The Iowa State volleyball team is set to face UTEP, South Dakota and Montana State over the weekend. The Cyclones will ride the play of sophomore Nayeli Gonzalez, junior Maya Duckworth and junior Morgan Brandt.
Iowa State is 3-1 in its last four matches, but head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch has seen improvement in her team’s performance.
“Sometimes we are messing up the easy plays,” Johnson-Lynch said. “We’ve had trouble stopping opposing hitters and knowing where the ball is going. We’ve got to watch film on what we are missing there, because when you know where the ball is going you should at least be able to get a touch, a dig or slow them down a little bit.”
Duckworth and Gonzalez were incredible on attack during the last four games. Gonzalez tallied a team-high 18 kills against Iowa and Duckworth added multiple double-digit kill games to her name.
Freshman Rachel Van Gorp has been a constant at the libero for the Cyclones. She has had double-digit kills in every game this season. Johnson-Lynch talked about the freshman’s impressive start and what she means to the team.
“She’s critical,” Johnson-Lynch said. “The libero position is critical in volleyball. When she and Brooke [Stonestreet] are in the game, it is very hard to get a kill. Their defense, passing, ball handling and IQ are important.”
Iowa State will face UTEP first at 4 p.m. Friday. The Miners are led by Ema Uskokovic, Kaya Weaver and Kalia Kohler. Uskokovic has 60 kills at 3.16 kills per set, Weaver has 48 kills with only eight errors and Kohler leads the team in assists with 106.
The Cyclones will then turn their attention to South Dakota. The Coyotes are led by Kylen Sealock, Avery Van Hook and Audrey Nelson. Sealock leads the team with 68 kills at four kills per set and Van Hook leads the team with 170 assists at 10.83 assists per set. On the defensive side, Nelson has been holding it down with 13 blocks and zero block errors.
The weekend will finish against Montana State. The Bobcats are led by Madilyn Siebler, Nellie Stevenson and Jourdain Kamps. Siebler leads the team in kills with 52 at 2.60 per set, Stevenson leads in assists with 152 at 8.44 per set and Kamps has been a wall with 21 blocks at 1.17 per set.
After the South Dakota Classic, Iowa State will head east to face Colgate and Syracuse before conference play against West Virginia begins Sept. 28.
