OMAHA, Neb. — The ISU volleyball team had a tough season opener on Saturday afternoon, as the team began the 2010 campaign with a 3-1 (25-22, 25-21, 10-25, 25-20) loss to No. 13 Florida (1-0).

But the match may have been the least important thing the No. 9 Cyclones (0-1) lost at the Qwest Center in Omaha, as preseason All-Big 12 junior Rachel Hockaday went down with a left knee injury early in the first set.

She was helped off the court by the two trainers and hadn’t emerged from the training room before the match’s end.

The full extent of her injuries have not been disclosed, as the team is waiting to run more tests and will evaluate it further Monday.

Stepping up in her place was junior outside hitter Carly Jenson, who proved to be a solid replacement as she hit .278 on eight kills and added nine digs.

“I thought Carly Jenson did a terrific job,” said coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. “Carly has not had a lot of playing time up to this point, but I thought she stayed very composed and did a really nice job of coming into that spot.”

Inconsistency was the name of the game for the Cyclones (0-1), as they rarely found a groove in their offense and transition game after an extremely slow start in sets one and two.

They did, however, finally find a rhythm in the third set, as the Cyclones hit .476 en route to blowing the Gators away 25-10. Iowa State hit just .180 in the match.

“Once we settled down and got into the third game, I thought we played the way we needed to play,” Johnson-Lynch said. “That means handling the ball, passing the ball to a target, playing great defense and keeping pressure on the other team. When we did that I thought we really started to look good.”

Victoria Henson led all players in kills and digs with 11 and 13, but hit just .083 on her 36 attempts. Sophomore Jamie Straube added 10 kills and came away with a match-high five blocks as well.

The Cyclones will now prepare for No. 14 Kentucky on Sunday, where the two will meet for a 2 p.m. tilt, once again at the Qwest Center in Omaha.