Cyclones Open 2022 With Rumble in the Rockies

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AMES, Iowa – The 2022 volleyball season officially gets underway this Friday as the Cyclones travel to Laramie, Wyo. for the Rumble in the Rockies tournament Aug. 26-27. The tournament marks the beginning of the 50^th season in program history.

Iowa State first meets No. 18 Creighton at 11 a.m. CT Friday for both teams' season opener. The Cyclones then take on Wyoming at 8:00 p.m. also on Friday. On Saturday, Iowa State meets Wichita State at 2:00 p.m. All matches take place at the UniWyo Sports Complex.

All games will be streamed on the Mountain West Network. The broadcast is free for all matches.

Iowa State returns five starters and two All-Big 12 honorees from 2021 while six true freshmen join the squad. Eleanor Holthaus earned her fourth-straight All-Big 12 Preseason Team selection heading into 2022 action.

CREIGHTON

The Creighton Bluejays enter the season ranked 18^th nationally in the AVCA Preseason Poll. Creighton was selected to finish first in the Big East Conference Preseason Poll while sophomore Norah Sis was named the Big East Preseason Player of the Year. The Bluejays are coming off a program-record 31-win season as they advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Kirsten Bernthal Booth, the winningest coach in program history, begins her 20^th season leading the team.

Iowa State last met Creighton in an exhibition match last season. The all-time series sits tied at six wins each. The series is also tied when played at a neutral site at 2-2. The last regular season meeting took place in the 2019 season where Iowa State lost 3-0 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

WYOMING

Wyoming was selected to finish seventh in the Mountain West Preseason Poll. Wyoming's roster features eight newcomers who join eight returnees. In 2021, the Cowgirls finished 16-14 overall and 8-10 in the Mountain West Conference. Head Coach Chad Callihan enters his 10^th year leading Wyoming.

Wyoming picked up four wins against Iowa State 1986-93 to currently lead the all-time series 4-1. Under Christy Johnson-Lynch, the Cyclones picked up the win in the most recent meeting in 2018 where ISU swept the Cowgirls 3-0.

WICHITA STATE

Last season, Wichita State finalized a 19-10 record. The Shockers are led by All-AAC selections Natalie Foster, Brylee Kelly and Kayce Litzau. Foster led all AAC middles with 197 kills in conference matches as a freshman in 2021. Then-sophomore Litzau led the conference in assists, holding an average of 10.18 per set and tallying the 36^th-highest total nationally with 1,110. Kelly was unanimously chosen as a First Team All-Conference selection last season.

Iowa State holds a 9-0-1 advantage over Wichita State all time. The Cyclones and Shockers last met in 2018 where ISU took the victory in four sets. With Johnson-Lynch's direction, the Cyclones are 4-0 against the Shockers.

NEXT UP

The Cyclones take on the Tiger Challenge in Baton Rouge, La. Sept. 2 and 3. Iowa State will meet Penn State, LSU and Troy at the tournament. ISU will then return to Ames for the home-opening Cardinal and Gold Challenge featuring Drake, Iowa and Wright State Sept. 7-10.