Playing the No. 1 team in the nation is destined to be a challenge, but to hand them a challenge in return is a work of progress.

The ISU volleyball team lost to undefeated Nebraska (9-0) at the Nebraska Coliseum in Lincoln, Neb. on Wednesday night, but the Cyclones didn’t go down easily. Iowa State stretched the Huskers into extra points in the first game, eventually losing the 31-29 battle. The game was a complete turnaround from last season’s first game against Nebraska, when Iowa State mustered only eight points.

“We followed our game plan to a ‘T’ in that game,” said ISU coach Christy Johnson. “We did everything right and executed well, but we just got stuck in a rotation that we couldn’t break.”

Junior Erin Boeve, who tallied seven kills, said that first game was one that revived much confidence in the team.

“It was nice knowing that we could stick with a team like that and we had to go in there with the same confidence as we would with anyone else,” she said.

Nebraska recharged the next two games (30-20, 30-17), using All-American Sarah Pavan as its catalyst. Pavan delivered eight of her 15 kills in game two, in addition to five block assists on the night. Nebraska’s Tracy Stalls also kept Iowa State in check on the net, recording seven block assists and one solo block.

“We kind of let go and dropped our level of play after that first game,” Johnson said. “We let Nebraska dictate the rest of the match.”

Senior Katie Jessen led Iowa State with 12 kills and 12 digs, while freshman Kaylee Manns provided 36 assists and a team high of 15 digs.

The Cyclones will attempt to use that momentum Saturday against Oklahoma, a Big 12 Conference rival that won’t be showing the same results as last season, when the team finished 7-22 overall.

“Oklahoma is much improved from last year, from mentality to level of play,” Johnson said. “We will have to work to contain their hitters along the same lines as we planned for Nebraska.”

That spotlights Oklahoma junior Joanna Schmitt, who has been churning out 5.33 kills per game for the Sooners. She leads the Big 12 in that category.

Senior middle blocker Eliane Santos also tops the Big 12 in blocks, averaging 2.33 per game. Teammate Rachel Jackson, senior setter for the Sooners, is ninth in the conference in blocks, third in assists, tenth in digs and is tied for eighth in service aces with Schmitt.

“We passed well on Wednesday against Nebraska and [with] two tremendous jump servers, and we have to expect some of the same from Oklahoma,” Johnson said. “We can’t just play well for periods of time.”

The similarities of the two teams this season are apparent. Both teams enter the match with identical records (9-3 overall, 1-1 in the Big 12), and their winning streaks were each interrupted by losses from Nebraska. However, Iowa State leads Oklahoma in every defensive statistic, while Oklahoma has the offensive edge.

Boeve said Iowa State’s performance Wednesday was motivation enough to quell any lingering doubts of Cyclone volleyball.

“We need to continue what we started against Nebraska,” she said. “Now that we know we can play with a team like that, we should be able to stay with and beat anyone else in the Big 12.”