The ISU volleyball team have dusted off the knee pads and tightened the nets as they prepare for the spring volleyball season. Coach Christy Johnson-Lynch gave the team a competitive schedule this spring and returning senior Rachel Hockaday said she’s all for it.

“I like a competitive schedule,” she said. “It’s always fun playing good competition and Christy always sets us up with some good teams. It’s going to be a fun time.”

The Cyclones serve up their first spring games this Saturday with North Dakota State and host team Creighton in Omaha, Neb. Illinois, Missouri and Nebraska close out the season, and Johnson-Lynch believes they have to play the best to be the best.

“I feel like our program is at the level where we really need to play great competition as much as we can to see what we need to work on so we really only benefit, in my opinion, by playing good teams every chance we can,” she said.

After last season, the team will graduate Debbie Stadick, Kelsey Petersen, Caitlin Mahoney and Carly Jensen.

Redshirt freshman Hannah Willms left the team to continue her high-jumping career and sophomore Hannah Johnson was forced to leave the team due to health reasons as well.

A big freshman class will fill some of the voids, but Johnson-Lynch said it’s still up in the air.

“I think there are some question marks. I think the spring will tell us a lot-who’s ready to replace some of those people — but I don’t think everything will certainly be answered until August,” she said.

One advantage to the spring season is being able let players get more experience in games without having to fret about the outcome.

Last year, then-sophomore Tenisha Matlock started working in the middle and Johnson-Lynch said this spring season they will try and do a few different things with the Nebraska native. Matlock led the Cyclones with 111 blocks last season.

“She can do a lot of things very well,” Johnson-Lynch said. “She can actually play really good defense, she’s a good passer, maybe attack out of the back row, just trying to be a little bit creative with her and see what we can do with her.”

The vacancies, of Mahoney and Jensen especially, have left a hole in Iowa State’s passing game. Matlock says this has forced many other players to adjust and could be their biggest this season.

“All of us are just trying to figure out how to pass and just get the ball up at least so we can set it,” she said.

The Cyclones swept the Bison last season 3-0 and 3-2, but the team’s last meeting against Creighton was not as successful for the cardinal and gold.

In 2010, Iowa State and Creighton squared off in Minneapolis in the NCAA Tournament. The match went to the fifth set, and the Jays found a way to knock the Cyclones out of the tournament.

Saturday will offer the first competition Iowa State has seen since losing to Florida State 3-2 in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament last season. Hockaday said the first tournament is always a chance to shake the rust off and Johnson-Lynch added it will show where they need to improve as well.

“I’m sure this weekend will really highlight the things we’re good at and the things we need to work on,” Johnson-Lynch said.