No. 21 Iowa State defeats Virginia 3-1 in second game of the Iowa State Challenge
Iowa State volleyball team watches the teams introduction on Aug. 24.
August 25, 2018
Iowa State defeated Virginia three sets to one in the Cyclones’ second match of the Iowa State Challenge.
The Iowa State Challenge is a four-team, round-robin tournament this weekend featuring Iowa State, Ole Miss, Oregon State and Virginia.
Last season, Virginia went 7-24 and finished second to last in the ACC.
In the first set, Iowa State won 25-18.
The Cyclones had only 7 kills as a team and a .040 hitting percentage. To compare, Iowa State had a .433 hitting percentage in their game the night before against Ole Miss.
Virginia in the first set had 10 kills, but a -.030 hitting percentage.
In the first set, Iowa State registered four blocks and Virginia had three. Against Ole Miss on Friday, Iowa State had four blocks the entire game.
Iowa State then dropped the second set 26-24.
Virginia had 16 kills and had a .286 hitting percentage to go along with 15 assists.
In contrast, the Cyclones registered 13 kills, a .235 hitting percentage and 12 assists. To add on, Iowa State recorded three more blocks to push its match total to seven.
With a 25-12 score, Iowa State recaptured a 2-1 lead in the third set.
Iowa State won the set with 16 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. The Cyclones’ setter, sophomore Piper Mauck, who had 11 assists in the set, orchestrated the Cyclones’ offense.
The defense for Iowa State shined in that set notching three more blocks and holding Virginia to 8 kills and a .031 hitting percentage.
The Cyclones finally defeated Virginia with a 25-19 score in the fourth set to capture a 3-1 victory.
Virginia improved their attack from the previous set, landing 14 kills and having a .256 hitting percentage. Iowa State recorded 16 kills and a .333 hitting percentage.
Middle blocker Grace Lazard had another dominant performance for the Cyclones, finishing with 12 kills and a .647 hitting percentage along with eight digs.
Iowa State will look to continue its solid start to the season at 6:30 p.m. against arguably the best competition it will face at the Iowa State Challenge in Oregon State.
