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Cyclones Face Two Top-15 Teams In Opening Weekend
08.22.2012 | Volleyball
AMES, Iowa – Iowa State hits the road this weekend, traveling to Knoxville, Tenn. for the 2012 Comcast Lady Vol Classic, hosted by Tennessee. The No. 10 Cyclones will face stiff competition to open the season, playing matches against No. 12 Florida State, No. 15 Tennessee and Cincinnati, who received votes in the coaches' preseason poll.
The Bearcats will be Iowa State's season opener foe for the second-straight season after the Cyclones defeated Cincinnati in four sets on a neutral court last season. Middle blocker Tenisha Matlock had 12 kills in the match, the most kills by a returning Cyclone.
Saturday's action begins with Florida State, who knocked the Cyclones out of the NCAA Tournament last season, winning the regional final match in five sets. Victoria Hurtt and Alison Landwehr had career nights against the Seminoles with 24 kills and 66 assists, respectively.
Closing out the weekend, Iowa State will face the Lady Vols on Saturday night; the match will be just the second meeting between the programs who last played in 1989.
Friday's match against Cincinnati is set for 4 p.m. CST at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Cyclone Notebook
• Iowa State travels to Tennessee this weekend to play No. 12 Florida State, the No. 15 Lady Vols and Cincinnati, who received votes in the coaches' preseason poll, at the 2012 Comcast Lady Vol Classic.
• Iowa State was ranked 10th both in the AVCA and Volleyball Magazine preseason polls.
• The Cyclones were picked to finish second in the league in 2012, behind reigning Big 12 champion Texas.
• Iowa State put a trio of players on the Big 12 Preseason Team: Alison Landwehr, Kristen Hahn and Jamie Straube.
• Iowa State advanced to the NCAA Regional Final for the second time in four years in 2011 before falling to Florida State in five sets.
• The Cyclones finished the season with a 25-6 record, only the second time in school history the team has compiled 25 wins.
• With five wins over ranked opponents, the 2011 Cyclones tied the 2007 squad for most wins over ranked teams in a single season.
• Four Cyclones were named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America teams or honorable mention list: Alison Landwehr (first team), Carly Jenson (second team), Kristen Hahn (honorable mention) and Jamie Straube (honorable mention). It is the first honor for Landwehr, Jenson and Hahn and the second for Straube.
• Jenson (unanimous), Landwehr and Straube were all members of the All-Big 12 first team and Hahn was the conference's top libero.
• The Cyclones set a record with 10 players named to the Academic All-Big 12 Teams, including eight first team selections.
• Head Coach Christy Johnson-Lynch broke the record for most wins by a volleyball coach at Iowa State in 2011 and finished the season with a career record of 150-73.
• Attendance continued its boom in the Johnson-Lynch era in 2011 as 28,926 fans took in matches at Hilton Coliseum, the second-highest season attendance total in program history.
• With a 12-3 road record, the 2011 Cyclones recorded the most road wins in a single season.
• The Cyclones were nails on defense again in 2011, out digging 27 (87 percent) of their opponents in 2011 and finishing the season 20-0 when leading in blocking.
Cyclone Notebook (Continued)
• Landwehr is the seventh player in program history to record 100 digs, kills and assists in a season, finishing with 278, 100 and 1,283 in the respective categories.
• Hahn recorded 14 matches with 20 or more digs in her first season as Iowa State's starting libero and was the only Big 12 player with 35 digs in a match.
• Tenisha Matlock moved from right side to middle blocker at the beginning of the 2011 season and finished the season with 102 block assists, the first player to compile more than 100 block assists in a single season since 2008.
• 2011 mirrored 2009 in many ways for the Cyclones. The teams' records were identical at various markers during the season: through 10 matches (9-1), 15 matches (12-3), 20 matches (17-3) and 25 matches (21-4).
Streaks and Trends
• Iowa State opponents have hit over .300 just 15 times in 223 matches under Johnson-Lynch.
• Iowa State went 14-3 in three set matches in 2011. Under Johnson-Lynch, Iowa State is 89-32 in three set matches.
• Behind Johnson-Lynch's leadership, the Cyclones win 88% (121-16) of their matches when earning the first set victory.
• Iowa State has collected 20 wins in five-consecutive seasons under head coach Johnson-Lynch. The Cyclones have had 11 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 and have defeated at least two top 25 teams in each of the last five seasons.
• The Cyclones tied a program record with their win over No. 19 Minnesota in the NCAA Regional Semifinal match as both the 2011 and 2007 squads won five matches against ranked opponents.
• Last season, six players led the Cyclones in kills during a match. Only three players ever led the team in kills in 2010.
• Iowa State was a perfect 20-0 when leading in blocks. The team finished 4-6 when trailing in blocks.
Trio Garners Preseason Honors
• Cyclones Kristen Hahn, Alison Landwehr and Jamie Straube were named to the 2012 Big 12 Preseason Team, the league office announced. Landwehr and Straube were First Team All-Big 12 members in 2011 and Hahn is the conference's reigning Libero of the Year.
Three All-Americans Return
• Cyclones Alison Landwehr, Kristen Hahn and Jamie Straube earned all-America distinction from the American Volleyball Coaches Association in 2011. Landwehr was named a first team selection, stretching the Cyclones streak to three-straight seasons with a first team honor. Both Hahn and Straube garnered honorable mentions.
Cyclones Aim For Top RPI
• Last season, Iowa State broke a record in Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) ranking, rising as high as second in the nation and finishing the season third.
With matches against preseason top-25 teams, Florida State, Tennessee, Illinois, Northern Iowa, Nebraska, Texas and Kansas State, the Cyclones are in the hunt for the No. 1 RPI in the country in 2012.
The RPI ranks teams according to win/loss percentage and strength of schedule and is a determining factor for NCAA tournament seeding.
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