Iowa State to Host NCAA First & Second Rounds

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State has made the NCAA Volleyball Championship for a 12th-straight season, and will be hosting matches at Hilton Coliseum this weekend. The Cyclones are the No. 14 seed, and will take on Princeton on Friday at 7 p.m. The other match on Friday will be between Wisconsin and Marquette at 4 p.m. The winners will meet on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

"Hosting and getting a top-16 seed is awesome, so I am really excited about that," Iowa State head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said. "All the teams you play in the tournament are good, we know Marquette and Wisconsin a little bit from playing them recently and we will work hard on learning about Princeton and getting ready to go."

Iowa State finished the regular season with a 21-6 overall record and finished tied for third in the Big 12 with an 11-5 conference mark. The Cyclones were led by Jess Schaben's 3.28 kills per set and 3.05 digs per frame. Libero Hali Hillegas led the Big 12 with 5.61 digs per set, and the Cyclone block ranks eighth in the country at 3.01 blocks per set. Combining those, ISU is holding opponents to a .154 hitting percentage on the season.

Princeton won the Ivy League, finishing the season 18-7 overall and 10-4 in conference play. The Tigers had to beat Yale in a playoff for the league's automatic NCAA bid. Princeton is led by Maggie O'Connell's 3.38 kills per set at a .282 hitting clip. This will be the first ever meeting between Iowa State and Princeton.

All-Session tickets are on sale now, here, and are $15 for adults and $10 for youth. Cyclone Club Members and volleyball season ticket holders should check their emails for information regarding purchasing first and second round tickets beginning at 9 a.m. tomorrow. General public sales will begin at noon on Monday for All-Session tickets and single-session tickets will go on sale starting Friday morning.

Stay tuned to this spot throughout the night for more updates and information regarding the first weekend of the tournament. Also follow ISU volleyball's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts for updates.

Players Mentioned

Hali Hillegas

Jess Schaben

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics