Two Iowa State Cyclones have earned 2020 Big 12 Preseason Honors: senior middle blocker Candelaria Herrera and junior right side player Eleanor Holthaus.

Herrera and Holthaus were two of 13 players from the nine Big 12 volleyball teams and Holthaus was one of eight unanimous selections.

Herrera led the Cyclones in hitting percentage with a .314 clip, which finished tied for fifth in the Big 12 with Texas’ Logan Eggleston.

In her junior season, Herrera scored 307 points, which finished third on the team behind then-freshman outside hitter Annie Hatch, who had 308 points and Holthaus, who had 361.5 points.

Herrera hit 238 kills last season, finishing fourth behind Josie Herbst, who hit 252 kills, Hatch with 280 and Holthaus with 308.

Herrera earned a spot on the 2019 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Midwest Region Team and the 2019 All-Big 12 First Team last season.

She also earned a bronze medal at the 2019 Pan-American Games with the Argentina National Volleyball Team and would’ve had the opportunity to play in the 2020 Summer Olympics had it not been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Holthaus was one of eight unanimous selections for the 2020 Preseason All-Big 12 Team.

Last season, Holthaus finished sixth in the Big 12 in points with 361.5 and seventh in the Big 12 in kills per set with 3.18.

She earned a spot on the AVCA All-Midwest Region Team and All-Big 12 First Team in 2019. She earned MVP honors at the 2019 Cy-Hawk Series Tournament and the Appalachian Invitational.

Holthaus earned a Big 12 Player of the Week honor after hitting 19 kills in a 3-1 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners on Nov. 15.

She led the Cyclones in double-digit kill matches last season with 16 out of the 27 matches she played.

The 2019 Big 12 Preseason Media will be released on Tuesday, according to a Monday news release by the Big 12.