Hurtt Hits Historic Mark as ISU Sweeps TTU

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State senior Victoria Hurtt became the ninth player in ISU history to achieve 1,000 career kills as the Cyclones swept Texas Tech 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-22) Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum. ISU improves to 17-9 overall, 9-6 in Big 12 play. Texas Tech is now 14-14 overall, 2-14 in conference competition.

Hurtt led ISU with 14 kills at a .343 hitting percentage while Morgan Kuhrt contributed 10 kills. Caitlin Nolan led the back row with 21 digs.

Story of the Match
The Cyclones got separation early in the first set. After being tied 3-3, the Cyclones went on a 9-2 run to put up a 12-5 advantage. ISU continued to control proceedings and never looked in any danger of losing the frame, upping its lead to as high as 10 points at 21-11. Tech brought the set back to 22-15, but the Cyclones took the final three points of the frame. Alexis Conaway recorded her fourth kill of the set to give ISU the frame 25-15.

ISU took a little longer to build up its lead in the second set. With the frame tied at 5-5, ISU got back-to-back points via kills from Mackenzie Bigbee and Tory Knuth to make it 7-5. The star of the set was the ISU defense, as it worked on restricting TTU to a .111 hitting percentage for the set. The Cyclones finally established some breathing room by running off four of five points to move ahead 22-15. The Raiders then went on a 4-1 run of its own to narrow the gap to 23-19, but ISU got its needed points as Kuhrt finished off the set with a kill to give ISU a 2-0 advantage at 25-20.

The Red Raiders got an early 4-2 lead in the third set, but it was short lived as ISU went on an 8-1 run, powered by three Hurtt kills to move ahead 10-5. A five-point lead was as big as the Cyclones' lead got in the third frame as TTU continued to hang around. However, the Red Raiders were unable to move within two for the majority of the set. A Tech attack error gave ISU set point at 24-20, but the Raiders held it off with a pair of points. The third time was a charm for the Cyclones as Hurtt fired her 14th kill off the top of the block and out of play to close out the set at 25-22.

Cyclone Match Ball Goes to…
Victoria Hurtt. The senior brought up her 1,000th career kill with a big match, leading the Cyclones with 14 kills at a .343 hitting percentage. Hurtt became the ninth player in Iowa State history to reach 1,000 career kills.

Cyclone Notes
*Iowa State now leads its all-time series against Texas Tech 21-20, having won the last 17 meetings. Prior to Christy Johnson-Lynch's tenure at ISU, Tech led the series 19-2.
*The Cyclones hit .293 for the match, the third time in conference play ISU hit at least .290.
*Morgan Kuhrt recorded 10 kills, the ninth time this season she has posted at least 10 kills.
*Caitlin Nolan finished with 21 digs, her 15th match this season and her fourth in a row with at least 20 digs.
*Nolan's 15 20-dig matches are the sixth-most by a Cyclone in program history.
*Victoria Hurtt led ISU with 14 kills, her 14th match of the season with at least 10 kills.

On Deck
Iowa State closes out the regular season Saturday at Hilton Coliseum with a 4:30 p.m. match against Baylor. The match will be Senior Day, as ISU will honor Taylor Goetz and Victoria Hurtt following the match. Fans with tickets to ISU's football game against West Virginia can redeem their football tickets for $2 admission to the volleyball match at the Hilton Coliseum Ticket Office Saturday.

Players Mentioned

Mackenzie Bigbee

Mackenzie Bigbee

Alexis Conaway

Taylor Goetz

Taylor Goetz

Victoria Hurtt

Victoria Hurtt

Tory Knuth

Tory Knuth

Morgan Kuhrt

Morgan Kuhrt

Caitlin Nolan

Caitlin Nolan

Sponsors

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