Carly Jenson’s career at Iowa State has been quite a journey. In her freshman and sophomore tenures, Jenson saw little playing time. Now, after stepping in and starting for an injured teammate her junior year, she’s transformed into a leader for the Cyclones and become their go-to player on offense this year.

In last year’s first match of the year against Florida at the Runza Showcase, outside hitter Rachel Hockaday, a Preseason All-Big 12 pick, went down with a season-ending ACL tear. 

“I’ve never seen [Rachel] in pain like that,” Jenson said. “I felt like I was ready to play because I played here and there my freshman and sophomore year, but that wasn’t the way I wanted to start my career.”

Jenson made the most of her opportunity. That season she finished second on the team in kills behind All-American Victoria Henson with 3.04 kills per set, which was good for ninth in the Big 12. She also managed to finish second on the team in digs behind All-American Ashley Mass with 3.13 digs per set. Jenson also led the team in aces and had 12 double-doubles. 

“Some players get the opportunity and they’re not ready. Carly was ready,” said coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. “She took the most advantage of it that she could. It was really inspirational to see her come in against Florida and to really right away put up huge numbers for us game after game.”

Jenson currently is averaging 3.76 kills per set, good for fifth in the Big 12. She’s also second in the Big 12 in service aces and is third in the Big 12 in total points.

“She’s a grinder. You know that she’s going to keep going and stay aggressive,” Johnson-Lynch said. “Even if she starts out struggling in a match, you know at some point she’s going to get going. Some players that struggle at the beginning are done for the match. Carly will just keep grinding away.”

It’s easy to tell there’s a strong relationship between Jenson and Johnson-Lynch. When Jenson was asked about what type of a leader she is, she said she leads by example. Johnson-Lynch believes the exact same thing.

“Definitely by example,” Johnson-Lynch said. “Some leaders are vocal, and some leaders lead by example. She’s a leader with her example. She’s one of our hardest workers, she’s very clutch, she handles pressure well and she’s probably one of our most consistent players.”

Both Jenson and Johnson-Lynch had the same thoughts about what happened last year with how Jenson did filling in for the injured Hockaday. Johnson-Lynch said she felt like she didn’t pace Jenson enough and that she was worn down after a while.

“I think I started off well, but then I hadn’t been used to playing so much,” Jenson said. “You really have to get yourself mentally and physically prepared for each game, and I think it kind of wore down on me. Mentally, it was hard to get ready for each game, and physically, ongoing injuries caught up to me.”

While Jenson has been a Cyclone, she’s made plenty of memories and was on teams that made it to the Sweet 16 twice and the Elite Eight. None of those are her favorite, however.

“When we played Nebraska at home last year,” Jenson said. “It was just a really fun atmosphere and I thought we played really well as a team. Even though we lost against Nebraska, I thought we played really well against a great team.”

This year, after losing two All-Americans in Victoria Henson and Ashley Mass, Jenson has helped lead this year’s Cyclone team to the best start in school history at 9-0 and also to the No. 3 ranking in the Ratings Percentage Index. That is the highest RPI ranking in Iowa State’s history.

“We just have so much chemistry,” Jenson said. “We’re all friends, and I think we can all help each other out on the court and not feel like someone’s attacking you. Last year, we struggled with that I think, and this year no one has a problem helping anyone.”