ISU volleyball’s spring season is all about improving, and the weekend provided another step in that process.

The spring season made its way to Ames during the weekend for the annual Iowa State Spring Tournament, which featured five teams in five, two-set matches. The Cyclones were coming in hot, having won all 10 of their sets in the Northern Iowa tournament on April 11 and taking three of four sets in Iowa City on April 4.

The Cyclones continued that streak and took seven sets of the 10 they played in the tournament, but for head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch, her team’s play was “average.”

“There were stretches where I thought that we were really good and there were individuals that were good for stretches,” Johnson-Lynch said. “I don’t know if I can say that there was anyone that was good all day, and that’s what we’re trying to get to.”

One thing that wasn’t average was the team’s serving, notching 28 service aces on the day. The team had multiple aces in the final game against North Dakota State on its way to 25-19 and 25-14 wins. Ciara Capezio and Monique Harris each had two aces in a row at one point in the game to boost the count.

Newcomer Grace Lazard was impressed.

“Our serving [was] very strong,” Lazard said. “We are a very good serving team. If everyone can get an ace in a game, then we are doing really well.”

Lazard, a freshman recruit from London, has played three weekends with the team so far. In the first two competitions of the spring, Lazard has performed well. The team is also trying to move her from middle blocker to the right side.

Lazard is happy with the way she has played but feels like she still has some work to do.

“I feel like I have a lot to remember, especially playing middle and right side,” Lazard said. “Just remember to find space and hit high and not always try to hit the ball down. But I do feel a lot more comfortable.”

At the beginning of the spring season, Johnson-Lynch wanted to focus on her team’s setting and blocking and those aspects were on full display Saturday.

The team had a 0.273 hitting percentage on the day with Capezio leading the charge with 27 kills. Johnson-Lynch mentioned that setting was an integral part to that game.

The team’s blocking was important in the Cyclones’ defense that only allowed a 0.115 opponents’ hitting percentage. Tory Knuth had a team-leading five blocks.

Although Iowa State’s blocking numbers have improved during the spring, Johnson-Lynch wants to see more.

“We did OK in blocking today,” Johnson-Lynch said. “Numbers-wise, we are blocking more per game but I don’t know if that was the case today. I think we are getting there. We have one more week, so we want to take another step.”

Recap of the tournament.