They’ve been in this position before.

Four important conference matches loom at the end of the regular season for the ISU volleyball team, which once again has its eye on a potential berth into the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones took advantage of late-season momentum last year, as the program made its way to the first NCAA Regional round of 16 in school history.

“It’s no different than last year,” said coach Christy Johnson. “In fact, there may even be less pressure. What we’re facing is no different than 75 percent of teams in the country, and I really hope the team doesn’t feel any pressure or is looking that far ahead.”

The Cyclones (16-11, 8-8 Big 12) have already qualified for an at-large berth by ensuring a season record of over .500, but a winning conference record is never a bad prerequisite to have on the resume. Their first step toward their goal comes Wednesday night at home, when the Cyclones host Colorado (12-13, 6-10), which beat Iowa State 3-2 on the road in Boulder earlier this season.

The Cyclones are hoping to correct and overcome the several factors that led to the loss, and will certainly be ready after receiving their second bye of the year, which allowed them take all of last weekend off. Iowa State has won its last four matches following a bye.

“It was nice to let our bodies rest and get some of the players healthy,” said freshman Caitlin Mahoney. “And that was really important, because now that we’ve had some time to rest we have all the energy we need with these really important matches coming up.”

Colorado gave Iowa State a taste of its own medicine in the teams’ previous meeting, as the Buffaloes seemingly built a wall in front of the Cyclones’ offensive attack. The normally powerful blocking attack shown off by the Cyclones over recent years was outdone by Colorado 17.5-10 in the match, giving Iowa State plenty to worry about on offense.

“We didn’t play well that night and Colorado did a lot of things to exploit us,” Johnson said. “What we have to focus on for the next several weeks is getting things done on our side of the net. I feel like if we’re playing well, we can beat any team in the country, so we have to make sure we’re doing everything that we’re capable of.”

Despite the overall sub-par performance in their last match with the Buffaloes, the Cyclones reached match point in the fourth set but failed to convert on three chances. They also let several game points slip away in the second set, as they led 24-22 before allowing Colorado to take the next four points and tie the match at 1-1.

“I think now we’re going to have the upper hand during crucial points,” Mahoney said. “We’ve learned our lesson from before, and when we have the chance to take a game point or to pull away late in the set, we won’t let the opportunity get away this time.”

The first serve between the Cyclones and Buffaloes is set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum.