For ISU volleyball fans who have caught a match or two already this season, they probably have heard the name “Mackenzie Bigbee” ring out from the loudspeaker at Hilton Coliseum.

The freshman leads the Cyclone squad in kills and is on pace to chase the record for kills by a freshman. What fans might not know is why she’s been so successful.

Some call it being a lefty, left-handed or southpawed. They all mean the same thing and are helpful in just about every sport. Whatever you want to call it, right-side hitters who attack with their left are an added bonus for teams — and Bigbee is one for Iowa State.

To an ill-informed volleyball aficionado, it might make more sense for a righty to hit righty because that’s the side they’re on. Little does he or she know that being able to hit with your left opens a wide range of opportunities.

“It changes the whole game plan, and as a blocker it gives you just one more thing to think about,” said ISU senior middle Jamie Straube.

When a left-handed right side goes up for a kill, the possibilities are as high as the set.

“OK, where can I go with this?,” Bigbee thinks as she sees the set in the air.

Is the cross-court open?

How about down the line?

Did the defense encroach in so the back row is open?

All of these open up because Bigbee, or any other lefty right side, can attack with her left.

Not only does Bigbee’s left hand help the team put points on the board, it limits defenses to not being able to key in on one particular aspect. Having that versatility is another reason why these lefties are so sought after and allows her team to play a variety of different ways.

“She can just hit so many different shots,” Straube said. “I think that gives teams a lot of trouble because she can hit down the line, she can hit the sharp cross-court, she has a lot of different angles that she can take and that helps us a lot too because as soon as teams start taking away one thing she can bring out another thing.”

The native of Williamsburg, Iowa, wasn’t always a flying attacker from the right, however.

Up until she was 15 years old, Bigbee played in the middle because of her height — she is 6-foot-1 now. Moving over to the right was a bit of a transition at first, but Bigbee said she’s glad she made the switch.

“At first it was like ‘Here’s the middle, here’s what you do here,’ and then I had to adjust a little bit to the right side and I like it a lot better,” Bigbee said.

It’s safe to say Johnson-Lynch likes it a lot better as well.

Through 10 matches this season, Bigbee has 127 kills, 25 more than her nearest teammate. If she continues that pace, she will be chasing teammate Rachel Hockaday’s record for kills by a freshman in program history, and her coach believes she will only get better.

“At some point here, she’s really going to start being able to terminate against a two-person block, a big block, teams that are really camping on her,” Johnson-Lynch said.

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Cory Weaver is a senior in journalism from Maple Grove, Minn.