Cyclone Invite Primer

AMES, Iowa – No. 23 Iowa State (7-1, 0-0 Big 12) hosts the Cyclone Invite Sept. 14-16 to close the non-conference slate, meeting UCSB, Ohio and Drake.

The Cyclones begin play Thursday, Sept. 14 against UCSB at 6:30 p.m. On Friday, ISU takes on Ohio at 6:30 p.m. and the tournament closes Saturday against in-state foe Drake Saturday at 2 p.m.

Due to the soccer conference home opener, the Thursday match between Drake and Ohio is unable to be streamed and the Iowa State vs. UCSB match will be streamed on Cyclones.com and Cyclones.tv on Mediacom. All other matches will be on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

Promotions

On Thursday, faculty and staff can purchase reserved tickets for $3 at this link. Thursday against UCSB will also be the Special Olympics Match, where tickets will be $3 for Special Olympics athletes and their families. The athletes will also compete at Hilton following the match. For students, a $200 Chipotle gift card will be given away.

Friday against Ohio will be Youth Night, face painting and balloons will be available on the concourse. The Fan Fridays promotion will also be run, where five general admission tickets are $5 at this link. Free pizza will be delivered to the student section.

Saturday in the non-conference finale vs. Drake, the first-ever "Stripe Hilton" match for volleyball will happen. Gold Iowa State shirts will be given to the first 200 students.

Volleyball - Stripe Hilton

Iowa State

Iowa State entered the AVCA Coaches Poll for the first time this season at No. 23. The Cyclones hold a record of 7-1, with the loss coming from No. 16 Creighton after nearly forcing a fifth set. ISU opened the season at 7-0, the best since the 2017 Cyclones also opened at 7-0. The record makes for the third time under Christy Johnson-Lynch for the Cyclones to begin at 7-0 (2023, 2017, 2011).

Libero Brooke Stonestreet showed her defensive dominance, averaging 5.08 digs per set last week after totaling 20 at Iowa, 19 at Omaha and 27 vs. No. 16 Creighton. On the season, Stonestreet averages 4.68 per set which ranks first in the Big 12 and 47^th in the nation.

Maya Duckworth enters the tournament on a four-match double-figure hitting streak. Through last week's three matches, Duckworth totaled 38 kills at 2.92 per set.

The Cyclones have held five of their eight opponents under a hitting efficiency of .100. ISU's average opponent hitting percentage of .140 ranks 20^th nationally and second in the Big 12.

UCSB Gauchos (8-1, 0-0 Big West)

The Gauchos lone loss on the season came in a sweep by No. 6 Oregon. Michelle Ohwobete leads UCSB in kills with 113 total at 3.42 per set while Andi Kreiling leads the block with 48 total at 1.45 per set.

Iowa State and UCSB will meet for the first time.

Ohio Bobcats (5-4, 0-0 MAC)

The Bobcats have taken the victory over JMU, High Point, Butler, NDSU and William & Mary and have lost to UMBC, Dayton, UTEP and NC State. Ohio has two hitters with 100 or more kills on the season who both average over 2.60 per set, Anna Kharchynska and Caitlin O'Farrell.

The Cyclones will also meet Ohio for the first time in program history.

Drake Bulldogs (5-4, 0-0 MVC)

Drake has already met three ranked opponents this season including taking No. 12 Marquette to five sets. The Bulldogs also took a set from No. 17 Washington State and met No. 24 Western Kentucky in a three-set loss. Drake's only other loss came from a five-set match at Dayton, who now rank 25^th in this week's AVCA Poll. Drake holds a hitting percentage of .268 through nine matches, while Macy Daufeldt (122) and Taylor Oberpriller (121) lead the Bulldogs in kills. Libero Jada Wills is the national leader is digs with 6.06 per set.

Iowa State leads the all-time series 39-20 and enters the meeting on a 12-match win streak.

NEXT UP

Following the Cyclone Invite, conference play will begin. Iowa State will start on the road, meeting West Virginia for a series played Sept. 21 and 22.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Maya Duckworth

Brooke Stonestreet

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics