The No. 18 ISU volleyball team kicked off its season this Saturday with its Cardinal and Gold scrimmage at Hilton Coliseum.

Players switched teams throughout the match to provide an opportunity for everyone to play together, with the Gold team winning the match 3-1 (21-25, 25-16, 26-24, 26-24).

Redshirt freshman Hannah Willms is coming into the 2011 campaign as the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year, but freshman outside hitter Victoria Hurtt was the one who put on a show.

“Victoria Hurtt always shows up to compete and I think that’s her best attribute, so I really appreciate that about her,” said coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. “Willms can get on a roll because she’s so athletic, and toward the end of that match I thought she looked more comfortable and started to really take some nice swings, so I think both are learning a lot but both have good potential.”

Throughout the entire match, Hurtt dominated the outside, leading the team with a total of 18 kills. She also showcased her ability on the defensive side with seven digs and two solo blocks.  

“I was nervous before we started,” Hurtt said. “But it was fun, it turned out really good and I had a good time.”

Along with Hurtt’s total in kills, sophomore Hannah Johnson had 13 and Willms added 11. Sophomore libero Kristen Hahn led the way defensively with 26 digs, while freshman Taylor Goetz added 18. Preseason All-Big 12 junior Alison Landwehr led the Cyclones with 41 assists on the offensive side. 

After a long offseason of rehabbing and training, redshirt junior Rachel Hockaday made her highly anticipated return to Hilton Coliseum, tallying seven kills.

“It feels good to be back, especially to be back in Hilton,” Hockaday said. “It was a long year last year, so I’m just so thankful to be back playing with the team.”

A lot of things could be seen at Hilton on Saturday, from the young talent in Willms and Hurtt to the senior leadership and even Caitlin Mahoney’s jump-serve, but there are still a lot of things up in the air. 

“I’d give us about a C or maybe a C-,” Johnson-Lynch said. “We blocked really well so that was encouraging to see and I think we should be a really good blocking team. I think that should be our strength and it was, so that was good to see. But there are a lot of other areas where we need a lot of work. We still have a lot of question marks in terms of lineup.”

The Cyclones kick off the regular season this weekend in Dekalb, Ill., at the Northern Illinois Invitational. They will be playing Cincinnati, IUPUI and host Northern Illinois.