As a team, Colorado is hitting .198 in 2010 while its opponents are hitting .279.
Kerra Schroeder is the only Buffalo with at least 100 kills this year with 140 and an average of 4.00 kills per set, fifth in the Big 12. Schroeder was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 18.
Colorado is 1-4 in its last five matches, the Buffaloes' only win coming last week at Texas Tech (3-15, 1-8).

Players Mentioned

Victoria Henson

Victoria Henson

Carly Jenson

Carly Jenson

Alison Landwehr

Alison Landwehr

Ashley Mass

Ashley Mass

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