After losses to the top two teams in the Big 12, the ISU volleyball team will have to bounce back in a hurry to keep their hold on fourth place in the conference.

The Cyclones (11-7, 5-3 Big 12) take on 16th-ranked Kansas State on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum.

The two are tied for the fourth spot after Wednesday.

Junior outside hitter Mary Bisenius said being tied with Kansas State in the conference adds a little something extra to the match.

“Overall, Kansas State is a great team,” Bisenius said. “We are really excited to play them and we have to come in prepared, no matter what team we play.”

The Cyclones and the Wildcats (13-5, 5-3 Big 12) have both lost two matches in a row. Each was swept at Nebraska and lost in five games to the teams tied for second in the Big 12, Oklahoma and Texas, respectively.

Junior middle blocker Jen Malcom said being able to build off the energy of the home fans will be a good change from their two recent road trips.

“It will be good to be back at Hilton and not have the trouble of traveling and not being as tired,” Malcom said. “When you go on the road, it is much harder to build your own energy.”

One of the big keys for the Cyclones in the match will be dealing with the preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, 6-foot-3-inch Russian outside hitter Nataly Korobkova. Korobkova is in the top 10 in the league in kills, service aces, blocks and points.

Coach Christy Johnson said Korobkova, who has the most hitting attempts on the team, seems to get more and more sets every match.

“That is definitely someone we will have to slow down,” Johnson said.

“We always try to prepare for whoever is going to get the most balls and do a good job defending them and digging them, so that is something we will prepare for [over] the next couple of days.”

One other factor that could be vital to a Cyclone victory is handling a very aggressive serve from the Wildcats, who are leading the Big 12 with 40 more service aces than anyone else.

Johnson said Kansas State uses a lot of jump serves, and the Cyclones been working on receiving those quite a bit in practice.

“We have been working on it for weeks in practice, but we’ll continue to work on it,” Johnson said.

“The Russian girl has a really tough top-spin jump serve.”