Despite Iowa State’s .500 record and somewhat inconsistent play in the first half of the conference season, the second and final round of Big 12 play appears to be working in the Cyclones’ favor.

Four of their five conference losses came on the road, three of which came in five sets to teams ranked below the Cyclones in the standings. The team’s conference loss at home came at the hands of No. 2 Nebraska (18-0).

The Cyclones will get a chance at redemption of their road losses to Kansas, Missouri and Colorado, as they will now play host to the trio of teams at Hilton Coliseum.

Of their five scheduled road matches in the second half of the conference season, three will come against teams they swept with ease at home, and the others at Nebraska and No. 13 Kansas State, who the Cyclones upset in Ames on Wednesday night.

Through the first round, the Cyclones have struggled on the road, but have played well in every match against teams ranked above them in the conference. Their record is 2-2 in those matches with tough, but competitive, losses against Nebraska and No. 3 Texas.

“One of the great things about our team is that we’re very athletic,” said coach Christy Johnson. “It’s hard to match up with the top teams in the conference if you aren’t physical, and we are. If you look at each position I think we are a pretty athletic team, which at least puts in the ballgame against everyone.”

Power Conferences

While the two best teams in the Big 12 are ranked No. 2 and 3 in the country, it has been somewhat of a down year for the rest of the conference, with Kansas State the only remaining team in the top 25.

The Pac-10 and Big 10, on the other hand, have seven and six teams in the AVCA poll. The Pac-10 has once again proven its dominance of collegiate volleyball, as five of its seven ranked teams are currently in the top 10.

Approaching Milestones

Several individual Cyclones are working their way toward the top of the program’s all-time stat charts, including sophomore libero Ashley Mass, whose 24 digs on Wednesday moved her to second all-time in 20 or more dig matches, with 19.

Victoria Henson is 29 kills short of Erin Boeve’s sophomore record of 344, and junior setter Kaylee Manns needs just 115 digs to become the second player in school history to record 1,000 assists and 1,000 digs in a career. Lisa Burke, who played from 1988-1991, is the other.

With three block assists against Kansas State, Jen Malcom has increased her career total to 240, good enough for the tenth-best mark in program history.

Cyclones in the national ranks

Through matches of Oct. 19, the Cyclones have four individuals in the Division I top 25 in four different statistical categories.

Manns is currently sixth in the nation in assists per set (11.74), Malcom is 16th in hitting percentage (.408), Mass ranks 18th in digs per set (5.05), and Henson comes in at 25 in kills per set (4.10). Each is good enough for a spot in the top four in the Big 12, while Manns and Mass have taken control of the top spot in their respected categories.