Iowa State volleyball bounces back, defeats Kansas State in four sets

Senior Jess Schaben (left), sophomore Candelaria Herrera (middle), and Freshman Eleanor Holtaus (right) go to block the ball at the Iowa State vs. Texas volleyball game at the Hilton Coliseum on Oct. 24. The Cyclones fell to the Longhorns in three sets.

Spencer Suckow

Iowa State moves to 12-11 on the season and 5-5 in Big 12 conference play with the win over the Wildcats. It’s also the Cyclones fourth win in the last five games, and second win over Kansas State in two weeks.

The first set was controlled by the Cyclones nearly the entire way. With the set tied at three, Iowa State pulled off a 7-0 run to push the lead to 10-3. From there, the Wildcats could get no closer than five points, as Iowa State eventually pulled away for a 25-15 set win. 

The stats certainly reflected Iowa State’s dominance, as the Cyclones hit at a .333 percent clip while holding Kansas State to a .077 hitting percentage.

Kansas State did come back to tie up the match, however, led by eight kills apiece from Elle Sandbothe and Alyssa Schultejans. As a team, the Wildcats were vastly improved on the attack in the second set, with a hitting percentage of .324 percent. 

It looked for a time as if Kansas State would steal the third set as well. After going back and forth for much of the set, the Wildcats took a 24-22 lead late. However, Iowa State went on a 4-0 run to take the it 26-24, thanks to two kills from Jess Schaben and an additional kill from Candelaria Herrera.

The Cyclones wouldn’t look back from there. After falling behind 4-0 to begin the fourth, Iowa State went on a 6-0 run to take a lead that was only briefly relinquished.

With the set tied at six, Iowa State slowly started to pull away thanks to a series of small runs. Up 20-14, Iowa State ended the set on a 5-1 run to take the match in four sets.

Leading the way offensively for the Cyclones were seniors Grace Lazard and Jess Schaben, who finished with 17 and 16 kills respectively. Junior right side hitter Josie Herbst also added 13 kills, and Iowa State as a team finished with a hitting percentage of .307 percent.

Defensively, Lazard led the team in blocks with five, while sophomore libero Izzy Enna led the team in digs with 19. Schaben and Hali Hillegas also added 13 apiece.

The Cyclones will now have a week off before playing Baylor on Saturday, November 3 in Waco.