The fact that Colorado has not won a conference match this season is something the ISU volleyball team knows it has to look past.

Despite riding a 13-match losing streak dating back to the second week of September, the Buffaloes (5-16, 0-13 Big 12) have taken seven conference matches to five games, and held match leads in five of those matches. One of those was against the Cyclones (13-8, 7-5) in Boulder just two weeks ago.

Although their match record doesn’t show it, the Buffaloes have actually won more games in Big 12 matches than the three teams ahead of them – Texas Tech, Kansas and Baylor.

“That’s the Big 12 for you,” said senior right-side hitter Lauren Cummings. “You can’t let a record like theirs fool you, because it really doesn’t justify how good they are. We all know they have the talent to win, and they’re going to fight hard the entire match.”

Colorado was ranked fifth in the Big 12 Preseason Poll and seemed to be off to a good start after sweeping then-No. 11 California despite redshirting preseason All-Big 12 selection Amber Sutherland for an undisclosed reason.

In their Oct. 17 matchup at Colorado, the Cyclones had to battle back after going down 2-1 to escape with a narrow five-game victory (24-30, 30-24, 25-30, 30-19, 15-13).

The Buffaloes, who were ranked last in the conference in blocks entering the match, had a field day at the net against the Cyclones, setting a school record for total blocks (26) and block assists (42) in the match.

“We did not play well at all the last time against Colorado,” said coach Christy Johnson. “We really struggled the whole match in almost every facet of the game. Our outsides especially had trouble going up against their block, and there was a lot of poor decision-making on our part. We should never let a team block us like that.”

Iowa State still ranks at the top of the Big 12 in blocks (3.38 per game), while Colorado has jumped one spot to 10th (2.19 per game) since the teams last met.

Cummings and fellow senior Erin Boeve paced the Cyclones both offensively and defensively in tandem against Colorado, with each racking up a double-double of kills and blocks in the match.

The Cyclones are coming off a tough four-game loss to Kansas State over the weekend, but were pleased after staying with the No. 12 Wildcats after falling behind 2 games to none.

“Even though we lost, I still felt good about the way we played,” Johnson said. “It was the first time in almost two weeks where I thought we played well and really got in a rhythm. During the time period that we played Colorado, I felt we were a little run-down and fatigued, and winning without playing our best. But I think we turned things around last weekend.”

The Cyclones outblocked (18-14) and had more kills (70-64) than Kansas State in a very balanced offensive match, and are hoping to continue to make strides against Colorado at home.

“I think we have a little more fight in us now,'” said junior Jen Malcom.

“When we came back from the first two games and pretty much dominated the third one, I saw us hit a completely different level of play than we had seen in the last couple of weeks, and I hope we can come out and play like that right away on Wednesday.”

Scouting the Buffaloes

Record: 5-16, 0-13 Big 12

Conference rank: 11 (of 11)

Good wins: No. 11 California (3-0)

Bad losses: Texas Tech (3-2)

Player to watch: Junior MB Lauren Schaefer, 3.11 kills per game, .360 hitting percentage (sixth in Big 12), recorded a double-double (13 kills, 12 blocks) last time against the Cyclones

Notes: Colorado remains the lone Big 12 team without a conference win, but has taken seven of its 13 conference matches to five games, including its previous meeting with the Cyclones. After being ranked fifth in the Big 12 preseason poll, the Buffaloes have plummeted after losing preseason All-Big 12 outside hitter Amber Sutherland to redshirt status for undisclosed reasons. Colorado leads the all-time series between the two schools 38-13, and the Cyclones have won four of the last five.