It’s been an action-packed spring season for the ISU volleyball team so far, and it is about to get even more intense. After taking down the defending runner-up Illinois 3-1 last week, the team now focuses its attention on a pair of former Big 12 rivals.

Iowa State and Missouri face off at 5 p.m. Thursday at Lakeview Elementary School in Centerville, Iowa, as the spring volleyball season’s end quickly approaches.

The Cyclones rolled to victory 3-0 at home and 3-1 on the road last season against Missouri, but senior Jamie Straube said they will need to continue to limit their own mistakes on the offensive end.

“Our whole theme this spring season has just been to be the best ball handlers on the court and just take care of every free ball [and] every tip and stuff like that,” Straube said. “So when we have that mentality, I think our offense comes out of that so just play really good defense, block [and] transition for points.”

Despite winning just one set against Iowa State last season, the Tigers still managed to string together some enough wins to earn an NCAA Tournament bid.

One way the team was able to do so was by riding the arm of Missouri outside hitter Lisa Henning. The sophomore posted 523 kills in 2011, nearly 100 more than any ISU player, and Johnson-Lynch said it will provide the team with a good test defensively.

“We always had a little bit of trouble slowing her down I felt like so that will be a good test,” Johnson-Lynch said.

On the ISU side, one player has emerged for the Cyclones since last fall that could pose a threat for the Tigers on the other end.

Head coach Johnson-Lynch said sophomore Victoria Hurtt has come a long way from where she was last fall. Her 16-kill performance against the Illini at the end of March proved that, and the Kansas City-native could provide some more fireworks on Thursday at Lakeview Elementary.

“Last fall, I thought if the ball came from middle of the court, she would end up just keeping the ball in play or free-balling it over,” Johnson-Lynch said. “Now, I feel like she’s getting a good attack on that ball, and that’s what makes a huge difference.”

The Cyclones will also have middle blocker Tenisha Matlock back in the rotation after she missed the Illinois game with a knee injury. The junior was recently selected to the USA Volleyball A2 program as well, and Johnson-Lynch said she expects her to be back to 100 percent this week.

Missouri’s success last season not only sent the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament, but gave opponents a glimpse of the future as well. The Tigers lost just two seniors after last season, which allows them to pick up right where they left off with the first-round loss to Florida.

Senior Rachel Hockaday said they will just have to buckle down and try to put a clamp on their momentum.

“Always when you’re returning, pretty much everyone, you kind of still have that same chemistry that you had in the fall, so it’s going to be working hard every point and trying to slow them down offensively,” Hockaday said.