Omaha Challenge Primer

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State (6-0, 0-0 Big 12) continues its road stint traveling to Omaha, Nebraska to meet Omaha (0-4, 0-0 Summit) Saturday, Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. and No. 16 Creighton (5-2, 0-0 Big East) Sunday, Sept. 10 at 4 p.m.

The match against Omaha will be streamed here, but will require a subscription. Sunday's match vs. Creighton will be free to watch at this link.

Iowa State enters the Omaha Challenge after securing the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series victory, coming back after being down by two sets. Three of the four Cyclones who hit in double-figures achieved their total at an efficiency of .300 or better.

Iowa State is 6-0 to start the season, the best season-opening record since the 2017 Cyclones began 7-0. The record marks the third time under Christy Johnson-Lynch for the Cyclones to begin 6-0 or better. ISU is one of 22 undefeated teams among the nation with at least six wins this season.

The Cyclones have held opponents to a hitting average of just .125 to rank at No. 11 in the nation and No. 2 in the Big 12. ISU has held four of six opponents under .100.

With the team's average hitting percentage of .286, ISU ranks fourth in the Big 12 and 28th in the nation. Iowa State has two averaging over .400 in hitting on the season; Pam McCune at .412 and Jordan Hopp at .404. McCune ranks 4th in the Big 12 and Hopp at 5th.

Omaha

Omaha holds a record of 0-4 after meeting Texas A&M, Kansas, No. 4 Nebraska and Kansas State. Omaha played Nebraska outdoors at Memorial Stadium in front of 92,003, setting the world record for the most attended female sporting event. Kali Jurgensmeier and Shayla McCormick lead the Mavericks each with at least 30 season kills while McKenna Ruch has put up 12 blocks through the first four matches.

Iowa State leads the all-time series 8-4 and the last meeting between the teams resulted in an Iowa State sweep over Omaha in 2021. With Christy Johnson-Lynch leading the team, Iowa State is 4-0.

No. 16 Creighton

Creighton is ranked at No. 16 this week, its highest ranking so far this season. The Bluejays are 5-2 on the season and have picked up a ranked win over No. 16 Purdue, while only losing to No. 4 Nebraska in four sets and Duke in five. Creighton's Ava Martin has tallied over 100 kills this season with 111 at an efficiency of .257. Norah Sis has hit 95 at the team's highest average of 4.13 per set.

In the all-time series, Creighton leads 8-4. Iowa State last saw Creighton in the 2022 season opener where No. 18 Creighton won in three sets.

Next Up

Iowa State returns home next week for the Cyclone Invite Sept. 14-16. ISU will open the tournament with UCSB Thursday followed by Ohio on Friday. On Saturday, the Cyclones close the non-conference slate meeting Drake. Tickets are available here.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jordan Hopp

Pam McCune

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics