ISU Opens Montana Invite With 3-1 Win Over Gonzaga

MISSOULA, Montana – Iowa State picked up a 3-1 (25-12, 22-25, 26-24, 25-21) win over Gonzaga to begin the Montana Invitational Friday afternoon at Dahlberg Arena. ISU improved to 4-1 on the season, while the Bulldogs are now 0-3.

The Cyclones were led by a career-high 16 kills at a .342 hitting percentage from Eleanor Holthaus, while Jess Schaben had 15 kills. On defense, Avery Rhodes tied a career-high with 10 blocks (one solo, nine assists), while Hali Hillegas posted 31 digs, her second 30-dig match of the season and sixth of her career.

Set One: Iowa State 25 Gonzaga 12
Iowa State's block stifled the Bulldogs throughout the first set. ISU held Gonzaga to a -.100 hitting percentage, finishing with 6.0 total blocks for the set. The Cyclone size advantage was apparent in the attack, too, as Grace Lazard was able to get four kills in the first frame. Iowa State got ahead 1-0 when Jess Schaben pushed her third kill of the frame through the GU block at 25-12.

Set Two: Gonzaga 25 Iowa State 22
ISU got off to a slow start in set two, with the Zags moving ahead 8-3. Schaben was the key to the Cyclones working their way back into the set, as she had three kills and went behind the service line to serve up a 4-0 run to cut GU's lead to one at 13-12. However, Gonzaga pushed back and got ahead by five at 18-13. The Bulldogs were able to hold on despite a late ISU run, as none of the Cyclones were able to reach Gretchen Rudel's tip kill at 25-22.

Set Three: Iowa State 26 Gonzaga 24
The Cyclones got off to another slow start, but were able to get back in the frame quicker by feeding the middle, as Grace Lazard and Avery Rhodes had a pair of kills to takes ISU ahead 12-9. Gonzaga held tough, and eventually made a comeback with a 5-0 run to get ahead 17-16. It was a back-and-forth affair from there, with GU getting to set point first 24-23. ISU held on and got its own set point chance at 25-24. The Cyclones put it away on the first try, as Schaben notched her 12th kill of the day to make it 26-24 ISU.

Set Four: Iowa State 25 Gonzaga 21
Another slow start hampered ISU, as Gonzaga raced out to a 4-1 lead. The advantage was short-lived as ISU moved ahead at 7-6 on a Bulldogs blocking error. Avery Rhodes dominated proceedings from there, as a pair of kills and three blocks pushed Iowa State ahead 15-10. The Cyclones never looked back, hitting .341 as a team in the frame, and recording another 3.0 blocks as a team. ISU closed out the match when Brooke Andersen put down her fourth kill of the set at 25-21.

Player of the Match
Avery Rhodes. The sophomore middle powered a strong ISU blocking effort, as her 10 career-high-tying 10 blocks were part of a 16-block afternoon by the Cyclones. In the attack, she finished with eight kills at a .400 hitting percentage.

Up Next
Iowa State plays again tonight against hosts Montana. First serve between the Cyclones and Grizzlies will be at 8 p.m. Central, with Pluto.TV streaming the match for free, here.

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Team Stats

Eleanor Holthaus

Jess Schaben

Grace Lazard

Avery Rhodes

Players Mentioned

Brooke Andersen

Hali Hillegas

Eleanor Holthaus

Grace Lazard

Avery Rhodes

Jess Schaben

Players Mentioned

Brooke Andersen

Hali Hillegas

Eleanor Holthaus

Grace Lazard

Avery Rhodes

Jess Schaben

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics