BERKELEY, Calif. – After reaching the NCAA Regional Semifinal for the fifth time in six seasons, the No. 18 Cyclones (22-8, 13-3 Big 12) saw their season close on Friday with a 0-3 loss to No. 2 Stanford (30-3, 19-1 Pac-12), 16-25, 19-25, 17-25. The loss is Iowa State’s first since losing at No. 8 Texas on Oct. 17, ending a 12-match winning streak.
Sophomore outside hitter Victoria Hurtt led Iowa State in the match with seven kills, Kristen Hahn posted her fourth-straight match of 20 digs, with exactly 20 on the night, and senior Alison Landwehr had 23 assists.
In eight seasons at Iowa State, head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch has led the Cyclones to seven-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including five regional semifinals in the last six years. Iowa State has collected 20 wins in six-straight seasons under Johnson-Lynch.
Stanford’s Jordan Burgess was the only player with double-digit kills, recording 16 on .448 hitting for the Cardinal, which hit .322 on the night.
Seniors Rachel Hockaday, Alison Landwehr and Jamie Straube end their careers as some Iowa State’s most celebrated Cyclones, ranking in the top-10 in many categories in the Iowa State history books.
Decatur, Ill. native Hockaday finishes her career with the eighth-most digs in Cyclone history, tallying 1,227. Landwehr’s 23 assists against Stanford brought the St. Louis, Mo. native to a career-total of 2,862 assists, third-most in Cyclone history.
Straube, known for her offense and defense throughout her four-year career, is only the second Cyclone ever to hit .300 in her career. Straube ranks fourth in program history with 320 block assists and is fifth with 377 total blocks. A product of Tecumseh, Neb., Straube 1,269 points and 979 kills are both 10th.
Iowa State got as close as 10-12 down in the first set before Stanford pulled away, hitting .375 and halting any offensive momentum by the Cyclones, who put up a .146 hitting percentage. Burgess had five kills to lead all players and Iowa State was led in the set by Straube’s three kills.
Frustration was the theme of set two, both teams playing top-notch defense and slowing down both offenses. Close from the start, a dump kill from Landwehr gave Iowa State its first lead of the match, 11-10, before a 4-0 run by Stanford put the Cardinal on top, 14-11. The Cyclones rallied and a block by Hockaday and Tenisha Matlock tied the score at 16-all, before Stanford once again pulled away for good to take the 2-0 match lead. As the teams headed to the locker rooms, Burgess had a match-high nine kills and Matlock was tops for the Cyclone offense with five kills.
Stanford jumped to a 5-0 lead in game three before Hurtt smashed a kill to mid court to start a 7-2 run, tying the game, 7-7, and forcing a Cardinal timeout. Although they stayed within reach, the Cyclones were unable to overcome .389 hitting in the set by Stanford, led by Burgess’ seven kills.
