Iowa State Takes Five-Set Win Over TCU

FORT WORTH, Texas – Iowa State (15-7, 6-5 Big 12) topped TCU (13-11, 6-7 Big 12) in a five-set thriller (25-23, 26-28, 23-25, 25-18, 15-13) Friday night in match one of the series. Four handed in double-figure kill performances while three had double-doubles to come away with the road win.

Iowa State took the first set and came back in the fourth set hitting over .400 to force the fifth, ending the match hitting at .296. The Cyclones remain undefeated at 4-0 in five-set matches this season.

Nayeli Gonzalez led with her second 20-plus kill performance of 21 at an efficiency of .378. Gonzalez also put up a career-high 14 digs to claim her second double-double. Maya Duckworth was next with 18, her 11^th 10-plus kill performance this season, while totaling 11 digs for her fourth double-double this season. Lilly Wachholz (14) and Alexis Engelbrecht (10) rounded out the four with 10-plus, both achieving the total while hitting over .300.

Setter Morgan Brandt had a stellar performance of a career-high 59 assists while dialing in her 10^th double-double with 10 digs. Brandt also had four blocks, four kills and an ace.

Jordan Hopp led the match with seven blocks (two solo, five assisted). Iowa State out-blocked TCU 10.0-6.0, who rank second in blocks in Big 12 matches.

SET ONE

Engelbrecht's strong serving led to the Cyclones taking the first five points on a run including three kills and an ace. Iowa State remained up as Wachholz put down her fourth kill on eight swings to make it 15-13. TCU would tie things up at 18 before taking a lead at 22-21, but two straight kills by Duckworth gave ISU the lead right back to find set point. TCU fought it off once, but another Duckworth kill gave the Cyclones the 1-0 match lead.

SET TWO

ISU battled back from a seven-point deficit to bring the scoreboard to a tie at 11 as Engelbrecht and Gonzalez put up the block. Iowa State continued to fight, remaining with the lead (21-19) as Gonzalez slammed down her ninth kill at .667 hitting. Gonzalez continued finding the floor, sending over her 11^th kill as ISU reached set point at 24-23. The second extended with three additional set points, with TCU taking it 28-26.

SET THREE

The third proved to be a close one, while a successful Iowa State challenge gave ISU the lead at 9-8. The sides kept within a point of each other before TCU went on a run of five late in the set to hold the advantage of 23-20. The Cyclones fought off two set points, but the Horned Frogs went on to win the set 25-23.

SET FOUR

A 6-0 run brought the Cyclones up 7-2 to begin the fourth. Iowa State stretched a lead to six before TCU began to claw back within three points (16-13). The Cyclones remained in control, taking the set 25-18 on Gonzalez' 19^th kill to force a fifth. Iowa State outhit TCU .414-.179 in the fourth.

SET FIVE
Gonzalez' put ISU on the board with her 20^th kill while Iowa State and TCU followed to match each other point for point up to 13-13. Duckworth and Hopp then blocked the kill to bring ISU to match point at 14-13 and sealed the five-set win with a kill by Brandt.

NEXT UP

Iowa State continues the TCU series tomorrow, Nov. 4 with the match beginning at 6 p.m.

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Team Stats

Nayeli Gonzalez

Maya Duckworth

Lilly Wachholz

Alexis Engelbrecht

Players Mentioned

Morgan Brandt

Maya Duckworth

Alexis Engelbrecht

Nayeli Gonzalez

Jordan Hopp

Lilly Wachholz

Players Mentioned

Morgan Brandt

Maya Duckworth

Alexis Engelbrecht

Nayeli Gonzalez

Jordan Hopp

Lilly Wachholz

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics