AMES, Iowa – The No. 19 Iowa State volleyball team (17-7, 10-3 Big 12) beat No. 20 Kansas State (21-6, 8-6 Big 12) on Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum in four sets (25-14, 23-25, 25-18, 25-15), for their seventh-straight win, a streak in which the Cyclones have dropped just two sets.
Freshman Andie Malloy had a career-high 18 kills on the night while hitting at a .343 clip. Malloy’s 18 kills were also a match-high. Sophomore Victoria Hurtt followed Malloy with 13 kills in the match as the Cyclones held Kansas State to just .072 in the match, a season-low for the Wildcats.
Reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, Kristen Hahn, collected 23 digs, just shy of 6.00 digs per set on the night, in her second-straight 20+ dig performance. Setter Alison Landwehr posted 43 assists and Jamie Straube paced the team with four block assists.
The Cyclones dominated the opening set, opening up a 12-5 lead early and never letting up. Kansas State hit .036 in the opening frame as the Cyclone defense was on point. In stark contrast to K-State’s slow start, Iowa State, exploded for a .517 percentage in the first, led by Malloy with six kills and Mackenzie Bigbee and Hurtt each added four. Iowa State out-dug the visitors, 13-4, in the set.
Kansas State fought back in a defensive battle of a second set. Both teams struggled to get their offenses going, as the Wildcats hits .130, to the Cyclones’ .109. Kansas State’s Lilla Porubek and Malloy lead their teams offensively in the set with four kills each. Straube also had two blocks assists in the set for Iowa State.
The Cyclones’ stellar defensive play continued in the third set as they retook control of the match. They shutdown the Wildcat offense, which hit .026, behind freshman Caitlin Nolan’s six digs in the set. The Wildcats didn’t make it easy on the Cyclone offense, blocking four balls, led by Kaitlynn Pelger who had three block assists.
In the final set, the Cyclones again held Kansas State below a .100 clip, as the Wildcats hit just .077. Hahn had nine of her 23 digs in the set.
Pelger led Kansas State with 12 kills in the match, but the Cyclone held her to just .091 hitting on the night.
Iowa State returns to the road on Saturday, traveling to Waco, Texas to face Baylor at 1 p.m. CST.
