To say that sophomore libero Kristen Hahn has some big shoes to fill would be a bit of an understatement. 

Last year, Iowa State lost arguably its most accomplished player in school history with Ashley Mass. Throughout her career, she shattered Iowa State and Big 12 records in digs and holds both records to this day.

At this point in the season, after 11 matches, Hahn is averaging 5.65 digs per set. During Mass’s senior campaign, she had a .981 dig percentage, while Hahn is at the .944 mark so far this year.

“[Hahn is] a spark plug. She’s high-energy so I think she adds that,” said coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. “That’s what you want in a libero, someone who is intense and high-energy.”

Mass is the current holder for most career digs with 2,294 and is the only player to eclipse the 2,200 mark in Big 12 history. She also holds the record for most digs in a single game with 42 and most digs in a single season with 646 with a 5.01 average per set. 

One category that Hahn has the advantage over Mass in — attacks. Hahn has one kill to Mass, who never registered a kill in her four-year career as a Cyclone. She had the match-deciding kill against North Dakota State when her dig landed between two NDSU defenders. 

Hahn has also tallied two 30-dig matches. Her first was against Northern Illinois early in the season, which made her the ninth player in ISU history to record 30 digs in a game. That same week, Hahn was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week. 

With Hahn being able to play with Mass, she was able to learn from her throughout last season. Mass was more of the quiet leader, and while Hahn is not too vocal herself, she lets her voice be heard on the court. 

“She’s very quiet, so she helped me realize you can be great and not have to say much,” Hahn said. “I’ve always been loud with my height. Just watching her in practice and seeing what she did and how calm she was really helped me out.”

Hahn’s teammates have noticed too, that she can be a leader not only vocally, but also with how she plays on the court. 

“She brings fire. She’s a fireball,” said senior Carly Jenson. “We tell her not to try to do anything outside herself or try to fill into Mass’ shoes and be herself.”

Hahn knows that she is vocal on the court, but she knows that actions speak louder than words alone. 

“As a sophomore, it’s more so I lead by my work ethic and my performance in games,” Hahn said. 

Johnson-Lynch mentioned that Hahn is “doing everything she needs to do to become a great libero for us,” and is more than pleased with how she’s doing this year.

“She’s got some natural leadership ability,” Johnson-Lynch said. “She’s very vocal. That’s what you want in a libero and that’s her natural personality. We tell her ‘keep that energy up and keep going.'”