Defense Leads Iowa State to Sweep of K-State

Wednesday, October 7

Ames, Iowa

6:30 PM

Iowa State

10-5, 3-1

Kansas State

9-7, 1-3

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Kansas State	22	20	20	0
Iowa State	25	25	25	3

Defense Leads Iowa State to Sweep of K-State

10.07.2015 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State used a strong defensive performance in the back row and on the blocks to sweep Kansas State 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-20) Wednesday evening at Hilton Coliseum. The win improved ISU to 10-5 overall on the season, 3-1 in Big 12 play. K-State is now 9-7 overall, 1-3 in conference competition.

Caitlin Nolan led an ISU defense that posted 77 digs with 28 digs, including a pair of sets with at least 10 digs. Monique Harris recorded a double-double with 35 assists and 11 digs. Morgan Kuhrt and Jess Schaben each had nine kills, while Samara West checked in with eight.

K-State Rallies Late, but ISU Finishes Strong
Iowa State got its first lead at 4-3 on a Morgan Kuhrt, and took the lead again on a 7-6 kill by Ciara Capezio. The Cyclones would built up a lead of three-points twice before K-State ran off three in a row, capped off by back-to-back setter dumps from Katie Brand to tie things back up at 14-14.

The Cyclones then ran off five in a row behind some strong blocking, and an ace from Caitlin Nolan to give ISU its biggest lead at 19-14. K-State would battle back though, taking advantage of some ISU errors to bring the Cyclone lead down to one point at 21-20. K-State tied it again at 22-22 when Alyssa Schultejans fired a kill off the block, but that was its last score of the set. Kills by Schaben and Alexis Conaway brought up set point, which ISU converted on the first try when Macy Flowers fired into the net.

Defensive Struggle Goes to Iowa State
The second set was an offensive struggle, as both teams had a hard time getting the ball down against strong back-line defenses. The proof laid in the dig numbers, as the teams combined for 59 digs at the set. Nolan alone had a huge set, as she posted 11 digs in the frame as ISU hit .113 and K-State was stuck on .060 for the frame.

The crucial run came on either side of the media timeout. Tied 13-13, Iowa State got back-to-back points via Kuhrt and Conaway kills to be ahead 15-13 at the media break. Out of that, ISU got the next two points with another Conaway kill and a Bryna Vogel attack error to make it 17-13 Cyclones. K-State got the ISU lead down to three at 20-17, but the Cyclones grabbed three in a row via kills by Schaben and West and a Branen Berta ace to go up 23-17. The Wildcats were able to battle off a pair of set points, but the third time was a charm as Capezio fired a back-corner kill to take the second 25-20.

Vondrak's Entrance Leads ISU to Sweep
The early proceedings belonged to Kansas State, as the 'Cats were able to jump out to a 10-5 lead, forcing Christy Johnson-Lynch to use both of her timeouts. However, K-State took away its own lead via a quartet of errors that brought ISU back to within one at 10-9. West took it from there, as her eighth kill of the match tied things back up at 10-10.

With K-State up 14-12 in the set, Johnson-Lynch made a substitution that changed the match, bringing in Natalie Vondrak. The Sioux City native had an instant impact, recording a pair of kills and a block to bring ISU within one point at 17-16. At 20-19 Wildcats, Vondrak got the kill to tie things back up at 20-20, and then went back to serve. From there, she led ISU to taking the final five points on her serve, which included a service ace. Schaben got the final kill at 25-20 to seal the sweep for Iowa State.

Cyclone Notes
*Iowa State hit .179 as a team, its lowest hitting percentage in a winning sweep since hitting .178 against Milwaukee in 2009. The .179 was ISU's lowest attack percentage in a conference sweep in the Christy Johnson-Lynch era (.181 vs. Colorado, 2005) and lowest in a conference sweep since hitting .160 against Missouri in 1994.
*The Cyclones restricted K-State to a .099 hitting percentage, the first time ISU has held a team under .100 since holding North Dakota to .088 on Aug. 29. The last time ISU held a conference opponent under .100 was when West Virginia hit -.033 on Nov. 13, 2013.
*Alexis Conaway finished with six total block (one solo, five assists), the most total blocks by a Cyclone this season.
*Caitlin Nolan finished with 28 digs, her eighth match this season with at least 20 digs and the 23rd of her career.
*Nolan recorded 11 digs in the second set, and 10 digs in the third, her seventh and eighth sets this season with at least 10 digs. Nolan now has 18 10-plus dig sets in her career.
*Monique Harris finished with a double-double of 35 assists and 11 digs, her sixth double-double of the season and ninth of her career.
*Ciara Capezio posted 10 digs, her sixth match of 2015 in double figures
*Branen Berta tied a career high with three service aces. She also had three against No. 25 Texas A&M on Sept. 11.