Panther Invite Primer

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State continues the 2025 non-conference slate traveling to Milwaukee for the Panther Invite Sept. 5-6. ISU opens with CMU and Milwaukee on Friday before meeting South Alabama Saturday.

Friday, Sept. 5, 11 a.m., vs. Central Michigan

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Friday, Sept. 5, 7 p.m., at Milwaukee

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Saturday, Sept. 6, 1 p.m., vs. South Alabama

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By the Numbers

1 – Morgan Brandt leads all active Big 12 players with 2,758 career assists. The total ranks eighth in program history.

3 – Christy Johnson-Lynch ranks T-No. 3 all time in Big 12 history with 207 league victories. She's the only active coach in the top five.

4 – Maya Duckworth stands four double-figure kill matches away from entering the ISU top 10, currently totaling 49 through her career.

6 – Pam McCune amended the record books in a big way with an errorless 11 kills on 15 swings (.733 hitting). The hitting percentage ties the sixth-highest efficiency in program history, and is the best since 2018.

The 2025 Cyclones

Iowa State got off to a 2-0 start at the Bobcat Invite with wins over Bucknell and Ohio. ISU hit over .300 in both matches, including at .434 at Ohio. The .434 hitting percentage is the the highest in six years, when the Cyclones hit at .456 vs. Appalachian State on Sept. 13, 2019. It's also the 17th time ISU has hit at .400 or better under CJL, and ranks as the 16th-best single-match mark in ISU history. After week one, Iowa State holds the highest hitting percentage (0.377) and kill average (15.50 per set) among Big 12 teams. The hitting percentage also ranks fourth nationally and the kills per set ranks seventh.

Pam McCune also leads the conference with her hitting percentage of 0.621 (No. 5 NCAA), hitting 20 kills on just 29 swings. Morgan Brandt joins McCune ranking top 10 nationally at No. 8 with 11.50 assists per set.

Freshman Alea Goolsby had a hot start in her debut vs. Bucknell, leading the match with 12 kills at .370 hitting. Goolsby also had five digs and two blocks in the sweep.

The Opponents

Iowa State and CMU last met in 1997 and will meet for the fifth time in series history. The Chippewas are led by first-year CMU head coach Arielle Wilson, a former USA National Team member, three-time AVCA All-American and four-time national champion at Penn State. Wilson spent the previous two seasons at Missouri leading the defense under head coach Dawn Sullivan, who coached at Iowa State from 2005-18. This season, CMU is 1-2 with a win over High Point and four-set losses to No. 19 BYU and Fairleigh Dickinson.

ISU meets Milwaukee for the first time since 2015 and is currently on a six-match win streak against the Panthers. Christy Johnson-Lynch is 7-1 vs. Milwaukee, while the only loss came in 2008 in five sets. Milwaukee opened its season with two matches at Omaha, a team ISU will meet at its home tournament. Milwaukee fell in straight sets in both matches.

Iowa State and South Alabama will meet for the first time. The Jaguars opened their season at LSU, winning a set against No. 20 Baylor and losing in three to LSU.

Next Up

Iowa State has a mid-week matchup in Cedar Falls to meet in-state rival UNI Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 6:30 p.m. prior to the Cyclones opening their home slate. The two will meet for the first time since 2022.

Iowa State hosts its home-opening tournament Sept. 12-14 as Saint Louis and Omaha come to Ames. Single-match tickets are now on sale at this link, while season tickets are still available here.

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Players Mentioned

Morgan Brandt

Maya Duckworth

Alea Goolsby

Pam McCune

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