Volleyball Holds Media Day

AMES, Iowa - Seventh year head volleyball coach Christy Johnson-Lynch and the No. 18 Cyclones met with the media on Tuesday to discuss the Cyclones' bid for a sixth-straight NCAA tournament appearance and the team's return to Hilton for the first full season since 2009.

"It's great to be back in Hilton, back in our offices," Johnson-Lynch said. "It's awesome. We've been in here all week and love it. A year ago last week we were dealing with the flood and the repercussions from that and now we don't have to worry about those distractions and we're more efficient and able to focus on training."

Unsurprisingly, many questions this year focused on the return of outside hitter Rachel Hockaday who missed last season with a knee injury, and the loss of All-Americans Victoria Henson and Ashley Mass.

The 2011 squad also returns five starters from last season and has a few standouts already this year. Redshirt freshman Hannah Willms was named the league's preseason newcomer of the year last week and Jamie Straube and Alison Landwehr were named to the preseason conference team.

For more of Johnson-Lynch's thoughts on the upcoming season, click the Clone Zone "play" link in the photo above.

Players Mentioned

Victoria Henson

Rachel Hockaday

Rachel Hockaday

Alison Landwehr

Alison Landwehr

Ashley Mass

Jamie Straube

Jamie Straube

Hannah Willms

Hannah Willms

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics