In the ISU volleyball team’s 3-0 sweep of Baylor, it was evident sophomore Tenisha Matlock was starting to get comfortable in her new position of middle blocker.

Matlock, Hannah Willms and Carly Jenson led the balanced attack with eight kills each Saturday night for the Cyclones (15-3, 6-1 Big 12).

What made Matlock’s performance stick out was her .444 hitting percentage and eight block assists, a career-best for the North Platte, Neb., native.

“We’ve almost come to expect this from her, to hit above .400 and have about five blocks for the night,” said ISU coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. “She’s just a tremendous athlete.”

Matlock’s eight block assists led the way for one of the best defensive performances of the Cyclones’ season.

As a team, the ISU defense registered a season-high 13 blocks on the night and held Baylor hitters to just .023 hitting in the match.

The frightening aspect for opponents is that Matlock is just two months into her switch from a right-side hitter to a middle blocker.

“[Matlock] only started playing middle in August, and usually it takes a year or two to really understand blocking and playing middle in college,” Johnson-Lynch said. “She is just so athletic that she can step the wrong way and still recover. She is just able to recover like that and it’s very unique.”

For Matlock, who had a career-high 13 kills just a week ago against Oklahoma, the transition to her new position has been keyed by repetition in practice.

“I’m getting there — around 90 percent now — where I was around 50 percent three weeks ago,” Matlock said of her move to middle blocker. “A lot of drills, a lot of transition drills for the middle and blocking. It’s become more of a reaction now.”

Matlock mentioned that part of the Cyclones’ dominant performance was that the team came into Saturday’s contest with fresh legs after a going a week without a match.

The No. 15 Cyclones now find themselves in a rare situation of having another full week to prepare for their showdown with Texas A&M (15-4, 4-2).

First serve will be at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday in College Station, Texas.