Iowa State Hits Road for Penn State Classic

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AMES, Iowa - Iowa State volleyball begins a challenging nine-match road swing on Friday at the Penn State Classic. The Cyclones have two matches on Friday, taking on LSU at 10 a.m. Central and hosts No. 17 Penn State at 7 p.m. Central. ISU wraps up the weekend on Saturday against Oregon State at 4 p.m. Central.

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All three matches will be streamed live on subscription-based Big Ten Network Plus. For more information, click here. Live stats for all three matches can be found, here.

Last Time Out

Iowa State began its season at home inside Hilton Coliseum, going 2-0 via a 3-1 win over Drake and a 3-0 win over Omaha. Iowa State was led by Cyclone Challenge Tournament MVP Candelaria Herrera, who got her 3.00 kills per set at .415 hitting while also recording 1.00 blocks per set. Joining her on the All-Tournament Team was Eleanor Holthaus, who got her 3.00 kills per set at .315 hitting and also got 1.00 blocks per set in addtion to 2.14 digs per frame.

Marija Popovic was also on the All-Tournament Team, averaging 5.43 digs per set, an effort which helped her earn Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week. Popovic notched 21 digs vs. Drake, her 40th career match with at least 20 digs.

About LSU

The LSU Tigers went 1-1 at home on opening weekend, picking up a 3-1 win over Northern Arizona and falling 3-1 to then-No. 12 Michigan. The Tigers are led by Mizzou transfer Kylie Deberg, with the Mizzou transfer getting 3.13 kills per set. Right side Taylor Bannister averages 2.88 kills per set, while middle Whitney Foreman gets her 2.63 kills per set at .326 hitting.

This will be the fourth all-time meeting between ISU and LSU, the Tigers leading the all-time series 2-1. The two sides last met in Ames in 2019, a 3-2 win for the visiting Tigers. In that match, Eleanor Holthaus had 16 kills and 17 digs, while Avery Rhodes led the Cyclone defense with six blocks (two solo, four assists).

About No. 17 Penn State

Penn State began the season at UCF, going 2-1 with sweeps of St. John's and the hosts Knights, but falling 3-1 to then-No. 24 Georgia Tech. The Nittany Lions attack is led by Jonni Parker, who gets her 3.80 kills per set at .423 hitting, while Kaitlyn Hord notches her 2.60 kills per set at .451 hitting. PSU held its opening weekend opponents to .165 hitting.

This will be the third all-time meeting between PSU and ISU, with the Nittany Lions winning the previous two meetings. In Ames in 2019, the then-No. 6 visitors won 3-0. In defeat, Candelaria Herrera led the attack with 10 kills at .600 hitting.

About Oregon State

Oregon State went 1-1 at Oklahoma last weekend, defeating the host Sooners in five, but falling to Houston in four sets. OSU are a strong defensive team, holding its two opponents last weekend to combined .176 hitting. Libero Grace Massey averaged 3.33 digs per set, and has over 1,800 digs in her collegiate career, while the Beavers block 2.83 shots per set.

Iowa State and Oregon State has split its previous two meetings. In 2018 in Ames, the Beavers came from two sets down to defeat Iowa State in five. Holthaus had 13 kills in the match, Rhodes posted 10. In defense, Brooke Andersen finished with 11 digs.