Offense Dominant in ISU Sweep of NDSU

Saturday, September 10

Ames, Iowa

10:00 AM

Iowa State

5-2

North Dakota State

2-7

Team	1	2	3	Final F
North Dakota State	16	19	17	0
Iowa State	25	25	25	3

Offense Dominant in ISU Sweep of NDSU

09.10.2016 | Volleyball

Box Score Stats Highlights

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State offense came out sizzling Saturday morning as the Cyclones swept North Dakota State 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-17) at Hilton Coliseum in the Cyclone Invitational. The win improved ISU to 5-2 on the season, while NDSU fell to 2-7.

The Iowa State attack was led by 12 kills at a .550 hitting percentage, both season-highs from Alexis Conaway. Morgan Kuhrt had nine kills at a .467 hitting percentage, while Ciara Capezio had eight kills with no errors at a .400 hitting clip. Iowa State recorded 49 kills while hitting .394 as a team in the three-setter.

Conaway Leads Strong Offensive First Set
Despite playing the later game last night, it was the Cyclones who were fresher and stronger out of the gates Saturday morning. ISU's offense was humming early, with Alexis Conaway and Jess Schaben both having early success to get the Cyclones ahead quickly at 9-4. Ciara Capezio then got involved, as her back-to-back kills to up the Iowa State advantage to 13-5. The ISU offense continued to dominate, hitting .405 for the set while amassing a lead of as many as 13 points. NDSU rallied late to make the score more respectable, but ISU sealed the set with Alexis Conaway's seventh kill of the frame at 25-16.

Strong Serving Pairs With Purring Offense in Set Two
Once again, the Iowa State offense controlled the tempo early on, as the Cyclones continued to get strong contributions all across the front row, with Morgan Kuhrt in particular standing out. The Bison hung tough early on, but the Cyclones eventually started to pull away, with Capezio continuing a fierce morning from behind the service line to help push ISU ahead at 20-11. The Bison were once again able to reel in ISU a little, but the dominance from behind the service line continued. The Cyclones posted five service aces in the second to go with a .419 hitting percentage. Iowa State got up 2-0 on a kill from Grace Lazard to make the second 25-19.

Iowa State Battles Back for Sweep
Iowa State's offense was not clicking at the same level in the first two frames, and the visitors were able to stick around and even built up a 13-10 advantage. The Cyclones battled back with a strong offensive effort from the usual suspects of Conaway and Jess Schaben, but also with cameos from Hali Hillegas and Suzanne Horner. ISU got back ahead for good on a 5-0 run taking a 16-16 tie to a 21-16 Cyclone advantage. ISU, whose .355 hitting percentage in the third set was actually its lowest of the three sets, closed the match out with Capezio firing her eighth kill of the day to make it 25-17 ISU.

Cyclone Notes
*Abby Phillips made her first career start at libero.
*Phillips also posted a career-high nine digs, her previous best was eight against Creighton on Aug. 28.
*Alexis Conaway recorded 12 kills, her first match of 2016 in double figures and 16th of her career.
*Ciara Capezio's four aces were a season-high by any Cyclone.

Up Next
Iowa State plays again today against Montana inside Hilton Coliseum, first serve is at 4 p.m.