Iowa State Opens NIVC Thursday vs. Drake

VB Preview Header - Drake

AMES, Iowa - The Iowa State volleyball season continues on Thursday night with the first round of the 2018 National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) against Drake. First serve between the Cyclones and Bulldogs will be at 6:30 p.m.

Should Iowa State win, it would advance to the Second Round Friday at 6:30 p.m. in Hilton to take on the winner of the Bowling Green-Bradley match, which will be played Thursday at 4 p.m. in Hilton.

Ticket and Parking Information

Students receive free admission to the first and second round NIVC home volleyball matches.

Fans still needing tickets to the match can buy them online now, here, or on the day of the match at the Hilton Coliseum Ticket Office. One ticket is good for both the Iowa State-Drake and Bradley-Bowling Green matches. All tickets are general admission.

Iowa State volleyball season parking passes are no longer in effect. The only reserved parking lot around Hilton Coliseum is Lot B2 for ADA parking.

How to Follow

Thursday night's match will be televised on Cyclones.TV Powered by Mediacom and streamed for free the Cyclones.TV web player. For more information about Cyclones.TV, click here.

Live stats will be provided by Iowa State, here. Fans can also receive progress on the match via the Iowa State Volleyball Twitter account, @CycloneVB, and the Iowa State Volleyball Instagram story, @IowaStateVB.

About Drake

The Drake Bulldogs come into Thursday night's meeting with a 21-14 record, and having advanced to the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Drake is led by senior outside hitter Cathryn Cheek, who is averaging 3.76 kills per set and was named First Team All-MVC this season.

The Cyclones and Bulldogs are frequent combatants during scrimmages and the spring season, but this will be the first regular season meeting since 2009. Iowa State leads the all-time series 36-20, and has won the last nine in-season meetings with Drake.