Iowa State pulls off nailbiter over Wake Forest – Iowa State Daily

AMES – Maya Duckworth may not have been on the court for the first set and a half, but she wasted no time making her presence known. Duckworth was a force to be reckoned with, as she tallied up a team high 13 kills leading Iowa State to a 3-2 win in a nailbiter against Wake Forest.

“I think it’s the crowd and my teammates believing in me,” Duckworth said. “I just knew when I went out there, they all had my back, and I had theirs.”

Van Gorp gets things rolling

Freshman Rachel Van Gorp got the Cyclones rolling when she pulled off three straight aces in set one. Redshirt sophomore Kiersten Schmitt was off to another hot start finishing set one with four kills, an ace and a block.

Van Gorp has quickly cemented herself in the lineup. Iowa State head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch talked about the poised freshman’s start to the season.

“She’s really skilled, and just has a very high volleyball IQ,” Johnson-Lynch said. “She understands the game and where to be. She is in command of the court and just a really good player.”

Van Gorp spoke on what it’s been like to be a freshman on a talented team.

“Coming in as a freshman, there are not many expectations,” Van Gorp said. “I just come in, do my best and try to be a great leader.”

Wake Forest wakes up

Set two was a complete change of pace from set one. Wake Forest came out with a completely different mentality when attacking. The Demon Deacons brought their total hitting percentage out of the negatives and up to .068 percent. This is where Duckworth was first subbed in.

Set three was back and forth, but the Cyclones struggled to hit with consistency as their hitting percentage kept dropping throughout the set. Iowa State dropped this set to fall to 2-1 down. Duckworth continued to excel with three kills towards the end of the set. 

Freshman Emily Bobbitt did not back down when her name was called. She assisted many of the kills trying to help lead the Cyclones to a comeback in set three. 

“Sometimes it’s just not your night and someone else needs to come in for you and I thought those people were terrific tonight,” Johnson-Lynch said.

Duckworth finishes the job

Duckworth was a force to be reckoned with five kills in set four. She finished off the set with an ace. Strong play from junior Tierney Jackson and redshirt junior Amiree Hendricks-Walker helped out Duckworth with some timely strong play on the front line. 

In a nailbiter set five, Iowa State prevailed when Bobbitt finished the game off with an ace. She finished with a team high 25 assists. 

Jackson and Hendricks-Walker made huge impacts in the later sets. Jackson finished with six kills and Hendricks-Walker finished with a team high .571 hitting percentage.

With two games complete and one game to go in the Cyclone Invitational, Iowa State will have to turn around quickly once again.

“It’s hard and it wears on you physically, but it’s fun to have another team to prepare for tomorrow,” Johnson-Lynch said. “It will give us a different look. Volleyball’s usually pretty simple, but it is about taking care of your side of the net.”

The Cyclones have started off this tournament beating Toledo and Wake Forest and will look to sweep the tournament Saturday against Illinois at 4 p.m. on ESPN+.