ISU Wins in Four vs. EIU

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Iowa State (9-1, 0-0 Big 12) opened competition in Champaign with a four-set win over Eastern Illinois (6-3, 0-0 OVC) by set scores of 25-22, 21-25, 25-14, 25-20 Friday night.

Iowa State fell behind by as much as seven in the first set, but rallied back to take the match lead. Eastern Illinois then held the lead throughout the second to tie the match up, while ISU responded holding EIU to 14 points in the third. Iowa State controlled the fourth to seal up the victory.

Alea Goolsby extended her double-figure kill streak to three matches as the rookie hit 13 on the night at .370 hitting, totaling her sixth match this season with 10 or more. Despite just missing out on double figures Amiree Hendricks-Walker had herself a night with an errorless nine kills on 14 swings (0.643 hitting), also putting up two blocks.

Rachel Van Gorp had another stellar performance at libero with 15 digs, four assists and three aces. Van Gorp puts up her 15th match in a row with 10 or more digs.

SET ONE
ISU called an early timeout after EIU got off to a 10-5 start, and the Cyclones battled to trim the Panther's lead down to two (16-14) after a strong run of four. Goolsby's fourth kill brought Iowa State within one at 20-19, while Maya Duckworth laid down her third to tie things at 22. The run continued with Lilly Wachholz laying down a kill to make it 25-22, completing the Cyclone comeback.

SET TWO

Eastern Illinois again began with the advantage, but the Cyclones didn't let the lead get too far out of reach as Duckworth and Hendrick's-Walker put up a wall keeping things within a pair (10-8). At the media timeout, EIU brought it back to a four-point set at 15-11. ISU then won a challenge to reverse the score to 18-15, but the Panthers went on to find 20 points as the Cyclones held 17. EIU took the set 25-21 to knot up the match.

SET THREE

A powerful kill from Nayeli Ti'a set the tone early on, with the Cyclones taking the lead from there. Goolsby entered double figures in the set with her 10th kill, while ISU pressed on to win the race to 20 at 20-13. Iowa State outhit the Panthers .478-.057 in the frame, retaking the match lead by a set score of 25-14.

SET FOUR

The fourth opened with even scoring and remained close, while Hendricks-Walker came alive notching her seventh kill without an error on 12 swings to make it 10-9, ISU. The Cyclones remained in front while Goolsby had yet another dominant kill to put the scoreboard at 20-16, and Iowa State carried on sealing the victory at 25-20 on a Ti'a ace.

NEXT UP
ISU closes non-conference tomorrow meeting Illinois at 5:30 p.m. The match will be televised on Big Ten Network.

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Team Stats

Alea Goolsby

Amiree Hendricks-Walker

Maya Duckworth

Nayeli Ti'a

Players Mentioned

Maya Duckworth

Alea Goolsby

Amiree Hendricks-Walker

Nayeli Ti'a

Rachel Van Gorp

Lilly Wachholz

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics