ISU volleyball coach Christy Johnson said she is impressed with how much her sophomore setter Kaylee Manns has matured and improved over last year.

Manns, a sophomore from Topeka, Kan., has shown maturity at the beginning of this season. After missing the first three matches because of a suspension, Manns came back to help the Cyclones (2-4) in three strong performances and to see their second win of the season at the Hilton Phoenix/East Mesa Challenge over the weekend.

Manns, in her second match of the season and a five-game loss to Arizona State, had her sixth 60-assist match of her career and helped senior Erin Boeve, who is in the midst of a position change, to a career-high 28 kills. The Cyclones had only hit over .100 in one of the three matches Manns was suspended for, but they have hit over .150 in every game and .200 in two of the games since she has returned.

Johnson said the experience of going and working with the U.S. under-20 national team has to do with much of her maturation and improvement since last season.

“I really feel that when she came back from there, she was just playing at a higher level,” Johnson said. “It kind of showed her what the next level is, if she wants to get there.”

Manns said playing with people she had never played with should help her adjust to having Boeve on the outside and not in the middle.

“Being able to have that adjustment skill helps a lot,” Manns said. “I think I just improved because we played a lot – we played like six to eight hours for two weeks – so playing and getting those reps helped.”

Manns, who started all but one match in her freshman season, finished 31st in the nation in assists and broke the ISU single-season record with 1,433 assists. She also had a 78-assist match against Texas Tech and a 70-assist and 23-dig match in her first match with Iowa. Iowa State’s hitting attack improved 30 points from 2005 with Manns directing the offense as well.

Manns was a big part of the Iowa State’s second trip to the NCAA Tournament in the program’s history and then was selected to the U.S. team in May. She said making the team was a great honor, and said she would like to help the Cyclones achieve their goal of making it one step further in the National Championships.

“It was a really good experience, and if I can do it next year I definitely will,” Manns said.

Johnson said she sees Manns taking on more of a leadership role with the team this season, even as a sophomore.

“Every week we ask a little bit more out of her,” Johnson said. “She’s not always going to be the one to speak up quite yet, but she’s becoming that kind of person.”