Cyclones Take on Tiger Challenge

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State continues their road stint at the Tiger Challenge hosted by LSU, matching up against Penn State, LSU and Troy Sept. 2 and 3. ISU first meets the unbeaten Penn State Friday at noon and is then featured in the night game versus LSU at 7:30 p.m. CT. Saturday, the Cyclones meet the Troy Trojans at noon.

SEC Network+ will stream the LSU match. The Penn State and Troy match will not be streamed. Live stats for all matches are available at the links above.

LAST TIME OUT

Four Cyclones hit career milestones at the season-opening Rumble in the Rockies tournament. Eleanor Holthaus notched her 700^th dig, Mariah Mitchell hit her 600^th kill, Jaden Newsome totaled over 300 digs and Alexis Engelbrecht claimed her 100^th kill.

Iowa State wiped out a 21-game losing streak when the opponent holds a higher hitting percentage against Wyoming. The Cyclones ended the game with a hitting percentage of .230 compared to the Cowgirls' .250, and came out with the win.

The Cyclones notably totaled 10 aces against Wyoming. It was the first time since Sept. 25, 2021 Iowa State served up 10 or more where ISU dialed in 14 versus TCU.

Freshman hit their stride as two got the opening-match start. Maya Duckworth hit a team-high 12 kills against No. 18 Creighton while Kelsey Perry averaged 1.50 blocks per set through the weekend, the second-highest total among the Big 12. Duckworth also turned in her first-career double-double (10 kills, 11 digs) against Wichita State.

Setter Newsome showed she can play defense too, leading the team in digs in two games. The senior's 12 digs in both games totaled the 14^th and 15^th double-digit dig games of her career. Newsome recorded two double-doubles with 25 assists and 12 digs against No. 18 Creighton and 52 assists and 12 digs against Wichita State. Newsome's 120 total assists ranks her 29th and her average of 10.00 assists per set puts her at No. 66 in NCAA DI action.

The team concluded the weekend with Mitchell earning a spot on the All-Tournament team. Mitchell contributed 30 kills, 1 solo block and 11 block assists. The senior kept the battle with Wichita State, hitting 16 kills at a .371 efficiency.

It will be the first meeting between Christy Johnson-Lynch and each of the head coaches of the three Tiger Challenge teams. Penn State's Katie Schumacher-Cawley and LSU's Tonya Johnson are in their first season leading their teams while Troy and ISU meet for the first time since 1996.

No. 21 PENN STATE

Opening the season ranked at No. 20, Penn State enters this week at No. 21. PSU has a perfect record with three games completed after kicking their weekend off with a sweep of Connecticut. The Nittany Lions went on to grab wins over Loyola Maryland and West Virginia, only losing one set in each game. Penn State currently ranks 28th nationally among NCAA D1 with an average of 2.82 blocks per set. At the helm is Head Coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, who returns after spending her playing career at Penn State and becoming a two-time All-American and 1999 National Champion.

Penn State leads the overall series 3-0. The Nittany Lions swept the Cyclones last season while they were ranked No. 17. The other two meetings took place in the 1995 and 2019 seasons.

LSU

LSU holds a season record of 1-2 with a win over Samford and loses to Houston and Rice. The Tigers won a season-opening sweep to Samford and lost in four to Houston and in five to Rice. Offensively, LSU's Sanaa Dotson leads the team with 52 kills this season, ranking 48th nationally with an average of 4.33 kills per set. Head Coach Tonya Johnson played for LSU from 1987-90, including a 1990 Final Four and 1989 Sweet 16 appearance. Johnson served as an associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Texas before returning to LSU.

The Cyclones and Tigers met last season in the Penn State Classic with an ISU win of 3-1. The overall series stands tied at 2-2.

TROY

Troy sits 2-1 overall with victories over Santa Clara and Chattanooga and a loss to Georgia. Julia Brooks is a leader for Troy as she was named 2022 Preseason All-Sunbelt and has contributed offensively with 23 kills and with her blocking of two solo and eight block assists this season. Tori Hester leads Troy in blocks with 55 on the season. Head Coach Josh Lauer is in his sixth season leading the Trojans with an overall record of 73-72. Last season, Troy got the win over power-five opponents Alabama, LSU and Virginia Tech.

Iowa State and Troy's only previous meeting took place in 1996, ending with a Cyclone win in three sets.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Maya Duckworth

Alexis Engelbrecht

Eleanor Holthaus

Mariah Mitchell

Jaden Newsome

Kelsey Perry

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics