Replacing a senior-laden lineup is never an easy task to accomplish.

But when a team loses four seniors who led the charge to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in over a decade, their shoes seem that much harder to fill.

“We lost a very valuable part of our team last season,” said coach Christy Johnson. “But I believe we have plenty of talent to step in for them, and the players have proven that by working very hard in the off-season.”

The Cyclones lost outside hitters Katie Jessen and Nicole Lorenzen, along with middle blocker Jessica Klein and libero Katie Churm.

Senior Erin Boeve’s move from middle blocker to outside hitter this spring has opened both starting spots in the middle, making it the teams’ most unproven position.

The Cyclones have no returners with starting experience at middle blocker, and will look to junior Jen Malcolm and sophomore Diane Kieger to step in.

“They are both playing very well right now,” Johnson said. “I think people will love seeing them play together because they are both great athletes.”

Malcolm sat out all last season as a redshirt following a transfer from Syracuse, and Kieger saw limited action as a freshman, playing in just 23 games during 13 matches last fall. Malcolm and Kieger, despite never playing in a regular season match together, appear to be working well together in the middle.

“We are very different athletes,” Kieger said. “In the middle you need someone like Jen, who is one of our quickest players, and can get to the ball in a hurry, and another player like me with size and can hit the slide. It’s great to have that variety of athletes.”

Another position yet to be filled is at the libero, where senior Laura Cady, junior Amy Vos, and freshman Ashley Mass all appear to be vying for time on the court this season.

Through fall practice, Cady appears to be the favorite to get the starting nod.

“After last season I was very worried about passing when we lost our three primary passers,” Johnson said. “But Laura has worked extremely hard and developed a lot since last year and is probably going to be our starting libero.”

Hitting opposite of Boeve on the right side will be senior Lauren Cummings, who is no stranger to big games, as she saw time in 29 of Iowa State’s 32 matches last fall, despite playing behind Jessen and Lorenzen.

Cummings was the most efficient hitter on the team last fall with a .317 hitting percentage, good enough for the second best single-season percentage in school history.

Now, as she steps into a starting role as a senior, Cummings has taken on a whole new position of leadership with the team.

“It’s going to be very different without those four players,” Cummings said. “So now it’s time for these seniors to be more vocal, really hustle, and set a good example for everyone else on the team, and let them know we can win now matter where or who we play.”

The Cyclones open up the 2007 season on Friday, when they host Middle Tennessee, an NCAA Tournament qualifier from 2006.