With the ISU volleyball season set to start at the UND Classic on Aug. 30 in Grand Forks, N.D., ISU coach Christy Johnson-Lynch is excited about the talent her team will have on the floor.

The still-lingering concern is what the Cyclones have lost. 

“We lost a lot of good players who are very experienced. We lost some great ball handlers and of course an All-American setter,” Johnson-Lynch said. “We are working to replace that.”

The Cyclones had four seniors on the team last season including Alison Landwehr, who was 21st in the nation with 11.32 assists per set.

Rachel Hockaday, who had 335 digs last season, and Jamie Straube, who became only the second Cyclone to hit .300 in her career, both move on from last season’s team. Taylor Knuth also graduated. 

Setter and outside hitter Andie Malloy, who was set to enter her sophomore season for Iowa State, added to the team’s list of departures when she chose to transfer this summer. 

“She’s been really homesick since she got here,” Johnson-Lynch said. “She felt a calling to go back closer to home.” 

Kristen Hahn, who will be one of the Cyclones’ leaders this year as one of just two seniors, was surprised to see Malloy leave.

“I wish the best for her, and we’re moving forward here, and I think we’re making good connections with our freshmen,” Hahn said. “I know that being close to home is really important to her.”

Hahn said she believes the hole left by Malloy will mean larger roles for others. 

“I think [Malloy leaving] gives other people the ability to expand their roles, [for example] Morgan Kuhrt, Mackenzie Bigbee,” Hahn said. “There might be a little more pressure on them, but I think they’re willing and ready to step into that role and just as experienced and ready.”

That being said, the Cyclones’ preseason ranking of No. 15 sounds about right to Johnson-Lynch.

“If I were looking at us from the outside, I would think: ‘They’re replacing a setter; they lost a great middle blocker; they had a transfer; there are some question marks out there,'” Johnson-Lynch said. “So I think it’s about right, and I think it could move one way or the other quite a bit over the next few months.”

Considering how much the Cyclones have lost, Johnson-Lynch said the team get its high ranking based on its reputation and its previous season.

“If you look at who we’ve lost — if you look carefully — you think ‘I’m not quite sure how they’re going to start out the season,” Johnson-Lynch said. “I think we have the potential to be a top-10 team. That’s the talent we have.

“To do that we’ve got to have some of our younger players emerge.”