Iowa State Rallies Past LSU, 3-1

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania – Iowa State (3-0) bounced back from a slow start to take down LSU (1-2) 3-1 (16-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-23) Friday afternoon at Rec Hall. The visiting Tigers scored the first seven points of the match to dominate the first set, but Iowa State fought back to take the next three sets via some strong defense and clutch performances across the team.

Annie Hatch led the attack with 11 kills, while Eleanor Holthaus had nine. Holthaus led the back-row with 15 digs, with Marija Popovic getting 13. Iowa State got 13.0 total blocks, led by eight from Candelaria Herrera. The Argentine also had eight kills at .636 hitting in the victory.

Set One: LSU 25 Iowa State 16
The first seven points of the match went the way of LSU, as the Tigers converted three of their first four shots to kills and got an ace and a block to go with it as well. Back-to-back Taylor Bannister aces upped the LSU advantage to eight at 12-4, and again at 15-7. There was not a way back into it for the Cyclones, as LSU hit .400 as a team compared to the Cyclones' .143. The Tigers wrapped up the first when Annie Hatch was called in the net on a block attempt at 25-16.

Set Two: Iowa State 25 LSU 22
Iowa State took control of the set with a 5-0 run, getting strong work at the net and kills from Brooke Andersen and Candelaria Herrera to move ahead 9-4. Eleanor Holthaus killed to put ISU ahead six at 14-8, but the Tigers started to work their way back into the frame. LSU went on a 3-0 run capped by a Bannister kill to tie the set at 19-19, but Kenzie Mantz stepped off with a pair of big kills off the bench to keep ISU ahead. The Tigers missed on a pair of serve attempts (two of seven in the set for LSU) to keep ISU in front, and the Cyclones took advantage with a Holthaus ace to bring up set point at 24-22. Hatch converted on first asking with a kill at 25-22.

Set Three: Iowa State 25 LSU 18
While LSU did their best to keep Herrera out of the attack, limiting her to just five swings in the first two sets, they could not keep here out of the defensive picture. Herrera got three blocks (two solo, one assist) and a kill as part of a 6-2 run which moved ISU ahead 8-5. The Tigers were their own worst enemy trying to get back in the set, as ISU went on a 4-0 run powered by three LSU attack errors to move the Cyclones ahead 18-12. LSU moved to a 6-2 to get some more size at the net, but the Cyclones were able to close things out when Kylie Kuyava-DeBerg served into the net at 25-18.

Set Four: Iowa State 25 LSU 23
A kill by Hatch moved the Cyclones ahead 12-9, but the Tigers were able to battle back with a 6-1 run capped by a pair of aces from Kuyava-DeBerg to move ahead 15-13. Both sides saw their attacks step up in the fourth, but the Cyclones were able to get the blocks back up, tying it at 17-17 on a stuff from Holthaus and Alexis Engelbrecht. Kuyava-DeBerg fired consecutive attack errors to put Iowa State back ahead 20-18, but she killed again to tie it at 20-20. Mantz overpass to match point, LSU survived one with a Hannah Brister kill but Herrera and Jaden Newsome combined for the final block to take the match 25-23.

Player of the Match
Candelaria Herrera. The senior middle blocker was on the verge of a double-double, finishing with eight kills at .636 hitting and eight blocks (two solo, six assists).

Up Next
Iowa State is back in action tonight against No. 17 Penn State. First serve between the Cyclones and Nittany Lions will be at 7 p.m. Central on Big Ten Network Plus.

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Team Stats

Annie Hatch

Eleanor Holthaus

Candelaria Herrera

Kenzie Mantz

Players Mentioned

Brooke Andersen

Alexis Engelbrecht

Annie Hatch

Candelaria Herrera

Eleanor Holthaus

Kenzie Mantz

Jaden Newsome

Marija Popovic

Players Mentioned

Brooke Andersen

Alexis Engelbrecht

Annie Hatch

Candelaria Herrera

Eleanor Holthaus

Kenzie Mantz

Jaden Newsome

Marija Popovic

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