The ISU volleyball team announced

its seven-player 2012 recruiting class on Monday, the largest

recruiting class in the Christy Johnson-Lynch era.

“I think it might be the best,”

Johnson-Lynch said when comparing this class to her previous

recruiting classes. “Sometimes you don’t know until they pan out,

but it certainly has the potential to be one of our

best.”

The Cyclones’ deep class is

highlighted by two players that ISU recruiting coordinator Trudy

Vande Berg said could have gone to any school in the

country.

Andie Malloy, a native of Allen,

Texas, is both a setter and an outside who shows her diversity by

averaging 4.20 kills, 4.70 digs and 6.10 assists per set this

season.

Malloy, a three-time state champion

in high school, is ranked as the 35th best player in the country by

PrepVolleyball.com and was the Lonestar Volleyball Player of the

Year.

Mackenzie Bigbee, a right side

hitter from Williamsburg, Iowa, is ranked just behind Malloy at No.

36 by PrepVolleyball.com, leading her Williamsburg Raiders by

averaging 5.84 kills and 3.90 digs per set her senior

season.

Bigbee was a member of the Pack Six

club team that won the 2011 USA Volleyball 18U Junior National

Championship.

“Iowa State doesn’t always get the

blue-chippers just because of who we compete against,”

Johnson-Lynch said. “To be able to get a couple kids like that in a

class, it’s pretty special, and I feel like it’s going to allow us

to take another jump up in terms of our ability to compete at the

top of the country.”

Libero Caitlin Nolan and outside

hitter Morgan Kuhrt will be the other two scholarship players next

year, Johnson-Lynch said.

Katie Gallagher, Bria Rasmussen and

Natalie Vondrak will be walk-ons in their first year at Iowa State,

but Vande Berg said they all have the ability to make an impact as

soon as they get on campus.

“We certainly didn’t plan on

bringing in that many but we had a lot of kids who really wanted to

play here,” Vande Berg said. “Athletically and volleyball-IQ wise,

I think it has to be one of our best classes. Just complete

players.”