Volleyball Opens NCAA Championship Friday vs. No. 18 Stanford

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AMES, Iowa -The Iowa State volleyball team gets its postseason rolling on Friday when the Cyclones take on No. 18 Stanford in the First Round of the NCAA Volleyball Championship at Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis. First serve between the Cyclones and Cardinal will be at 4:30 p.m. A victory would take the Cyclones into the Second Round to play the winner of hosts and No. 12 Minnesota and South Dakota Saturday night at 7 p.m.

Follow the Cyclones

Friday's match will be streamed on ESPN+, here. Live stats for the match can be accessed, here.

Last Time Out

Iowa State will be in action for the first time in 13 days, with its last competition being an 0-2 weekend at No. 7 Baylor on Nov. 19-20. ISU was led by a strong weekend from now three-time All-Big 12 First Team honoree Eleanor Holthaus, who averaged 3.17 kills per set across the two matches along with 2.00 digs per set.

About No. 18 Stanford

Stanford, No. 18 in the AVCA Top 25 this week, enter in the NCAA Volleyball Championship 18-10 overall on the season, and going 13-7 against Pac-12 competition. The Cardinal, who have won the NCAA Volleyball Championship nine times in program history, are in the NCAA Volleyball Championship for a 40th time in program history.

The Cardinal attack is led by All-Pac-12 selection Caitie Baird, who ranked third in the conference with 4.20 kills per set, while also averaging 2.17 digs per set. Opposite Kendall Kipp, also an All-Pac-12 choice, averages 3.77 kills per set which she gets at .337 hitting. Setter Kami Miner was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, averaging 11.42 assists per set and helping the Cardinal attack hit .282 as a team this year.

Iowa State and Stanford will be meeting for a third time, with the Cardinal having on the previous two meetings. The last one came to open the 2014 season in Hilton Coliseum, with the Cardinal winning 3-0. Stanford has previously met ISU in the NCAA Volleyball Championship, defeating ISU in the Sweet 16 in 2012 at Cal.