After spending two years watching patiently from the sideline, Mary Bisenius finally got her chance to shine last season. And she didn’t let the opportunity slip away.

At the Iowa Collegiate Volleyball Challenge on Drake University’s campus, in Des Moines, Bisenius put on a three-match hitting clinic worthy of the tournament’s MVP award, which gave her the confidence she needed to become the player everyone knew she could be, said coach Christy Johnson.

“Up until the tournament she hadn’t been a starter but she wanted it really bad,” Johnson said. “But when we finally gave her the opportunity she did everything she could, which some players don’t do. Sometimes a player gets an opportunity and may be scared and will back off, but she embraced it and gave everything she had, and carried that confidence with her for the rest of the year.”

Bisenius played in just nine matches in her first two seasons in Ames, and tallied only 19 kills in the 12 games in which she saw time on the floor. In the tournament alone last season, she nearly doubled her kills, where she picked up 35 in three matches. As a result of her dominant performance in Des Moines, Johnson rewarded Bisenius with the starting job of outside hitter, a position she never relinquished.

Coaches and teammates know the senior from Sioux City is still somewhat shy at heart, but the confidence she gained last season won’t allow it to affect her play. As one of three seniors, Bisenius will use her newfound confidence and experience to play a bigger role and take on increased responsibility.

“When I got here two years ago she was still kind of shy, but now you can see she has so much more confidence,” said junior setter Kaylee Manns. “Now she knows, ‘This is my spot, and I can prove that I deserve to be here.’ She has really taken to her role well so far this season and is a completely different player from where she was two years ago.”

Bisenius arrived in Ames as a freshman at the same season as Johnson, the Cyclones’ newly acquired coach. Bisenius was part of the first recruiting class put together by Johnson and her staff, and over the last three years the coaches have witnessed dramatic progress in not only the mental, but also the physical aspects of her game.

“We saw Mary as just a raw athlete out of high school, not someone who was real skilled yet, but had great potential,” Johnson said. “But now I see her as such an experienced player. She is very knowledgeable about the game, understands her position very well, and is willing to share that with other players. And that’s very important because you need someone out on the court that understands where to block, where to play defense, the tendencies of hitters, and is able to lead by example.”

After 21 starts on the outside last season, Bisenius is now in position to keep improving her resume as the Cyclones’ starting outside hitter. She will have plenty of competition at the position this year, as five other players are vying for time on the outside. Expect Bisenius to welcome the challenge with open arms as the final season of her Cyclone career begins. Her experience and renewed confidence give her a leg up on the rest of her teammates.

“Being a senior this year and having to be a bigger leader really helps keep my confidence up,” Bisenius said. “I know that I have to keep the confidence I had last year, and I definitely still have it. Then when you have other experienced players like Kaylee and [libero Ashley] Mass returning, we’re really clicking well as a team and we’re all sharing the same confidence right now.”

Bisenius and the rest of the team will kick off the season this weekend in Milwaukee at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Invitational, and will play their first home match at Hilton Coliseum on Sept. 10 against in-state rival Northern Iowa.