MINNEAPOLIS – The No. 23 Iowa State Cyclones (23-8, 12-6 Big 12) were defeated by the No. 17 Minnesota Golden Gophers (24-9, 12-8 Big Ten) in the second round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament in straight sets (25-22, 25-21, 25-14).
The Gophers finished the regular season sixth in the Big 10 standings, sweeping a top-three team in the Big 12 in dominant fashion.
“I’ve enjoyed coaching them so much, and I thought the culture and the teamness of our group this year was as good as I’ve ever had it,” head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said. “So that made it a joy.”
Six seniors on the roster played their last game as a Cyclone: setter Morgan Brandt, middle blocker Tierney Jackson, outside hitter Maya Duckworth, middle blocker Amiree Hendricks-Walker, outside hitter/right side Faith DeRonde and defensive specialist/libero Paula Krzeslak.
Brandt
Brandt played in over 100 sets in each of her four seasons as a Cyclone.
Brandt was the Big 12 Setter of the Year in her senior season, utilized in both the 5-1 and 6-2 rotations for Iowa State.
At the conclusion of her career, Brandt led the Big 12 in assists by an active player, reaching 4,000 career assists in her final victory at Iowa State against St. Thomas.
Jackson
Jackson joined the Iowa State volleyball team for her final two seasons of her collegiate career after transferring from West Virginia.
Jackson played in over 100 sets in both her seasons at Iowa State.
Jackson was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team in 2025. The connection between Brandt and Jackson proved meaningful, as the two would often connect on a slide attack.
Duckworth
Duckworth spent all four years of her college volleyball career in Ames, totaling over 1,000 career kills as a Cyclone.
She was an AVCA All-Midwest Region First Team selection, AVCA Midwest Region Freshman of the Year and All-Big 12 Second Team in 2022.
Duckworth fought through injury in the opening weekend of the 2025 tournament. While she didn’t play in the St. Thomas match, she was grateful to be able to wear the cardinal and gold one last time against Minnesota.
“It meant everything to me, and I really appreciate Christy [Johnson-Lynch] for that,” Duckworth said. “You know, it was my last game, but I’ll never forget playing at Iowa State.”
Hendricks-Walker
Hendricks-Walker finished out her collegiate career at Iowa State after two complete seasons and a redshirt year at South Florida.
She was a member of the All-Big 12 Second Team during her redshirt junior season.
After dealing with an injury early in her final season, she stepped into a larger role to fill in for injured junior middle blocker Pam McCune.
“Playing with them was amazing,” Hendricks-Walker said. “I have never felt so much love.”
DeRonde
With the amount of injuries that the Cyclones faced the last two seasons, DeRonde was forced into a utility role for Iowa State.
Playing both in front of and behind the 10-foot line, her offensive production was greater in 2024 with 205 kills compared to the 61 in 2025. She provided the Cyclone setters a quality option to set both at the net and on back-row attacks.
“I’m just so proud of how they’ve managed this season,” Johnson-Lynch said. “Role acceptance and trust are the two big things that you ask of a team.”
Krzeslak
Krzeslak spent five seasons with the Cyclones after playing for the Polish club team Grupa Azoty Roleski PWSZ Tarnów in 2020-21.
After redshirting her initial collegiate season, Krzeslak averaged over one dig per set.
While playing the most sets of her career during her sophomore season, with 109, she played in all 30 matches for the Cyclones, starting 12 of them.
“It’s a tremendous group,” Johnson-Lynch said. “These young women are just tremendous people.”
