LAS VEGAS – Iowa State (1-1, 0-0 Big 12) fell to the home team UNLV (2-0, 0-0 Mountain West) in the Cyclones second five setter of opening weekend by scores of 25-15, 23-25, 25-20, 18-25, 13-15.
The defense held UNLV to .100 or lower in two sets including at a negative clip in the first, but UNLV fought back to win the second and fourth on its way to the victory. Iowa State put up 16 total blocks, with seven in the first set alone, compared to UNLV’s eight through the night.
Pam McCune had a career night of nine total block with one solo and eight block assists. Her block assist total is a career high for the sophomore. McCune came one block shy of a blocks-kills double-double as she sent over 11 kills at .429 hitting, also a career high. Amiree Hendricks-Walker and Maya Duckworth also led the blocking effort with seven each.
Nayeli Gonzalez had another double-digit kill night with 17, extending her match streak to four dating back to last season. It is the sophomore’s 20th career 10-plus kill match. Lilly Wachholz joined McCune and Gonzelez in double figures with 10 kills.
Freshman Rachel Van Gorp led the match with 19 digs, tying her previous high set in yesterday’s season opener. Brooke Stonestreet also had double-figure digs with 10.
SET ONE
An early scoring run aided ISU in taking a lead of 6-2, featuring kills by a trio of Cyclones and an ace by Morgan Brandt. Iowa State scored with kills by seven different Cyclones early on to produce an advantage of 13-7. Iowa State continued to hold the momentum, reaching 20 points on account of a block by Hendricks-Walker and Gonzalez. The ISU defense shined, totaling seven blocks and holding UNLV to -.022 hitting in the frame to win it 25-15.
SET TWO
UNLV fought back in the second, taking a lead of 15-13 at the media timeout while hitting over .500. Out of the timeout, ISU tied things at 17s after kills by McCune and Lilly Wachholz. UNLV would then take a lead of 22-19, causing an Iowa State timeout. ISU brought it back within one (23-22) after a kill and a block, but UNLV took the set 25-23 to even the match score.
SET THREE
The home team got out to a 6-1 start, but Iowa State would claw back within a point at 7-6 after a block, ISU’s 10th, by Duckworth and Hendricks-Walker. Another Cyclone block at 12-11 gave ISU its first lead of the set and Iowa State would find 20 points (20-16) after a tip kill by Wachholz. UNLV fought off set point twice, but ISU would come away with the set by a score of 25-20 hitting at .320 through the third.
SET FOUR
The Rebels would put the first three points on the board and remained in front at 9-5 as the Cyclones called a timeout. UNLV continued its run out of the timeout, extending it to five straight making it 11-5. Both teams hit at .300 or greater as Iowa State came back within four (14-10), buy UNLV held on to the lead to force a fifth with a set score of 25-18.
SET FIVE
Gonzalez delivered her 17th kill to for Iowa State’s first point of the set, sparking a run of three to tie it at 3s. Iowa State earned its first lead at 7-6 and after a tie at 7s, a successful UNLV challenge followed to flip the lead to 8-7 in favor of the Rebels. The set remained close, but the home team sealed the win by a fifth set score of 15-13.
UP NEXT
Iowa State hosts the home-opening Cyclone Invite Sept. 5-8 featuring Toledo, Wake Forest and Illinois. Following the tournament, ISU hosts the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series Wednesday, Sept. 11 at 6:30 p.m.
