Iowa State volleyball will look to stay undefeated going into the annual Cy-Hawk series Wednesday.
The Cyclones are coming off a successful weekend in Phoenix, where they went undefeated in the GCU Tournament. The Cyclones picked up three wins over the weekend to up their record to 5-0, taking down Arizona, Long Island and GCU.
The Cyclones have only given up three sets so far on the season while sweeping over half of their opponents.
Iowa State’s Annie Hatch picked up the tournament’s MVP award as she totaled 30 kills over the weekend. Hatch had two matches where she hit double-figures in kills. Her best match came against Long Island, where she hit .545 on the day.
Two other Cyclones earned All-Tournament honors. Freshman Nayeli Gonzalez totaled 32 kills in the tournament, which put her at 3.2 per set. She also dug 20 balls, had eight blocks and secured four aces.
The last Cyclone to earn honors was Jordan Hopp, who had six solo blocks against GCU, which tied for the third-highest in a single match by a Cyclone. She finished the tournament with 14 total blocks and 22 kills.
Iowa State’s stout defense saw it rise to top-five in the nation in opponent hitting percentage. The Cyclones held their opponents to .092 hitting percentage through the first five matchups of the season. That puts them at No. 5 in the nation and No. 1 in the Big 12.
Three Cyclones rank in the top-10 in the Big 12 in hitting percentage as well. Pam McCune is No. 3 in the Big 12 at .436, Hopp is No. 5 at .424 and Hatch is No. 7 at .368. The Cyclones will look to carry over their efficient offense and lockdown defense to Iowa City as they take on the Hawkeyes.
Iowa is 4-2 through the start of the season after falling to Sacramento State and Nevada in the opening tournament. The Hawkeyes are coming off a tournament win at the Fryfest Invitational where they swept Middle Tennessee State and South Dakota State and squeaked out a 3-2 win over Kent State.
Iowa has a star player in Caitlan Buettner, who has already amassed 90 kills on the season, putting her average at 3.91 per set. Buettner led the team in kills again against South Dakota State as she finished with 17.
The Hawkeyes are also boasting a strong defense. Iowa’s Anna Davis has a team-leading 24 blocks on the season, while Sydney Dennis is averaging 4.45 digs per set.
Iowa State has won seven of the last 10 meetings between the two teams and won the most recent Cy-Hawk match in 2022 when the Hawkeyes traveled to Ames to compete in front of one of the largest volleyball crowds in Iowa State history.
To stay undefeated, the Cyclones will have to travel to the Hawkeyes’ home turf, where the Hawks have not lost a match yet this season. The Cy-Hawk matchup is set to begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Iowa City. The match will be streamed live on the Big Ten Network+.
