It’s not often that ISU players know more about an opponent than their coach, but when it comes to the personnel on the Creighton volleyball team, that was the case on Sunday afternoon.

“I don’t know much about them, it’s been a few years since we played them, so it’s not a team I’m too familiar with,” said ISU coach Christy Johnson-Lynch.

With five players from the state of Nebraska on each team’s roster, players on the ISU side of the net have seen members of Creighton’s team since high school. Junior defensive specialist Caitlin Mahoney played with Creighton freshman defensive specialist Julianne Mandolfo at Marian High School in Omaha, Neb.

ISU junior outside hitter Carly Jenson played club volleyball in high school with Mahoney and Mandolfo and has had a pair of scouts watching the Bluejays this season in her parents Terry and Carol.

“My parents have watched them a few times this year and they said they’re a pretty good team with big, physical players,” Jenson said.

First Team All-Big 12 sophomore middle blocker Jamie Straube nearly went to Creighton after her prep career in Tecumseh, Neb. Straube had the Bluejays on her short list of schools before deciding on Iowa State as her college destination.

“I was recruited by them a little bit, so I kind of know a couple players just being from Nebraska,” Straube said.

As individuals, Creighton (20-11) may seem familiar to some ISU players but as a team, the Cyclones haven’t seen the Bluejays since Sept. 2 of 2008 when they traveled to Omaha, Neb., and won in four sets (22-25, 25-21, 25-15, 25-16).

With the 20-match Big 12 Conference season now in their rearview mirror, the Cyclones are excited for their new schedule in which they know they cannot play a Big 12 team for at least three matches. It’s been 81 days since Iowa State has faced a team outside of the Big 12 Conference.

“It’s just fun to play teams you haven’t played before,” said outside hitter Victoria Henson. “Yeah, it may help that you’ve played them so many times, but they’ve also played you so many times, so they know a lot of the things that you do.”

Facing an unfamiliar opponent in the first round is nothing new for this team. The Cyclones have five players on their roster that have played in at least six NCAA tournament matches, making this team the most experienced of any team in program history.

Seniors Henson and Ashley Mass lead that group with appearances in 10 NCAA tournament matches throughout their ISU careers. In 2008, when the Cyclones were in Minneapolis for the first two rounds, Henson notched 50 kills in wins over Northern Iowa and Minnesota en route to Iowa State’s first Elite Eight appearance.

“We kind of had a rough start to this season losing a couple of games that we shouldn’t have,” Henson said. “A couple years ago we made it to the Elite Eight; it was kind of the same thing how we were rough during the season, but we still made it to the Elite Eight.”

Aside from playing against opponents who may not be familiar with the Cyclones’ tendencies, Johnson-Lynch sees her squad’s mental toughness as an advantage in postseason play.

“I think you have to win close games, handle the critical points well and play tough under pressure,” Johnson-Lynch said. “I think we’ve done that very well in the tournament in the past, we’ve won a lot of tight matches and have been able to upset some teams because we’ve just been a pretty mentally tough team.”

Johnson-Lynch and the rest of the ISU staff will be using the extra days of preparation to refine the team’s strengths that have carried them throughout their last four NCAA appearances.

“We have to continue to pass well, serve tough and play great defense; that’s always what we’ve done and we have to continue to do that at a real high level, particularly going into the tournament,” Johnson-Lynch said.

Although she is a junior, Jenson has played only two sets in NCAA tournament play. Stepping in to a starting role this season, the Omaha native will be in the starting lineup on Friday at 4:30 p.m. at the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis when the Cyclones meet Creighton.

“It’s definitely exciting, I know there’s so much more on the line now just because if you lose you’re done and no one wants to be done, so I think everyone is ready for the tournament,” Jenson said.