The ISU volleyball team will take to the floor against Creighton on Thursday, March 28, 2013, for its first match of the spring season.

Thursday’s match will take place at Harlan Community High School in Harlan, Iowa. ISU coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said she plans to use this match as a recruiting tool, playing in an area of the state where people may not usually get to watch the team compete.

The Cyclones, who finished 22-8 overall and 13-3 in the Big 12 last fall, expect a number of sophomores to fill in and take over increased roles this spring in preparation for the fall season.

Sophomores Andie Malloy, Mackenzie Bigbee and Caitlin Nolan all played prominent roles last fall. Malloy and Bigbee combined for 450 kills while Nolan racked up 273 digs and 25 assists.

“They’re all stepping into having to talk more and lead their other classmates in the process,” said ISU senior Kristen Hahn, who led the Big 12 with 626 digs last season. “I think that as upperclassmen, we have to bring them along with us, because there’s only three of us veterans that have played a lot and we need more vocal leaders. I think they feel a little more comfortable doing that, having seen the floor a little more this fall.”

The Bluejays are a relatively unfamiliar opponent for the Cyclones, fostering a bit of uncertainty for players and coaches as far as expectations go for Thursday night. Iowa State has played Creighton only eight times in the program’s history, leading the all-time series 5-3.

Creighton dominated the Missouri Valley Conference last season, posting a 17-1 conference record on its way to a 29-4 record overall.

Given the unfamiliarity with Creighton, Iowa State is taking Thursday as a chance to try out a number of things, something it is usually unable to do during the regular season.

“You can experiment,” Malloy said. “During the season, you normally have your set lineup that you go with, but now’s the time to try players in different positions that they normally wouldn’t play and just see what chemistry works the best for the team and what makes it most successful.”

The spring season as a whole is a time of great experimentation for the team. Johnson-Lynch is moving players into more responsible roles this season and requiring more of them than she had previously.

“For example, Bigbee wasn’t a primary passer [last season], but this spring we’re going to be asking her to pass a little better,” Johnson-Lynch said. “They’re all learning how to pass-to-hit; they’re all trying to work on a better serve and defensively working on some things, so I think it’s everything we have been doing but now we’re just asking them to do a little bit more.”

Thursday’s match against Creighton is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. at Harlan Community High School.