Cyclones Dig Pink Against Baylor

AMES, Iowa - No. 15 Iowa State (14-3, 5-1 Big 12) hosts Baylor (15-6, 3-3) on Saturday, Oct. 15, in the annual Dig Pink match raising breast cancer awareness. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the match and the first 1,000 fans into Hilton Coliseum will be given pink "Point Cyclones" cards. There will also be 200 dig pink face tattoos handed out at the match.

The Cyclones have won 10 of their last 12 meetings with the Bears including a series sweep last season. In Ames last season, the Bears hit only .096 while Jamie Straube led Iowa State with 10 kills and four blocks in the match. Alison Landwehr hit .462 (7-1-13) in the contest and added 35 assists.

This year for Baylor, senior middle blocker and right side Briana Tolbert is hitting .354 coming into the weekend. Tolbert led the Bears with eight kills in the straight-sets loss in Ames last season.

Although Baylor allows the most digs by Big 12 opponents (16.64 digs per set) this season, the Bears top the league with 17.83 digs per set in conference play, just in front of the Cyclones who are averaging 17.48 digs per set against Big 12 rivals.

Prior to Saturday's match, the Cyclones will host their second free youth clinic of the season at the Forker Building on the Iowa State campus from 11 a.m. until noon CDT. The 6:30 p.m. match will also mark Girl Scout Night at Hilton and serve as the Iowa State volleyball camper reunion.

Cyclone Notebook

Iowa State moved back atop the Big 12 standings on Saturday with its 3-1 win over No. 22 Oklahoma. The Cyclones are now 14-3 overall and 5-1 in conference play.
The 5-1 start to the Big 12 season is the best start by Iowa State since 1987.
Saturday's win snapped Oklahoma's eight-match win-streak and gave the Sooners their first conference loss of the season.
Oklahoma is the 13th team to hit below .200 against Iowa State in 2011 (.157).
The Cyclones posted 10.5 blocks against Oklahoma, the most of the season.
With 6.5 blocks more than the Sooners (10.5-4), the match marked the largest blocking edge for Iowa State since at Kansas in 2009.
The Cyclones, ranked 5th in blocking against conference opponents (2.17), are getting past their foes' blocks, allowing a league-best 1.90 blocks per set against them this season.
Iowa State is first in league play allowing teams only a .160 hitting percentage and holding them to 12.00 kills per set (2nd in the conference).
Oklahoma is only the second team to lead the Cyclones in digs this season (74-73).
Behind Carly Jenson's 4.00 kills per set and Jamie Straube's .415 hitting, the Cyclones are hitting more than .100 points better than their conference rivals this year, .265-.160.
The team is also out-blocking league opponents 2.17-1.90 per set. No surprise, Iowa State holds a 17.48-15.24 dig edge over the six Big 12 teams it's played.
Straube's .415 hitting clip against conference foes leads the league.
Matlock also ranks among the top 10 in hitting during the league schedule, ranked fifth with a .340 mark.
Jenson's 4.00 kills per set against the league teams is third.
In conference, the Cyclones rank first in opponent hitting (.160), assists (13.57) and kills (14.38).
The squad is second in hitting (.265), service aces (1.14) and digs (17.48).
Libero Kristen Hahn has yet to relinquish her hold on the top spot in digs among league players, averaging 5.64 digs per set this season. She also holds the top spot in league play with 5.62 digs per set. Hahn's 35 digs against North Dakota State sits atop the Big 12.
Caitlin Mahoney is the only Big 12 player with five aces in a match (Cincinnati).
The Cyclones are the only team to hit over .400 against a league opponent, hitting .402 against Missouri.
Nationally, the Cyclones rank 27th in digs (17.11) and 37th in hitting (.252). The team comes in 50th in both kills (13.65) and assists (12.72) per set.
Hahn ranks 12th in the country with 5.48 digs per set.
Landwehr, with her average of 11.02 assists per set, ranks 29th on the national scale.

Streaks and Trends

Iowa State opponents have hit over .300 just 15 times in 209 matches (7%) under Christy Johnson-Lynch.
Iowa State went 12-1 in three set matches in 2010. Under Johnson-Lynch, Iowa State is 83-31 in three-set matches.
This year the Cyclones are 8-2 in three-set matches, losing at No. 15 UNI and No. 10 Nebraska
In true Johnson-Lynch fashion, Iowa State has out-dug 14 of its opponents (NDSU twice) this season.
Behind Johnson-Lynch's leadership, the Cyclones win 88% (113-15) of their matches when earning the first set victory.
Iowa State has collected 20 wins for four-consecutive years under head coach Johnson-Lynch. The Cyclones have had 10 20+ win seasons since 1982.
Under Johnson-Lynch, the Cyclones have won at least one match over a top 25 opponent in each of her seven seasons.
This season, five players have led the Cyclones in kills during a match. Only three players ever led the team in kills in 2010.

Scouting Baylor

Baylor holds the 18-14 series lead over Iowa State but has lost 10 of the last 12 matches with the Cyclones, dating back to Christy Johnson-Lynch's first year at Iowa State.
The Cyclones have won the last three meetings between the teams and swept Baylor last year in Ames.
Baylor was the final opponent Iowa State faced at Ames High School last year.
Baylor finished 16-15 overall and 9-11 in the Big 12 last year. Three of last season's starters are back with the team this year.
Baylor is last in the Big 12 this season hitting .228 on the year. In conference play, the Bear average .195 hitting.
The team from Waco also ranks last in blocks against Big 12 teams with 1.83 blocks per set.
Baylor will match well with Iowa State on defense. The Bears are the only team averaging more digs per set than the Cyclones in league play (17.83-17.48) and are just behind Iowa State in overall digs this season (17.48-17.26).
Four players are helping Baylor to its league-leading dig numbers. Brittany Ridneour, Kate Harris, Allison King and Hope Ogden are all averaging more than 3.00 digs per set. Libero King leads the way with 5.01 digs per set, tied for second in the Big 12.
As good as they are at digging, the Bears service game is not as impressive, with only 1.07 aces per set in league play, the Bears are allowing a league-worst 16.64 digs per set, a huge advantage for the Cyclones.
Baylor setters Ridneour and Harris have split time at the position this season. Ridneour is averaging 8.75 assists per set in Big 12 play with Harris right behind at 7.96. Harris has started the last few matches for the Bears.
Big 12 teams are winning the blocking battle with the Bears, 2.42-1.83.
Senior middle blocker and right side Briana Tolbert leads the Baylor offense with .354 hitting this year (4th in the Big 12). Tolbert is also ranked fourth in the conference during league play, averaging .342 hitting.
Last year in Ames, Iowa State held the Bears to .096 hitting, led by Tolbert who had eight kills.
In their two matches with the Bears in 2010, the Cyclones had 11 aces.

Players Mentioned

Kristen Hahn

Kristen Hahn

Carly Jenson

Carly Jenson

Alison Landwehr

Alison Landwehr

Caitlin Mahoney

Caitlin Mahoney

Jamie Straube

Jamie Straube

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