CORALVILLE – Iowa State narrowly defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 3-2 Wednesday night in its first five-set thriller of the season.
According to head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch, the match was not only a testament to the team’s “resilience and willingness to adjust,” but a chance to work with new blocking schemes and work new faces into the rotation.
“I think we did a really good job late in the match of staying aware of our surroundings and playing hard,” Johnson-Lynch said. “There were a lot of things that we hadn’t practiced, and I think we kept our composure throughout the match.”
Redshirt senior middle blocker Amiree Hendricks-Walker played her first complete game this season, making an appearance for the majority of all five sets. Hendricks-Walker led the team in blocks with six and assisted blocks with five.
“We’ve used [Hendricks-Walker] in a lot of different ways,” Johnson-Lynch said. “We’ve had some trouble in a few different rotations, so trying our players in some new spots is giving us a better idea of what we have going forward.”
Sophomore setter Ava Martin played her first full game this season, second only to senior Morgan Brandt in assists. Martin recorded 13 total assists and two aces to Brandt’s 44.
“Some nights [Martin] is in to serve and others it’s to set,” Johnson-Lynch said. “It’s really a case-by-case basis depending on what we need from each rotation.”
Redshirt junior Nayeli Ti’a found her way back into the lineup after debuting in cardinal and gold against Saint Louis earlier this season. Ti’a ended the night with nine digs, her second-highest margin of the season.
Three of the five Cyclone starters ended the match with ten or more kills: freshman Alea Goolsby with 17, Hendricks-Walker with 15 and redshirt junior right side Lilly Wachholz with 14.
Iowa State led a strong fifth-set comeback thanks to block assists from Goolsby and junior middle blocker Pam McCune.
“Our response says it all,” Goolsby said. “This is such a tough game, and it was exciting to go on the road and get another win.”
A quick sequence from two familiar faces, Brandt and Wachholz, ended the contest as Brandt’s 44th assist of the match found the right hand of Wachholz. Brandt also surpassed 3,000 career assists.
“We’re really finding our strengths,” Wachholz said. “There were some great strides made on the blocking defense and we’ll continue to work on it as the season progresses.”
