While 64 teams are preparing for the 2000 Division I Women’s Volleyball Championships that start today, the ISU volleyball team is at home here preparing for the upcoming finals week.

Faced with yet another rebuilding year, the team failed to live up to their own expectations in a season that saw starting setter, Sara Stribe, go down to injury about mid-season and 22 consecutive losses to end the 2000 campaign.

The Cyclones finished the season with a 2-27 record while failing to win a game in the Big 12 conference ending with a 0-20 mark.

Senior middle blocker Stacy Nicks garnered the most playing time for Iowa State seeing action in 98 games. Nicks completed a successful final season leading the team in kills (256) bringing her career total to 776.

The 6-foot 3-inch senior has been a steady performer for the Cyclones over the years and will go down in the books as one of the better blockers in ISU history.

Nicks ended the season with 112 blocks, including 31 solo stops good for a 1.17 blocks per game average. Nicks currently ranks fifth on the ISU all-time block assists chart with 265 for her career. She is also seventh on the career solo blocks chart at Iowa State with 82.

Redshirt junior Nanette Allen also saw her career come to a close this season.

The Pasco, Wash. native had a productive year recording 191 kills and 177 digs in 85 games.

This year’s totals bring her career mark to 461 kills and 408 digs in three seasons of action.

Both Nicks and Allen have played their last games in a Cyclone uniform and will graduate in the spring.

Sophomore Sarah Rollman had a solid year exceeding the 200 mark in both kills (217) and digs (211) becoming the only Cyclone volleyball player this season to surpass the 200 mark in both kills and digs.

As a team, the Cyclones were outhit for the season. Iowa State totaled 1,005 kills on the season while its opponents recorded 1,547. Hitting percentage was also tipped in the opponents favor with opposing teams hitting .266 to the Cyclones .110.

Blocking continued to be a strong asset in Iowa State’s attack with the team outblocking its opponents 225.5 to 214.5 for the year.

The season wasn’t without its highpoints as three Cyclone players finished the season named to the Academic All-Big 12 team.

First team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.2 or better grade point average and who have participated in over 60 percent of the scheduled matches, while second team members must have a 3.0 to 3.19 GPA and have appeared in 60 percent of the team’s matches.

Nicks, Rollman and Stribe all earned first-team recognition. Nebraska and Texas A&M led all schools placing seven members a piece on the team.

Although Nicks and Allen brought a lot of leadership and steady play to the volleyball team, Iowa State will return a strong nucleus from this year’s squad, hoping to establish the Cyclones as a team to be contended with in the Big 12 in 2001.

Rollman and Stribe will be back, and with the entire team composed mostly of freshmen and sophomores this season, the Cyclones will be looking to build off a disappointing season next year.