Although the ISU volleyball team was victorious in both games over Baylor last year, the Bears came out strong and took the first set from the Cyclones in Ames and in Waco, Texas. This season, Baylor may come out even stronger when the Cyclones travel to Waco on Wednesday for a conference road test.

With its first top-25 ranking since 2001 and the No. 14 recruiting class according to Prepvolleyball.com, the Bears aim to give Iowa State a tough battle, while the Cyclones hope to bounce back from their first Big 12 loss of the season to No. 2 Texas.

“It’s going to be a great team and it’s going to be even tougher on the road,” said ISU head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch.

The Baylor defense has been dominant this season, holding opponents to a low .124 attacking percentage per set. Senior middle blocker Anna Breyfogle is a major part of this defensive effort, averaging 1.56 blocks per set. Last season, the Bears’ defense held Iowa State to .093 in the first set at the Ferrell Center and kept the Cyclones to a .075 percentage in set one at Hilton Coliseum.

“The last couple years we’ve been very evenly matched,” said Baylor head coach Jim Barnes. “We both play the same kind of game, we both play very good defense and we’re well balanced on offense.”

Three senior Bears including Breyfogle, setter Taylor Barnes and outside hitter Katie Sanders serve as leaders for Baylor. Breyfogle brings an attack along with defensive pressure, Barnes brings her experience and an offensive attack of her own, while Sanders is efficient on the outside for Baylor — leading the younger players by example.

“I think the main thing is that we have really good senior leadership this year,” Taylor Barnes said.

Similar to Texas setter Ashley Engle and Minnesota’s setter Taylor Carico, who both posted six kills against Iowa State this season, the Cyclones have seen players similar to Barnes who act as a fourth attacker at the net. As a left-handed player, however, Barnes will take a full swing to put a kill down on her own as opposed to Engle and Carico, who were more likely to simply dump push the ball over the net to space.

“We have to just be prepared at times to block it, at times to dig it,” Johnson-Lynch said. “I think a lot of it is just being alert and not forgetting that she could attack at any time.”

With Barnes’ experience at the net also comes the competitive edge of Breyfogle, who currently averages 2.66 kills per set.

“She’s a great, competitive kid, so it’s hard to stop her even if you commit block on her because she’s so competitive,” Johnson-Lynch said.

Coming into the first match against Iowa State last season, the 6-foot1-inch Breyfogle had suffered her first of many shoulder injuries. In the 2008 season, she missed six matches due to her injury.

“I think every year [Baylor] has been knocking on the door of the NCAA tournament, and I thought last year they would’ve been in it had [Breyfogle] not gotten hurt,” Johnson-Lynch said.

A preseason All-Big 12 pick for the second year in a row, Breyfogle brings not only an offensive mindset, but also a pair of blocking arms at the net that may be even more important to the Baylor game plan. The senior posted six block assists in the Bears’ recent victory over Kansas State.

“[Breyfogle] brings so many different dimensions to the team,” Taylor Barnes said. “She’s a great leader on the court and she just leads by example.”

In order to defend the Bears’ attack, senior Cyclone Diane Kieger recognized the importance of helping out the middles in an effort to block Breyfogle’s swings. Cyclone right–side hitter Kelsey Petersen will be key in the defensive strategy in regards to stepping in and helping the middle block.

Johnson-Lynch sees the match as a big test for the Cyclones, considering the tight race between many teams in the Big 12 — not to mention the fact that this game is on the road for Iowa State. Jim Barnes also recognizes the importance of the match, and although Baylor started the season off strong, he said Iowa State is “one of the biggest matches of the season.”