The Iowa State volleyball team opened Big 12 Conference play undefeated with back-to-back five-set victories, defeating Texas Tech on Friday, Sept. 25, before outlasting UCF on Sunday, Sept. 27.
The wins improved the Cyclones to 8-5 overall and 2-0 in Big 12 play, while head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch improved to 16-6 in conference openers during her tenure.
Iowa State launched its conference schedule in Lubbock, Texas, taking down Texas Tech (8-5, 0-1 Big 12) in five sets (19-25, 29-27, 25-23, 17-25,
15-12). The Cyclones earned the victory despite the Red Raiders posting a .329 hitting percentage, marking just the fifth time under Johnson-Lynch that Iowa State has won when an opponent hits above .300.
Nayeli Ti’a led all players with 19 kills while hitting .318, adding eight digs, four assists, two aces, and a block. Nayeli Gonzalez contributed 16 kills – including 10 in the second set alone – while libero Rachel Van Gorp anchored the defense with 30 digs.
Returning home to Ames, Iowa State maintained its perfect conference start by outlasting UCF (8-4, 0-2 Big 12) in another five-set battle (25-17, 18-25, 19-25, 26-24, 15-13). After taking the opening set, the Cyclones dropped the next two frames and saved a match point in the fourth set before rallying to force a decisive fifth frame.
In the final set, a key 5-0 run pushed Iowa State ahead before the Cyclones secured the victory on a Knight service error. Ti’a paced the offense with a match-high 20 kills, Gonzalez recorded 15 kills, and Alea Goolsby posted a double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs. Van Gorp recorded 23 digs, marking her third consecutive match with at least 20 digs.
Iowa State next heads on the road to continue Big 12 action against Arizona on Friday in Tucson and Arizona State on Sunday in Tempe.
