During Iowa State’s volleyball media day press conference, coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said that her current team will be one of the deepest she’s ever had and the team is full with players battling for spots.

She said that part of the reason is the talent of newcomers including members of the freshman class. She also mentions the name “Candelaria.”

On May 17, the Iowa State volleyball team announced the acquisition of sophomore Florida A&M transfer Candelaria Herrera, who will be eligible to play immediately.

As a freshman for the Rattlers, Herrera was won MEAC Rookie of the year and was named to the All-MEAC First Team as a middle blocker.

Herrera said that part of the reason for her departure from Florida A&M was a failure to live up to her expectations.

“I came to the United States with a lot of expectations and purpose and one of those is improving my volleyball and getting my degree, so my other university was not achieving that,” Herrera said.

Herrera said that during her time at Florida A&M she had heard of Iowa State and was impressed with the Iowa State program when she visited.

At that position, Herrera had a .354 hitting percentage, averaged 2.69 kills per set and .89 blocks per set.

According to Johnson-Lynch, it has been Herrera’s blocking prowess, physicality and energy that have impressed her the most. Johnson-Lynch described Herrera’s block as “crazy dominant” and believes that that trait combined with Herrera’s energy and work ethic will make her an exciting player to watch.

Senior Grace Lazard also said that she has been impressed by the skills and work ethic of Herrera.

To compare, Lazard, who played middle blocker for the the Cyclones, had a .279 hitting percentage, averaged 2.41 kills per set and 1.19 blocks per set.

Prior to her collegiate career, Herrera, a San Juan, Argentina native, played on several Argentinian national teams including most recently at the 2015 U18 World Championships and at the 2015 U20 Pan-American Cup.

Despite a successful freshman campaign, Herrera will be changing positions for the Cyclones and will move to outside hitter on the left side. The left side being a position Herrera has never played before and the fact that she is learning a new offense, Herrera has said that she has experienced some growing pains.

“So, there are some days when it clicks for her and, man, she’s just dominate and there’s some days you can see her having to learn this new position and take all this information in,” Johnson-Lynch said.

With that in mind, Herrera said that while practice has been challenging and she knows she has a lot to learn she is excited to continue to practice hard and improve as a player.

Despite learning a new position, Lazard said that Herrera hasn’t been afraid to push for the starting spot at outside hitter and the competition that Herrera and other Cyclones players bring has helped improve the team.

“That’s what we need right now in our program, players who are just ready to get a step in,” Lazard said. “Sometimes [competition is] what you need, sometimes you don’t realize how much better you can be until your challenged or pushed.”

Herrera’s desire for competition doesn’t stop in the practice facility as she has said that she is excited for the level of competition she will be facing in the Big 12 as compared to the MEAC, but said that playing in the MEAC was a good learning opportunity for herself.

Herrera said that the Iowa State weight program has helped bring her game to another as she has said that she feels stronger and has a better shape entering her sophomore season at Iowa State compared to her freshman season at Florida A&M.

In addition, Johnson-Lynch said that she is impressed with the personality that Herrera brings to the team.

“She’s so impressive, she’s so thoughtful, you just love being around her,” Johnson-Lynch said. “We love having those kind of players. We’ll take all those [players] we can get and then you put that in a six-two frame who’s pretty physical, she’s got a great arm, that’s pretty fun to work with.”

With Herrera’s aforementioned skills, work ethic and personality, it is hard not to envision her growing into one of Iowa State’s top volleyball players.