AMES — Iowa State’s first road game in Big 12 play will be in Manhattan, Kansas, to take on Kansas State at 4 p.m. Saturday.
In the Cyclones last match, they had a convincing win over 10-2 Cincinnati to improve to 8-5 overall and 2-0 in Big 12 play. This time, Iowa State takes on a weaker team in terms of record, facing off against 3-9 Kansas State.
The Cyclones lead the all-time record against the Wildcats 57-44, but Kansas State swept the Cyclones 3-0 the last time they faced off.
Iowa State was back at full strength against the Bearcats after sophomore Nayeli Gonzalez and freshman Rachel Van Gorp were sidelined for a few games each.
Gonzalez, the Cyclones leader in kills per set, was still getting back into the swing of things. She had six kills in four sets, her lowest mark of any match this year.
Van Gorp picked up right where she left with an impressive defensive match. She totaled 13 kills in four sets, playing at a slightly lesser rate compared to her 3.73 digs per set average.
As for the Wildcats, graduate student Aliyah Carter is the main player to keep an eye on. She has 170 kills and has added 79 digs on the season as Kansas State’s primary outside hitter. Her accolades and awards book are full, including being named All-Big 12 First-Team and AVCA Midwest All-Region First-Team three times each.
The Wildcats will enter Saturday with a 1-2 Big 12 record, most recently losing to Texas Tech in four sets. The Cyclones enter Saturday on a two-match win streak, looking to stay undefeated in conference play.
A common theme that head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch has been looking to address since the start of the year is to be able to finish matches with the same mentality they start with. In non-conference play, Iowa State had three matches in which they lost in five sets. One of those was against Illinois, where the Cyclones had a 2-0 lead to begin the match.
It seems as though the tides are turning with the start of conference play. Despite going up 2-0 against West Virginia and allowing them to win the next two and tie it up, Iowa State was able to withstand and prevent the comeback.
Against Cincinnati, the match trajectory seemed eerily similar to that of the Mountaineers. However, the Cyclones hit reset going into the fourth set and were able to get the job done before the fifth set.
A commanding three or four-set win against Kansas State could solidify Iowa State as a contender in the Big 12 that only has three undefeated teams left in conference play.
The Cyclones head into Manhattan, Kansas, with a two-match win streak, looking to extend it to three against the Wildcats on Saturday.
