Ames Today

Iowa State University’s women’s volleyball team secured a four-set victory over the University of Central Florida (UCF) on Saturday in Ames, improving their season record to 13-2 and their Big 12 conference mark to 3-1. The match ended with set scores of 25-27, 25-15, 25-23, and 25-20.

After dropping the first set in a close contest, Iowa State rebounded in the second set. Tierney Jackson led a strong serving performance by achieving a new career-high of five aces—all within that set. The Cyclones finished the match with ten total aces, marking the 25th time under head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch that Iowa State has served at least ten aces in a match.

Alea Goolsby extended her streak of matches with double-digit kills to eight, leading all players with sixteen kills. Teammates Pam McCune and Nayeli Ti'a also contributed double-digit kills with ten and twelve respectively. McCune recorded her ten kills while hitting .318 and added three blocks on defense.

Libero Rachel Van Gorp continued her consistent defensive play by reaching her twentieth consecutive match with at least ten digs, collecting sixteen against UCF.

The opening set saw several lead changes before UCF claimed it 27-25. In the second set, back-to-back aces from Jackson helped tie the score early before Iowa State pulled ahead during a run that included Jackson’s fifth ace. The Cyclones controlled the remainder of the set for a decisive win.

Freshman Reagan Hanfelt delivered an ace early in the third set as Iowa State built an advantage before holding off a late push from UCF to win 25-23. In the fourth set, Maya Duckworth contributed key serves while McCune provided three consecutive kills to help regain momentum for Iowa State. Despite UCF winning a challenge late in the frame, Iowa State closed out both the set and match.

Head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said: “Alea Goolsby kept her double-figure kill streak going strong with her eighth in a row, while totaling her 11th match this season with 10-plus.”

Iowa State will next face Kansas State on Wednesday, October 8 before continuing their road trip against No. 18 Kansas on Friday, October 10.