Editor’s note: Iowa State’s game against UCF on Friday was canceled Tuesday due to Hurricane Milton. The Cyclone’s matchup against Houston will be the final game of the road trip. Read the Daily’s cancelation article here.
Last season, Iowa State took down then-ranked No. 21 Houston on the road. Now, the Cyclones hope to rekindle that same magic Wednesday when they take on the 7-7 Cougars. Houston recently swept Kansas State, who took down Iowa State in five sets Saturday.
The main theme for the Cyclones has been finishing. They have struggled to finish teams off after going up 2-0, and continuously have been preaching urgency to stop this from happening.
In the match against the Wildcats, junior Maya Duckworth had a career high 23 kills, totaling 19 through three sets. Duckworth hasn’t just been a force on offense, as she has been one dig shy of a double-double in her last three matches.
Senior Brooke Stonestreet continued her string of strong defensive performances with another 25-plus dig performance. This extended her streak of 25-plus dig matches to five while having a perfect reception percentage.
Before this season, Iowa State had not seen a player get to double-digit blocks in a match in five years. Sophomore Pam McCune has delivered not one, but two this year to deny the opposition.
Even though Houston is 7-7, its Big 12 matches are nothing to take lightly. The Cougars swept Kansas State, took a set from No. 9 Kansas and brought No. 22 TCU to five sets.
Houston is led by graduates Angela Grieve and Annie Cooke, with junior Avery Shimaitis on the offensive end. Grieve has 168 kills at 3.17 per set and Shimaitis has 109 kills at 2.09 per set. Setting up those hitters has been Cooke’s responsibility, who has 285 assists at 5.38 per set.
On the defensive side, the Cougars are led by graduate Kate Georgiades and redshirt junior Barakat Rahmon. Georgiades has 240 digs at 4.44 per set. Rahmon has held up the block line nicely, tallying 47 blocks at 0.87 per set.
Managing the experience Houston represents will be a challenge as 13 of the 19 players on the Cougars’ roster are upperclassmen.
The game against Houston is set at 7 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
