No. 8 Nebraska Looms Large for Cyclones

AMES, Iowa - The No. 12 Cyclones (9-1) head to Lincoln, Neb. this weekend to play No. 8 Nebraska (6-1) at the Devaney Center. It will be the first non-conference meeting between the two programs.

The Cyclones are coming off their first loss of the season, a 3-0 defeat by No. 15 UNI on Tuesday night, and will look to rebound from the match by defeating the Huskers for only the second time in program history. A win over Nebraska would be the second upset win for the Cyclones this season after defeating then-No. 9 Florida on Labor Day.

The best blocking team to face Iowa State this season, the Huskers are averaging 2.65 blocks per set behind Morgan Broekhuis, Jordan Wilberger and Hayley Thramer who each average more than 1.22 blocks per set. As a result of Nebraska's stinginess at the net, opponents are hitting only .104 against the newest member of the Big Ten.

The Cyclones boast their own defensive prowess, leading the Big 12 with 17.38 digs per set. Libero Kristen Hahn is the only Big 12 player with 30 or more digs in a match this season, a mark reach both against Northern Illinois (30) and North Dakota State (35).

Middle blocker Jamie Straube has come on strong at the net early this season, grabbing five solo blocks in Iowa State's last five matches and six on the year. Straube leads Iowa State with 32 total blocks and continues to be an offensive force, hitting .319 on the year.

Saturday's first serve is set for 8 p.m. CDT. A limited number of tickets are still available for the match and can be purchased online at huskers.com (click here) or by calling the Nebraska ticket office at 402-472-3111.

Cyclone Notebook

The Cyclones dropped their first match of the season on Tuesday night, losing 3-0 (24-26, 16-25, 18-25).
Iowa State's match with Nebraska on Saturday night will air live on BTN.com and on the NET television network (Nebraska only).
Johnson-Lynch's next win will tie her with Vicki Mealer (1985-92) for the most wins as an Iowa State head volleyball coach (135).
Iowa State's loss to UNI is the first for the program since 2008.
After falling to the Panthers during the 2008 regular season, the Cyclones went on to beat UNI in the NCAA tournament on their way to the program's only Elite Eight appearance.
Hannah Willms posted the second double-digit kill match of her career with 10 kills against UNI.
Middle blocker Jamie Straube continued to produce for the Cyclones at the net, recording a solo block for the fifth-straight match, her sixth solo block of the season.
The Cyclones hit .093 in Tuesday's match, the lowest hitting percentage for the squad since last season at Nebraska (.089).
Iowa State never hit over .111 in a set against the Panthers.
UNI became the first opponent of the season to out-dig ISU, getting the 53-46 edge.
Alison Landwehr is averaging 10.95 assists per set after Tuesday's loss, the lowest average of her career since averaging 10.55 assists after Iowa State's first three matches of 2010.
Landwehr's 23 assists on Tuesday ties her career-low in a match, set at Nebraska last year.
Hahn continues to lead the league in digs this season with an average of 5.73 digs per set. Hahn has recorded at least 25 digs in three matches this season, the same number of matches that former All-American Ashley Mass had with 25 digs or more last season.
Going into Tuesday's match, Hahn ranked sixth in the country in digs per set (5.85).
Unsurprisingly, Iowa State leads the Big 12 with an average of 17.56 digs per set.
Carly Jenson ranks in the top 10 in the Big 12 in kills (5th, 3.72), digs (9th, 3.41) and points (7th, 3.97).

Streaks and Trends

Iowa State opponents have hit over .300 just 15 times in 202 matches under Christy Johnson-Lynch.
Iowa State went 12-1 in three set matches in 2010. Under Johnson-Lynch, Iowa State is 79-30 in three-set matches.
This year the Cyclones are 4-1 in three-set matches.
In true Johnson-Lynch fashion, Iowa State has out-dug seven 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 one at least one match over a top 25 opponent in each of her seven seasons.
Already this season, five players have led the Cyclones in kills during a match. Only three players ever led the team in kills in 2010.
Jamie Straube and Kelsey Petersen have tied for the most blocks in a match five times this season.

Scouting No. 9 Nebraska

Nebraska leads the all-time series 79-1
The Cyclones' lone win over the Huskers was a five-set win in Lincoln in 2009.
This year will mark the first non-conference meeting between the programs in the series' history.
Nebraska won the Big 12 in 2010 before moving to the Big Ten in 2011.
Last year in Lincoln, the No. 2 Huskers hit .250 and held ISU to .089 hitting in their 3-0 sweep of the visitors from Ames.
Nebraska is 6-1 this year, 3-0 at home, with a loss coming at No. 15 Colorado State.
Outside hitter Gina Mancuso leads Nebraska in kills per set (3.78) and hitting percentage (.336) this year. Middle blocker Brooke Delano is also hitting above .300, averaging .381 for the year.
The Huskers will pose the biggest challenge of the year for Iowa State, averaging 2.65 blocks per set. Morgan Broekhuis, Jordan Wilberger and Hayley Thramer average over 1.22 blocks per set.
As a result of their stinginess at the net, Nebraska opponents are hitting only .104 in matches.

Players Mentioned

Kristen Hahn

Kristen Hahn

Carly Jenson

Carly Jenson

Alison Landwehr

Alison Landwehr

Ashley Mass

Kelsey Petersen

Kelsey Petersen

Jamie Straube

Jamie Straube

Hannah Willms

Hannah Willms

Sponsors

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