In a night that was similar to the previous, Iowa State once again had to weather a storm in the second and third sets of its victory against North Carolina on the night of Friday, Nov. 30.

The No. 15-seeded Cyclones (22-7, 13-3 Big 12) defeated the Tar Heels (26-6, 16-4 ACC) in five sets (25-22, 18-25, 23-25, 25-16, 15-13) Friday night at Hilton Coliseum to earn a berth in the Sweet 16. The win against North Carolina also gave Iowa State its 12th consecutive win, a school record.

Getting that win, however, proved easier said than done as productivity in the second set waned for the Cyclones. Iowa State’s hitting percentage went from .277 in the first set to .121 while being blocked five times.

“It looked pretty dismal there for a while in a sense; you could tell even the body language they were trying to be positive, but for a while there it was feeling like we’re trying but it’s just not happening,” said ISU coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. “Our team just hung in there and kind of weathered that storm until we could kind of get it going again.”

Johnson-Lynch saw Iowa State’s effort, even in the sets lost, as a “really gutsy performance by the Cyclones.” In the second set, North Carolina was able to jump out to a 7-2 lead and not look back.

UNC coach Joe Sagula felt that the key to his team jumping out to a controlling lead in that set was its ability to halt ISU attacks at the net with blocks.

“Both Kayla Berringer and obviously Chaniel Nelson just got hot,” Sagula said. “They did a good job on our right side. I thought we served a little bit tougher and it made it a little more difficult for Iowa State to score some points. We knew they were going to do a good job getting the ball to their middles and we slowed that down a little bit but they came back and did a really good job.”

Outside hitter Rachel Hockaday knew going into the match that North Carolina was a good team and that there were many problems that seemed to hit Iowa State in a variety of different ways all at once in set two.

“They’re a very good defensive team,” Hockaday said. “We knew going in that we had to play a tough match to win. I think partly it was [their defensive effort], but partly it was a little internal. We were making some errors that we normally don’t make and just weren’t being totally ourselves.”

Freshmen gain valuable tournament experience

On a night where Iowa State’s back seemed to be against the wall, Johnson-Lynch felt confident relying on the bench for contribution.

With middle blocker Jamie Straube still hampered by an ankle injury she suffered against I-P Fort Wayne on Thursday night, redshirt freshman middle blocker Tory Knuth took her place in the lineup midway through the second set against North Carolina.

Knuth responded well to the high-pressure situation, earning seven kills and a .545 hitting percentage with two block assists and two solo blocks.

“I think one of my favorite things in the world is when players come off the bench and perform under pressure,” Johnson-Lynch said. “There’s not much more pressure than what Tory had to experience tonight but she’s done it all season. That was kind of the expectation. She’s come in several times throughout the season and always had a nice impact.”

It is the time of year when depth is important on any roster. If Iowa State is to make a deep tournament run, it will have to continue to utilize that depth that libero Kristen Hahn believes is a valuable experience not just for Knuth, but all of the freshmen.

“I remember my freshman year having just a little bit of experience and how far that takes you,” Hahn said. “Especially these huge games. We had freshmen playing these huge games. Next year, that’s going to be so helpful. They’re coming up big time and that’s huge; couldn’t ask for more.”