Volleyball Opens Season at K-State This Weekend

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AMES, Iowa - Finally. After a four-week delay and months of uncertainty and adversity, the 2020 Iowa State volleyball season begins this weekend at Kansas State with a pair of matches against the Wildcats. the Cyclones and K-State will play a pair of matches over the weekend on Friday and Saturday at 6:30 p.m. each night at Bramlage Coliseum, which will serve as Kansas State's temporary home for the 2020 volleyball season.

Follow the Cyclones

Both matches, and 13 of Iowa State's 16 matches in 2020, will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. For more information about ESPN+, please click here. Live stats for both matches will be provided by Kansas State, here.

About Iowa State

Iowa State begins the 16th season of head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch's tenure with one of the most experience squads of Johnson-Lynch's run in Ames. Iowa State returns all but one starter from last year's team which made the NCAA Volleyball Championship for the 13th time in the past 14 seasons. Leading the way are a pair of All-Big 12 Preseason Team selections, both of whom were also All-Big 12 First Team choices in 2019, in middle blocker Candelaria Herrera and Eleanor Holthaus. Holthaus led the Cyclones with 3.18 kills per set last year, while Herrera got her 2.22 kills per set at a team-best .314 hitting percentage.

About Kansas State

While Iowa State returns one of the most experienced teams in the Big 12 and the country, the Wildcats have a lot of newcomers to add into the frame. Picked to finish eighth by the league coaches, Kansas State welcomes back three starters, led by outside hitter Brynn Carlson, who had 2.83 kills per set. K-State does have an exciting collection of talent who will be looking to make debuts this weekend, with its five-member freshman class ranked as the No. 23 recruiting class for 2020 by PrepVolleyball.com. They also add a transfer setter in Shelby Martin, who was AAC Freshman of the Year for East Carolina in 2017.

K-State is Iowa State's second-most frequent opponent in program history, with the two teams set to meet for the 95th and 96th time this weekend (Iowa State and Kansas have played 96 times). ISU leads the all-time series 55-39 and have a seven-match win streak against the Wildcats dating back to 2016. While ISU has come out winners in its last three trips to The Little Apple, this will be the third meeting between the two teams in Bramlage Coliseum. ISU won the last meeting there in 2005, with K-State winning in 1997.