ISU Closes Non-Con at Minnesota This Weekend

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AMES, Iowa - Fresh off last night's victory over UNI, the Cyclones head to Minneapolis to close out non-conference play this weekend at the Diet Coke Classic, hosted by the University of Minnesota. The Cyclones will take on St. Thomas Friday at 5 p.m., and will then take on the hosts and No. 11 Minnesota Saturday at 7 p.m.

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Both matches will be streamed on subscription-based Big Ten Network Plus, here. Live stats will be provided by Minnesota for both matches, here.

Last Time Out

Iowa State got back on winning track Wednesday night with a 3-0 sweep of UNI in Cedar Falls. The Cyclones hit .282 as a team, led by 13 kills at .375 from Eleanor Holthaus and a season-best 12 kills from Kenzie Mantz. The ISU defense held the Panthers to .064 hitting, getting 10.0 total blocks, led by six from Candelaria Herrera. Marija Popovic led the back row with 11 digs.

About St. Thomas

The Tommies of St. Thomas are in their first season in Division I, after having made the jump up from Division III over the summer. Members of the Summit League, UST are 1-7 on the season heading into their match Thursday night vs. the Gophers. St. Thomas is led by freshman Lauren Galvin, who leads the team in kills (3.41 per set) and aces (0.45 per set), while ranking second in digs (2.41 per set) and third in blocks (0.41 per set).

This will be the first ever meeting between Iowa State and St. Thomas. The Cyclones have already faced one Summit League opponent this season in Omaha, whom ISU swept at Hilton Coliseum on the opening weekend of the season. ISU and UST do have a common opponent in Ball State, with ISU winning in four sets last weekend in Coralville, while the Tommies were swept by the Cardinals in their season opener at Green Bay.

About No. 11 Minnesota

The Minnesota Golden Gophers head into the weekend with a record of 3-3, but have done it against one of the most difficult schedules in the country so far this season, having taken on five top-15 opponents in six matches. The Gophers are on a rise right now, having gone 2-0 last weekend with wins over then-No. 14 Stanford and then-No. 11 Oregon in Eugene. Minnesota are led by three-time First Team All-American Stephanie Samedy, who averages 5.21 kills per set at .276 hitting. The Gophers also have a big block, averaging 2.75 stuffs per set, with middles Katie Myers (1.25 per set) and Ellie Husemann (1.18 per set) both over one block per set.

Saturday will be the 34th all-time meeting between the two teams, with Minnesota leading the all-time series 23-10. The two teams last met in the 2014 Diet Coke Classic, a 3-1 win for the Gophers. Victoria Hurtt led ISU on the night with 13 kills. The previous four meetings between Iowa State and Minnesota during the Christy Johnson-Lynch Era have taken place at Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis, the matches split 2-2 (both ISU's wins coming in the NCAA Tournament).