After a not-so-perfect start, the ISU volleyball team has a renewed feeling of confidence going into its final tournament of the spring schedule.

Despite a 3-2 loss to fellow Sweet 16 team Illinois on Monday, the Cyclones feel improvement has already been made from where they stood earlier this spring.

“When we played Illinois I thought we looked really, really good,” coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said. “I thought we looked like a completely different team.”

Freshman setter Alison Landwehr has been a major catalyst in the team’s improvement as she continues to help the team adjust to the loss of Kaylee Manns. Landwehr has been putting in extra time, receiving setter training from Johnson-Lynch for an additional hour each practice.

“Our number one goal was getting Alison ready to go and that’s been the focus every day, making sure she’s ready to go,” Johnson-Lynch said.

Something that has made Landwehr’s transition easier is the wealth of experience around her. The team will return all of its starting outside hitters and middle blockers from last season.

On top of the hitters, she will also have the luxury of a two-time Big 12 Libero of the Year in junior Ashley Mass.

“It’s very nice for a setter to come into a group of veteran hitters that are very experienced,” Johnson-Lynch said. “She doesn’t have to be perfect so I think it takes a lot of pressure off her.”

Described as an “offensive setter,” one of Landwehr’s biggest challenges this spring has been working on timing her sets to the other positions.

“We’re pretty comfortable with Alison now,” said junior outside hitter Victoria Henson. “You get to work a lot in practice so at first it was just a little different because of the new setter.”

Sophomores Kelsey Petersen and Carly Jenson have also had productive springs. Petersen saw regular court time at middle blocker last season while Jenson saw action in 14 matches.

“I think Kelsey Petersen is playing on a whole other level this spring,” Johnson-Lynch said. “She’s proving to be a terminator for us, which is pretty exciting.”

Jenson recorded a match-high 16 kills and hit .438 in the Alumni Match on April 1. Johnson-Lynch said her progress could give her a chance to get more playing time along with Henson and sophomore Rachel Hockaday on the outside.

“To me, it’s starting to look like she believes she should be out there,” Johnson-Lynch said of Jenson. “She’s just doing some nice things including passing and defense and she’s just playing at a real high level with a lot of confidence.”

This weekend’s Northern Iowa Spring Tournament will be the last for the Cyclones this spring. Johnson-Lynch said more back row attacking will be attempted while also trying to improve serving and passing as they have been weak points this spring.

“Each player we have out there probably isn’t going to make huge strides, it’s going to be the little things that are going to matter,” Johnson-Lynch said. “We pretty much know who’s doing what and who’s playing where.”

The Cyclones’ competition will include Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa and two teams they have already seen this spring in Northern Iowa and North Dakota State.

The team will have revenge on its mind against Northern Iowa after being swept by the Panthers in Ames on March 28.

“It was kind of rough, but I think we’ve definitely improved a lot since then,” Landwehr said. “That should be a big test for us, we play them first, so I hope that we can come out and show everyone how much we’ve improved in these past four weeks.”

This will be the team’s last tune-up before the arrival of the incoming freshman class. Johnson-Lynch said she didn’t want to predict where the freshmen would stand upon their arrival, but knows that they will physically ready to compete.

“You never really know about freshmen until they get in,” Johnson-Lynch said. “I think they all have the potential to contribute, they’re all really, really great athletes.”