CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The No. 11 Iowa State volleyball team survived an attempted comeback by UNI with a 3-2 victory (25-13, 25-20, 21-25, 21-25, 15-9) Wednesday night in front of a record crowd of 6,621 at the McLeod Center. The Cyclones were able to maintain their perfect start to the season at 4-0 while the Panthers fell to 1-3 on the season.
Turning Point of the Match
The Cyclones needed to get off to a strong start in the fifth set, which they did forcing UNI into its first timeout at 3-1 in favor of ISU. The Panthers were able to stick around in the set keeping it within one, until Iowa State broke out a 4-0 run to get ahead 9-4 and bring home the victory.
Cyclone Match Ball Goes to …
Kristen Hahn. This is a tough call between Hahn and Ciara Capezio, but the tip of the cap goes to the senior libero. Hahn posted one of the best performances of her career only an hour from her home town, of Cedar Rapids. She recorded 34 digs, the second-highest total of her career, nine assists and a service ace. Part of the reason Iowa State dominated the first set was that Hahn dug 10 of UNI’s 40 attempts, 25 percent of the output.
When setter Jenelle Hudson got involved on defense, which she did with a career-high 18 digs, Hahn stepped up with her nine assists. Her emotional leadership, but composure when the Cyclones needed it helped get Iowa State home.
Capezio had the best match of her young career, posting a match-best 22 kills. She hit over .400 in the first three sets of the match, and stepped up in the fifth set with three kills.
Victoria Hurtt finished with 17 kills, including four in the fifth-set. Later on in the match, the All-American from Kansas City became the go-to choice for the Cyclone attack.
