Cyclones Use Size to Sweep Past Milwaukee

Saturday, September 12

Iowa City, Iowa

4:00 PM

Iowa State

6-3

Milwaukee

2-8

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Iowa State	25	25	25	3
Milwaukee	21	21	15	0

Cyclones Use Size to Sweep Past Milwaukee

09.12.2015 | Volleyball

Box Score Stats

By: cyclones.com

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa State closed out the Comfort Suites Challenge with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-15) sweep of Milwaukee Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The win improved ISU to 6-3 on the season, while Milwaukee falls to 2-8.

Jess Schaben led Iowa State with 12 kills at a .500 hitting percentage, while Samara West posted 11 kills at a .786 hitting clip. Caitlin Nolan led the back row with 17 digs.

ISU Size Allows Cyclones to Hang On
The Cyclones used its size advantage over Milwaukee to their advantage in the first set. The star for Iowa State was Grace Lazard, with the British freshman continuing to excel on the right-side. Lazard got three kills and teamed with Samara West on a block to put ISU ahead 12-7 in the first.

The Iowa State offense continued to excel, firing at a .471 hitting percentage in the first frame, while building up a lead of as big as 10 points at 21-11. However, the Panthers battled back strongly, going on a 9-2 run to reduce the ISU lead to three. The Cyclones brought up set point with a Jess Schaben kill at 24-20. After Milwaukee staved off one set point, ISU got it on the second try with West burying a kill on the slide to take the first 25-21.

West, Vondrak Guide ISU to Second Set Win
The Cyclones flew out of the gates in the second set, racking up six of the first seven points with size playing a big part. Iowa State recorded a pair of blocks while getting kills from Lazard and West to build up the early advantage. The Panthers ran off three critical points to reduce the Iowa State lead to 12-11.

However, the Cyclones never lost the lead as the offense continued to perform at a high level, hitting .317 for the frame. West continued her brilliant work from the first set, adding another six kills in the frame. The Cyclones brought up its set point at 24-20 on a Natalie Vondrak kill. Milwaukee again fought off the first set point, but Vondrak stepped up again for her fourth kill of the set to give ISU the second 25-21, and a 2-0 lead.

Cyclones Bring it Home
Once again, Iowa State wasted little time getting ahead in the frame. The Cyclones ran off four-straight points, powered by a Vondrak kill and ace, to move ahead 8-3. From there, ISU continued to go back to what has worked best, with Vondrak and West seeing plenty of the ball to help ISU up its lead to as many as nine points.

The Cyclones were able to ease home, the Cyclones hit .385 on the frame. The Cyclones were able to close out the match via some strong serving, as Branen Berta posted a pair of aces in the final three points to close out the match 25-15 in ISU's favor.

Cyclone Game Ball Goes to…
Samara West. The redshirt sophomore was a monster in the middle for the Cyclones, which the Panthers had no answer for. West finished the match with 11 kills on 14 swings for a .786 hitting percentage. West's 11 kills was the fourth time this season she has been in double-figures. She had four 10-kill matches in all of 2014. She also chipped in with three block assists.

Cyclone Notes
*Caitlin Nolan finished the match with 17 digs, her 27th-straight match with at least 10 digs and her 57th in her career.
*Samara West finished with 11 kills, her fourth match this season in double figures. She had four matches with at least 10 kills all of last season.
*Grace Lazard posted a career-best four block assists.
*Jess Schaben recorded 12 kills, her seventh match this season in double figures and fourth-in-a-row.
*Schaben's .500 hitting percentage is a career-best, surpassing her .397 against Appalachian State.

Up Next
Iowa State is back in Hilton Coliseum next week for a pair of matches. The Cyclones take on in-state foes UNI Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. and will then take on No. 5 Nebraska next Saturday at 4 p.m.