25th ranked Iowa State defeated WVU 3-0 in the Coliseum on Thursday in both teams’ first conference match of the season.
The Cyclones, who are now 10-2, traveled to Morgantown for 6 p.m. matches, on both Thursday and Friday of the week, to start the run of Big 12 matches that fill the rest of their season schedule. West Virginia, who has one non-conference match left on the calendar, dropped to 6-7 after the loss.
Iowa State outdid West Virginia with their offensive consistency, marked by smooth transitions off of the net, reliable hitting placement, and proper usage of all of of their hitters by sophomore setter Morgan Brandt, who reached 1,000 assists as a Cyclone during the match. Redshirt freshman Lilly Wachholz led the team with 12 kills in her third match in a row with 12 or more.
The Mountaineers struggled from the front row, as they hit .143, .159, and .083 in that order for each of the three sets. The team played mostly around junior OH Hailey Green, who had 42 attacks in the match for 12 kills and 10 errors on a .048 hitting percentage. Bailey Miller received a lot of opportunities from the position as well, with 24 attacks, but she failed to capitalize, finishing with five kills and six errors.
6’4″ sophomore Tierney Jackson started at the right side for the Mountaineers instead of her usual middle blocker position, and she shined from the start, with three kills in the opening set. Despite her play and freshman Emma Beretich filling in well, as she did against Robert Morris last week, the Mountaineers found themselves down by a decent margin the entire set. With the fourth kill from Wachholz, the Cyclones finished the set as quickly as it began, winning 25-17.
WVU began the second set differently, keeping the score close early and even gaining momentum with an 8-5 lead, but, as errors began to stack up and the defense began to struggle with the power of hitters like sophomore Maya Duckworth, who was a member of the All-Big 12 Second Team last season.
An eight point run from the Cyclones brought the score to 16-10 in their favor, and coach Reed Sunahara’s team could not catch up. Four points in a row from the Mountaineers, including three kills and an ace, brought the win within reach, but Wachholz finished the set 25-20, once again with a kill.
West Virginia attempted a comeback in the third set, keeping the score within three points before a run of three attack errors between Green and Miller lifted the Cyclones’ lead to 15-9. The Mountaineers brought the score within three again, down 20-17, before three team attack errors and a crucial service error from Bailey Miller secured the set and match victories for Iowa State.
The teams play each other for the second and final time of the season on Friday, as the Mountaineers attempt to even their record once again ahead of Wednesday’s match against Kansas State.
