Upcoming Event: Volleyball at Texas Tech on September 25, 2026
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Iowa State University Athletics
Cyclones Visit Kansas State on Wednesday
10.03.2011 | Volleyball
AMES, Iowa - On Wednesday night, the No. 16 Cyclones (12-3, 3-1 Big 12) will play their seventh televised match of the season, at Kansas State (13-4, 2-1), on Metro Sports in Kansas City and on Cox Communications channel 22 in the state of Kansas.
Iowa State is coming off its first conference loss and first home loss of the season, a five-set heartbreaker to No. 8 Texas on Sunday on ESPNU. Kansas State will return to Ahearn Field House after losing at Texas A&M on Saturday.
The Cyclones have defeated the Wildcats in straight-sets in the last five meetings between the teams and have won the last six meetings overall dating back to 2008. Last season, Carly Jenson was the only player on either team to collect double-digit kills, with 10 on the night. Kansas State pushed the Cyclones in set two of the match in Manhattan, with Iowa State pulling out the 30-28 set win to take a two-set lead.
The Wildcats' Kaitlynn Pelger is a double threat for Kansas State, averaging a conference-high 4.36 kills per set this season and hitting .341 in league play. At the net, Pelger is one of three Wildcats averaging more than one block per set against Big 12 teams (1.14).
Cyclone middle blocker Jamie Straube is coming off one of her strongest matches of the season, leading Iowa State with 17 kills against Texas, two shy of her career-best. Straube hit .533 on Sunday and added three block assists for the home team
Wednesday night's match is set for a 7 p.m. first serve.
Cyclone Notebook
- Iowa State played its third five-set match against No. 8 Texas on Sunday, falling 2-3 for the first loss in a five-setter this year.
- The Cyclones travel to Kansas State on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. match that will air on Metro Sports in Kansas City and on Cox Communications channel 22 in the state of Kansas.
- Wednesday's match will be the seventh TV match for the Cyclones this season. The team is still scheduled to play on ESPNU on Nov. 2 at Oklahoma.
- With the loss to the Longhorns, Iowa State drops to 1-3 against ranked teams this season.
- The loss was the first at Hilton Coliseum this year and the first home loss since Texas defeated the Cyclones last season on Senior Day.
- Again, Iowa State collected more digs than its opponent (73-67) on Sunday. It was the second match this season in which the Cyclones have led in digs but lost the match.
- Texas held Iowa State to .168 hitting, the fourth time this season the Cyclones have hit under .200.
- The last time Iowa State lost its first October match of the season was 2008, when the team advanced to the Elite Eight.
- Setter Alison Landwehr recorded 48 assists on Sunday, moving to ninth all-time at Iowa State with a career 1,861 assists.
- Waterloo native Haley Eckerman became the first player since Missouri's Paolo Ampudia last season to notch more than 20 kills (21) and 20 points (22) against the Cyclones.
- Jamie Straube hit .435 against Kansas and Texas last week, bringing her season hitting percentage to a blistering .325, ranked sixth in the Big 12.
- Tenisha Matlock is hitting .316 this season and ranked 10th in the league.
- Straube and Matlock lead the conference in hitting during league play with averages of .435 and 434, respectively.
- In the early conference season, the Cyclones, against league opponents, rank first in hitting (.273), opponent hitting (.171) and assists (13.57).
- Iowa State is out-blocking its conference foes 2.14-2.00 this season.
- Libero Kristen Hahn has yet to relinquish her hold on the top spot in digs among league players, averaging 5.48 digs per set this season. 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).
Streaks and Trends
- Iowa State opponents have hit over .300 just 15 times in 207 matches (7%) under Christy Johnson-Lynch.
- Iowa State went 12-1 in three set matches in 2010. Under Johnson-Lynch, Iowa State is 82-31 in three-set matches.
- This year the Cyclones are 7-2 in three-set matches, losing at No. 15 UNI and No. 10 Nebraska
- In true Johnson-Lynch fashion, Iowa State has out-dug 13 of its opponents (NDSU twice) this season.
- 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 Kansas State
- Iowa State leads the all-time series 42-34 and swept the Wildcats in each of the last five meetings between the teams.
- Iowa State is the first ranked opponent for Kansas State this season.
- The Wildcats returned five starters from last season's 12-19, 6-14 Big 12 team and currently sit at 13-4 on the season and 2-1 in the Big 12 with wins over Baylor and Missouri.
- Sophomore middle blocker Kaitlin Pelger has already been named offensive player of the week twice this season and leads the Big 12 in kills (4.67) and points (5.73) per set.
- Setter Caitlyn Donahue is the only setter with more assists per set than Alison Landwehr this season, averaging 11.41.
- Pelger is averaging .341 hitting this season, ranked fourth in the league. A double-threat, Pelger also averages 1.14 blocks per set, second on the team.
- Taylor Johnson leads the Wildcats with 1.48 blocks per set and Alex Muff averages exactly 1.00 block per set.
- As a team, the Wildcats average 2.58 blocks per set, holding opponents to 2.25 blocks per set (Iowa State averages 1.91 blocks per set).
- Big 12 teams are beating Kansas State at the net, averaging 2.91 blocks per set to the Wildcats' 2.32.
- Passing is another area of struggle for Kansas State. The squad from the small apple is being out-dug 16.09-15.55 per set this season. The Wildcats rank seventh, both on the season and in conference play, in digs.
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