Iowa State has played the role of “giant-killer” at times this season, but is now striving to become a giant itself in the collegiate volleyball world.

The No. 15-seeded ISU volleyball team has defeated No. 1 Nebraska and No. 3 Texas this season, and will now go up against No. 2 Stanford on Friday night in a Sweet 16 match at the NCAA Regional in Berkeley, Calif.

If the Cyclones (22-7, 13-3 Big 12) can pull off yet another upset, this time against the Cardinal (29-3, 19-1 Pac-12), it will be the first time in school history an ISU team has defeated three top-5 teams in a single season.

In her news conference on Monday, ISU coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said that her team will have to play better and more sharply than it did in five-set wins against I-P Fort Wayne and North Carolina if it wants to advance again.

“I think they’re bound to be better this weekend,” Johson-Lynch said about playing poorly at times. “I guess if that’s the positive side of it, that did allow us to shake some of that out. We’re the underdog again; maybe that’s a role we’re more comfortable with. I think we’ll be able to at least be a little mentally looser going into this weekend.”

While the Cyclones may be an underdog on paper, libero Kristen Hahn doesn’t see it that way. With the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament out of the way, the team will be able to have some pressure taken off it and play more consistently.

“We’re really confident and after getting these two high-pressure games out of the way, which I think are the two most high-pressure games that we’re going to have, this one we can just come out and have fun and play,” Hahn said.

Stanford is a program with a rich tradition. The Cardinal have made 32 postseason appearances, 18 Final Fours, eight-time NCAA runner-up and six national championships with the most recent coming in 2004. Iowa State has yet to reach a Final Four.

Outside hitter Rachel Hockaday said a win against a West Coast program with such a storied past would be a “huge” step in Iowa State creating an elite culture of its own.

“Honestly, we’re not even setting our sights on Elite Eight; we’re setting it to the next level with the Final Four and championship game,” Hockaday said. “We have some major work to do, but we know what a Sweet 16 feels like, we know what an Elite Eight feels like, and we want to make that next step for this program.”

Iowa State will take its 12-match winning streak into Haas Pavilion against Stanford on Friday night, in Berkeley, Calif. First serve is scheduled for 9 p.m. CST.