With how much of an up-and-down season Iowa State has had this year, it appears the team has finally found its niche.

Blocking has developed, they are beating the teams they should by considerable margins and have strung together a season-high six-match winning streak.

It wasn’t that long ago coach Christy Johnson-Lynch was looking for answers as her team grinded out the middle chunk of the season. Now, her team prepares for the final two weeks before selection Sunday and said she’s very happy with where they sit.

“From where we were a month ago to where we are now, I think we’ve made good strides,” Johnson-Lynch said. “To go and handle a team like [Oklahoma], on the road, in their gym where we know they play very well, that says a lot about where we’re at.”

Blocking is back

When Iowa State played Texas Tech on Nov. 3, the Cyclones finished with eight team blocks. Johnson-Lynch called the performance the best she’d seen from her team all season, which included solo blocks from Jamie Straube and Mackenzie Bigbee.

But the only question was if the Cyclones could show it wasn’t just a one-time occurrence.

By one-upping themselves with nine team blocks against Oklahoma on Saturday, that monkey was off the team’s back. Since the beginning of the season, Johnson-Lynch has said her team is determined to be a better blocking one and Straube passed the credit off to the servers.

“If we can get the other team out of system, I can read the setter a lot better, close the block a lot faster, so that helps to give them a lot of credit,” Straube said.

The middle blocker from Tecumseh, Neb., recorded five blocking assists in the 3-0 victory.

Not only does blocking help on the defensive end, but it also helps the offense out, as well.

Libero Kristen Hahn said by blocking well, it serves as a confidence booster for the team and a confidence drainer for the opponent.

“Then the other teams get scared like ‘I’m swinging into a big block,’ and they won’t hit as well, they start tipping and start changing their game to help us out,” Hahn said.

A tale of two teams

Of the four remaining opponents on Iowa State’s schedule, two provide significant opportunities for Iowa State to take a big step forward or a big step back.

On Wednesday, Nov. 14, No. 20 Kansas State heads to Hilton Coliseum to kick off the final two weeks. Just more than a month ago, the Wildcats swept the Cyclones out of Manhattan, Kan.

The Cyclones were beat in every statistical category and Straube said they’ve been looking forward to this match since that October ride home.

“We know we didn’t play our best game against them so it’s a must win game just for us because we know that we have it in us,” Straube said.

Then, to end the regular season, No. 3 Texas will be in Ames and the Cyclones believe they have some unfinished business with the Longhorns, as well.

Earlier this season, Iowa State found itself up 2-0 at the intermission with its sights set on beating Texas in Austin for the first time in program history. However, the Longhorns found a way to battle out the final three sets to steal the 3-2 victory.

Since the two matches, Straube said they’ve been planning ahead ever since.

“It was one of those where we were like ‘OK, when they come to our house, we’re going to be ready for them,’” Straube said.

Besides K-State and Texas, Iowa State will also face West Virginia and Baylor in the next two weeks as well.

A 3-1 victory against Baylor and 3-0 sweep of the Mountaineers earlier this season should result in wins this time around. If Iowa State can beat WVU and BU, and even out the series with KSU and UT, the Cyclones would ride a 10-game win streak into Selection Sunday, Nov. 25.

Despite the added pressure a long winning streak brings, Hahn said that’s what they’re shooting for.

“That will help us for seeding in the tournament, to host at home,” Hahn said. “I think if we don’t end up winning out, then we won’t be able to host the first and second rounds at home and I think that would be hugely to our advantage.”

The Kansas State match is scheduled for 5 p.m. Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum.