AMES — After taking down Texas Tech to snap its six-game losing streak, Iowa State travels to Arizona State to take on the No. 9 Sun Devils.
The play of junior Faith DeRonde and redshirt sophomore Lilly Wachholz will need to be at an all-time high if they want to upset Arizona State.
Both outside hitters have been atop Iowa State’s kills in most matches. Wachholz ranks first in kills with 240 at 2.64 per set for the team, and DeRonde ranks fourth with 170 kills at 1.73 per set.
During the losing streak, Iowa State struggled on offense but finally was able to rekindle some early season magic to get it going in the last match. The Cyclones had 49 kills at a .307 hitting percentage.
This was the fourth match of the entire season where the Cyclones hit over .300.
Service errors were another point of emphasis, and that point was addressed. Iowa State had only two service errors compared to the 14 against Colorado.
With its win against Texas Tech, Iowa State head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch is now third in Big 12 history with 207 conference wins.
The main problem for Iowa State to solve will be Arizona State’s Claire Jeter, Geli Cyr and Savannah Kjolhede.
Jeter ranks first in the Big 12 in hitting percentage at .425 and Kjolhede ranks seventh at .364. Cyr is seventh in the Big 12 in kills with 320 at 3.64 per set.
Arizona State sits atop the Big 12 standings with a 26-2 record and is on a 14-match win streak. Its only conference loss came against then-No. 19 Baylor and its only non-conference loss was then-No. 5 Nebraska.
Arizona State head coach JJ Van Niel is in his second season and boasts a record of 54-9, whereas, on the other side of the court, Johnson-Lynch is in her 20th season and has a record of 380-215.
Iowa State is 0-1 vs top 10 teams this season and is 9-67 during Johnson-Lynch’s Tenure. Iowa State’s last top-10 win came against No. 1 Texas during the 2022 season.
The match against the Sun Devils is set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday and will be live-streamed on ESPN+.
