Iowa State Dominant in Sweep of West Virginia

Wednesday, November 11

Morgantown, W.Va.

5:00 PM

Iowa State

16-7, 9-3

West Virginia

5-19, 0-11

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Iowa State	25	25	25	3
West Virginia	17	16	15	0

Iowa State Dominant in Sweep of West Virginia

11.11.2015 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: cyclones.com

MORGANTOWN, West Virginia – A strong performance by the Iowa State offense, its middle blockers in particular, led ISU to a 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-15) sweep of West Virginia Wednesday night at the WVU Coliseum. The win improves ISU to 16-7 overall on the year, and 9-3 in Big 12 play. WVU is now 5-19 on the year, 0-11 in conference competition.

Alexis Conaway finished with 12 kills at a .786 hitting percentage, while Samara West earned her eight kills at a .615 hitting clip. West also chipped in with six total blocks (one solo, five assists). Ciara Capezio recorded a season-high four service aces.

Strong Offensive Effort Gives Iowa State First Set
A block of Ciara Capezio by Hannah Shreve and Mia Swanegan gave West Virginia a 3-2 lead in the first set, WVU never led in its match in Ames three weeks ago. The lead was very short lived, as the Cyclone offense came to life with a 5-0 run to get back ahead 7-3. The Mountaineers made sure the Cyclones were never far away, not allowing the Cyclones to build up a lead of more than four points for the majority of the frame.

In the end, the Cyclone offense was too much for West Virginia to handle. Though WVU hit a respectable .214 for the set, Iowa State dominated with a .394 hitting effort. ISU's middles were almost untouchable, as Alexis Conaway and Samara West combined for nine kills at a .727 hitting percentage. The Cyclones brought up set point at 24-17 and converted it on the first try when West and Morgan Kuhrt stuffed Caleah Wells to take the first frame 25-17.

Big Early Run Gives ISU 2-0 Lead
Once again, West Virginia was strong out of break, getting the first two points of the frame. The Cyclones did not take long to right the ship, running off the next nine points to get ahead 9-2. Jess Schaben was a big part of that, as her extended run in the front row allowed her to rack up three kills before heading to the back row for the first time in the set.

Not much changed from the first, as ISU rode a strong service game and dominant work by its middles to a routine second set win. The Cyclones were not as strong offensively, hitting .273 for the set, but were able to restrict WVU to a .103 hitting clip. Set point arrived at 24-15 on Ciara Capezio's fourth ace of the match, and was sealed on the second try via a Conaway kill at 25-16.

Efficient Cyclones Ease Way to Sweep
While the Iowa State offense was strong in the early potions of the set, recording a .500 hitting percentage en route to a 12-7 lead, it was the defense which stood out. The Iowa State block was rock-solid, not only posting three total blocks, but also getting a lot of touches to keep WVU's offense guessing as to where to go. West in particular was strong in that department, as she racked up a pair of block assists early to get to five total blocks for the match.

The Mountaineers fought on until the end, but the Iowa State offense was machine-like with its .444 hitting percentage for the frame while WVU hit -.030 in the set. Conaway and Schaben continued to put the ball away efficiently. With Conaway back to serve, Schaben recorded back-to-back kills to finish the set and take the match in three.

Cyclone Notes
*Alexis Conaway led Iowa State with 12 kills, her sixth match of 2015 with at least 10 kills and 15th of her career.
*Caitlin Nolan finished with eight digs, ending her streak of 40-straight matches with at least 10 digs. Her last match under 10 digs was at TCU last season on Sept. 27, when she had nine digs.
*Samara West recorded six total blocks (one solo, five assists), tying her career-high of six (all block assists) vs. TCU in 2014.
*Ciara Capezio posted a season-high with four service aces. She had previously posted three aces in a match twice in 2015.
*Jess Schaben posted 10 kills, her 16th match in double figures.

Up Next
Iowa State returns to Hilton Coliseum Saturday to take on No. 5 Texas. First serve between the Cyclones and Longhorns will be at 8 p.m.