PRIMER: ISU at No. 23 Utah, No. 14 BYU

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State opens the Big 12 schedule with a pair of ranked matchups traveling to No. 23 Utah Thursday and No. 14 BYU Saturday. ISU ended non-conference at 10-1, the best record since 2017

Thursday, Sept. 25, 8 p.m. CT, at No. 23 Utah

Live Stats | ESPN+ | Media Center | Notes

ESPN+: PxP Justin St. Louis, Analyst Linda Byington

Saturday, Sept. 27, 1 p.m. CT, at No. 14 BYU

Live Stats | ESPN+ | Media Center | Notes

By the Numbers

1 – Morgan Brandt leads all active Big 12 players with 3,078 career assists. The total ranks fourth in program history.

1 – Iowa State leads the Big 12 in kills (14.79/set), assists (13.74/set) and hitting percentage (0.307).

3 – Christy Johnson-Lynch ranks T-No. 3 all time in Big 12 history with 207 league victories.

3 – Iowa State currently ranks top 10 nationally in three categories: kills (No. 4), assists (No. 7) and hitting percentage (No. 7).

4 – Iowa State has now beaten Iowa in four-straight meetings.

5 – ISU hit at .333 or better in the first five matches of the season. The last time ISU had a stretch of five-straight .300 matches happened in in 1992.

8 – The Cyclones are 10-1 on the season, the best start in eight seasons.

The 2025 Cyclones

Iowa State went 3-0 last week at Iowa, vs. Eastern Illinois and at Illinois. Alea Goolsby earned Big 12 Rookie of the Week after leading ISU with 49 kills at 3.77 per set, and had 29 digs, 4 blocks and an ace. Goolsby had her first-career double-doubles at Iowa (17 kills, 11 digs) and Illinois (19 kills, 11 digs).

Rachel Van Gorp had the court covered totaling 56 kills at 4.31 per set last week. The libero also had 16 assists and 10 aces. Van Gorp ranks second in the Big 12 in aces (0.54 per set) and digs (4.41 per set).

Iowa State opened the season at 5-0 without losing a set before falling at UNI, 1-3. ISU was one of the three final teams nationally to begin with 15 set wins. It marked the first time in program history the Cyclones opened a season with a 15-0 set record.

ISU hit over .400 in three-straight matches (vs. Ohio, CMU, MKE), marking the first time the Cyclones have done so in program history. Iowa State had two top 10 all-time single-match hitting percentages in one day, first against CMU hitting at 0.462 (No. 7 ISU) before hitting at .457 (No. 9 ISU) at Milwaukee.

The Opponents

No. 23 Utah has been ranked as high as No. 20 this season, and secured a ranked win vs. No. 24 Dayton while taking a set at No. 1 Nebraska. Utah features three returning All-Big 12 selections on its squad. The Utes have held opponents to 0.156 hitting this season, ranking 24th nationally. The duo of Kamryn Gibadlo and Emrie Moea'i each have hit over 100 kills through 39 sets played.

No. 14 BYU ended its non-conference slate at a perfect 12-0 and is one of eight remaining unbeaten teams. The Cougars open league play hosting Colorado Thursday before meeting ISU. Cougar setter Alex Bower ranks sixth nationally averaging 11.22 assists per set, while Claire Little Chambers nears 200 kills on the season with 174. Little Chambers averages 4.35 per set, the 31st-highest average in the nation.

Next Up

Iowa State returns home next week for two matches to open the home conference slate. First up is Texas Tech Thursday, Oct. 2 at 6:30 p.m. before UCF visits Ames Saturday, Oct. 4 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available here.

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Players Mentioned

Morgan Brandt

Alea Goolsby

Rachel Van Gorp

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics