Dominant Defense Leads ISU to Sweep of UNI

Wednesday, September 16

Ames, Iowa

6:30 PM

Iowa State

7-3

UNI

4-6

Team	1	2	3	Final F
UNI	17	23	16	0
Iowa State	25	25	25	3

Dominant Defense Leads ISU to Sweep of UNI

09.16.2015 | Volleyball

Box Score Stats

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State volleyball team was dominant on defense, posting 63 digs and restricting UNI to a .126 hitting percentage en route to a 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-16) win over the Panthers Wednesday evening at Hilton Coliseum. The win improved Iowa State to 7-3 on the season, while UNI falls to 4-6.

Caitlin Nolan had one of the best matches of her career, posting 29 digs, the most by her in a three-set match and the second-most by a Cyclone in a three-setter all-time. Ciara Capezio led the ISU attack with 13 kills and 10 digs, and Monique Harris chipped in a double-double too with 31 assists and 11 digs. Jess Schaben posted 11 kills.

Capezio Inspires ISU in First Set Win
Iowa State controlled the pace of the early first set, even without breaking out a big lead. The Panthers bounced back with a 4-0 run to turn a 9-7 deficit into an 11-9 advantage. The two sides played more back-and-forth volleyball, with the Cyclones getting back to tie it in a set that featured 11 ties and six lead changes.

Iowa State was able to regain control late on as a 5-0 run powered by a pair of Ciara Capezio kills gave ISU the lead for good as the Cyclones went up 19-15. The Panthers got the next two points, but Iowa State totally took over on the back of some strong serving by Capezio, running off the final six points of the set, which was closed out by a Jess Schaben kill to give the Cyclones a 25-17 win.

Immovable Nolan Guides ISU in Tight Frame
Once again, the Panthers used a 4-0 run to get some early separation in the set. UNI used a 4-0 run to move out to a 7-3 advantage early on. The Cyclones worked their way back into the set, with a trio of UNI errors bringing the scores level at 10-10.

The Panthers would battle hard against the Cyclones, and force seven ties in the set, but would never regain the lead. That was in part due to the outstanding play of Caitlin Nolan. The All-American libero demonstrated her credentials with an astonishing 13 digs in the set, helping restrict UNI to a .178 hitting percentage in the frame. With the score tied 23-23, ISU brought up set point when Amie Held's serve sailed just long. The Cyclones closed it out on the first try, as Alexis Conaway put away an overpass to give the Cyclones the set 25-23.

Balanced Attack Closes Out Match
The Cyclones were down early in the third, but were able to get ahead and stay ahead at 10-6 after a 6-0 run that featured kills from Capezio, Conaway, Monique Harris and Morgan Kuhrt. The Cyclones continued to build its lead and maintain it throughout the set. The Panthers were able to reduce the ISU advantage to 15-11with a block of Schaben. However, ISU ran off seven of the next eight points to put away any doubt that the match would go longer than three sets.

Conaway brought up match point with her seventh kill of the match, but the Panthers were able to hold off the first match point with a Kayla Haneline kill. ISU got its needed point without having to touch the ball, as Haneline served the ball into the net to close out the match.

Cyclone Match Ball Goes to…
Caitlin Nolan. For most liberos, getting to 21 digs means playing four, or even five sets of volleyball. For the Iowa State All-American and 2014 Big 12 Libero of the Year, she had that at the intermission. Nolan was everywhere in the back for Iowa State, posting 13 digs in the second set, with eight digs each on each side of that frame.

For the match, Nolan recorded 29 digs, the most for her in a three-set match, and the second-most by a Cyclone in program history. Only Ashley Mass' 33 at Baylor in 2009 surpassed Nolan's effort tonight. She also four assists, one service ace and one kill for the evening.

Cyclone Notes
*Iowa State has now won the last four meetings against UNI, and are now 9-2 against the Panthers under head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch.
*ISU has not lost to UNI at Hilton Coliseum since 2008.
*The Cyclones out-dug UNI 63-to-55, and have posted more digs than their opponents in each match in 2015.
*Caitlin Nolan finished with 29 digs, her career-high for a three-set match and the second-most by a Cyclone in a three-set match in ISU history (Ashley Mass, at Baylor Sept. 23, 2009)
*Monique Harris recorded her second double-double of the season with 31 assists and 11 digs. It was the fifth double-double of her career.
*Harris' 11 digs was her sixth career effort in double figures.
*Ciara Capezio led ISU with 13 kills and 10 digs, her fourth double-double this season and 19th of her career.
Capezio's team-high 13 kills marked her fourth match in 2015 with at least 10 kills and 33rd of her career.
*Capezio's 10 digs was her 23rd career match with at least 10 digs.
*Jess Schaben finished with 11 kills, her fifth match in a row with double figures and eighth of the season.

Up Next
Iowa State returns to Hilton Coliseum Saturday afternoon for its meeting against No. 4 Nebraska. First serve is at 4 p.m. and the game will be televised on Cyclones.TV Powered by Mediacom.