Cyclones Open Conference Against TCU

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AMES, Iowa – Iowa State (8-5) begins conference with a matchup against TCU (5-7, 0-1- Big 12) on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 2 p.m. The Cyclones travel to Fort Worth, Texas for the first time since 2020 as the Horned Frogs play host.

The match will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

TCU opened conference Sept. 21 against No. 14 Baylor, the Horned Frogs' third ranked opponent of the season after opening 2022 against No. 3 Wisconsin and No. 5 Minnesota. Baylor extended their current win streak to 10 matches as the Bears won 3-1. TCU won the third set 25-15, the largest set loss Baylor has been handed this season.

TCU is led by Julia Adams who is averaging 3.67 kills per set on 169 kills. The team holds a season hitting percentage of .215. Head Coach Jason Williams enters his first season at the helm for TCU after previously spending seven years on the coaching staff with Baylor.

The Cyclones hold the all-time series advantage at 17-3. Iowa State is currently on a six-game series win streak as TCU's most recent victory came in 2018.

LAST TIME OUT

Iowa State claimed their second-straight tournament title in the Billiken Classic with victories over Kansas City, Missouri State and Saint Louis. Maya Duckworth was named MVP and Solei Thomas earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Duckworth delivered a career-high 18 kills against SLU and a .476 hitting percentage against Missouri State as she led the team with 46 kills. Thomas earned her second All-Tournament Team placement of the season as she totaled 39 kills at .411. Thomas hit 12 or more kills at an efficiency of high .300s to mid .400s each time out.

The team hit at .300 through the tournament as the Cyclones registered a season-high .365 against Missouri State and .308 versus Saint Louis. Nine double-digit kill performances were recorded while Eleanor Holthaus (11 kills, 10 digs) and Jaden Newsome (15 assists, 11 digs) turned in double-doubles in the Kansas City match.

ISU came back from being down 0-2 twice on the weekend to total the third reverse sweep of the season, a program record. There has been six reverse sweeps under Christy Johnson-Lynch, including the three from this season. The previous 0-2 comebacks came in the 2017, 2008 and 2006 seasons.

Texas, Texas Tech and TCU are the only other Big 12 schools who have come back from being down 0-2 this season, the schools have one reverse sweep each.

Cyclone servers sent over 15 aces against Saint Louis, tying the second-highest total under Christy Johnson-Lynch. The total is just one ace behind the highest mark of 16 set against Chicago State in 2006. The performance is also the second 10-plus ace game of the season.

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Players Mentioned

Maya Duckworth

Eleanor Holthaus

Jaden Newsome

Solei Thomas

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics