For the second time this season, as the Cyclones’ lineup was announced, volleyball players were pointing to the upper deck of Hilton Coliseum. The first time was against Texas last Wednesday, with a crowd of 3,708 that included a sprinkling of fans in the upper deck — something many players at Iowa State had never seen before. But for Saturday’s match against Nebraska, the upper deck was full.

The highly hyped match between No. 8 Iowa State and No. 10 Nebraska brought in 10,203 fans, demolishing the record for attendance at a college volleyball game in the state of Iowa. The Cyclones broke the record two years ago, at 6,705, but topped that number Saturday.

As the players’ names were called, many attempted to launch their mini-volleyballs into a packed upper bowl, while others grinned from ear to ear as ISU fans clapped to the beat. Along with a packed house were banners and signs that said “This is our house” or “Iowa State volleyball can you dig it?” held by two admiring little girls.

Although the fan–base meant more support for Iowa State, it also meant more nerves, as the Cyclones were unable to overcome the Big 12 opponent, falling in three sets to the Huskers. Against the Longhorns, the number of fans surprised many Cyclone players, and on Saturday that number was nearly tripled. Several ISU players expressed anxiety prior to the Nebraska match as Hilton Coliseum began to fill, and that was clear as mental errors were made starting in set one for Iowa State.

“This is an awesome thing, but I wish we could’ve done a little bit more for the crowd,” said senior setter Kaylee Manns. “We’re not used to this many people, and I’m not making excuses, but we had a lot of girls saying before the game how nervous they were.”

Playing against a rival opponent in front of a large crowd is something the Cyclones will need to be exposed to prior to heading into NCAA tournament play, and Saturday night gave Iowa State a chance to see what it feels like to be an elite team with a large fan base.

“I’m disappointed we couldn’t give our fans a better match, for sure,” said coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. “But I think as our program continues to grow, this is something that we’re going to have to learn to deal with, and if it was the crowd that made it nervous, if it was Nebraska, if it was that we’re second in conference and they were third — whatever it was, as our program gets better, we have to be able to play with the higher expectations.”

Although Iowa State never seemed to get it together against Nebraska, even after a depleted ISU squad broke from its post–game huddle, fans still applauded the Cyclones’ efforts.

“I say we have the best fans in the country. I mean, they even clapped after [the loss to Nebraska], so I appreciate their support,” Johnson-Lynch said.

Saturday night may not have been Iowa State’s night, but the word is out about Cyclone volleyball, and it’s likely sports fans in Ames for the weekend knew what was happening Saturday night.

“We don’t want this loss to discourage the fans — we definitely want to see them out here,” said sophomore outside hitter Rachel Hockaday. “And we’re going to promise them great volleyball from here on out, so that’s kind of a wake-up call for us, and we’ve just got to get back to our game.”