The ISU volleyball team may have ended the season in poor fashion getting swept by Kansas State on the road in the regular season finale, but they are looking forward now to the NCAA tournament where they will play against Colorado in the first round on Friday in Minneapolis.

Playing in Minneapolis is nothing new to some of the players on the team, especially seniors Kristen Hahn and Tenisha Matlock who have been there for the NCAA tournament twice in their careers. They did not play there in the tournament last season, but the season before, the 2011-12 season, the Cyclones were in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 in Minneapolis.

Their tournament run was cut short before reaching the Final Four with a 3-2 loss to Florida State. They went to Minneapolis ranked No. 16 for the tournament in the 2010-11 season but were knocked out in the first round by unranked Creighton 3-2.

ISU coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said that if they can’t host the first two rounds of the tournament going to play in Minneapolis is a second for where they want to play.

“I love not having to get on a plane,” Johnson-Lynch said. “I think that is such a huge advantage. You can’t ask for more than that, than playing three hours away in a great gym, in a great environment, great crowd. That’s what you want. If you can’t play at home you want to go somewhere like Minnesota.”

Hahn said that the familiarity with that gym might provide some advantage to them.

“Us upperclassmen have been there and we’ll feel a lot more relaxed there than maybe the underclassmen will but we’ll be able to… help them get loose,” Hahn said.

Last season the Cyclones finished the regular season on a 10-match winning streak, including a win against No. 1 Texas in the regular-season finale, before they went into the NCAA tournament. They won their first two matches in five sets in Ames against IPFW and North Carolina before losing in the Sweet 16 in Berkeley, Calif. to Stanford.

This season is a little different for the Cyclones as they have dropped their last two matches of the season against No. 1 Texas and Kansas State heading into the tournament. Hahn doesn’t think it’ll be hard for the Cyclones to get back into the winning mentality.

“I think Christy will set up practice well for us to be able to compete and I think with the team knowing this is a new season we kind of have a new fire beneath us and we’re excited to get in the gym,” Hahn said.