After snapping a six-game losing streak and regaining its conference footing, the ISU volleyball team will attempt to stay on track this weekend.

The Cyclones trumped Oklahoma on Wednesday in three games in a renewed exhibition of defense. ISU coach Christy Johnson said her team breathed a sigh of relief as it jumped back in the conference pack.

“Our offense was a little off, but overall the game went just how we wanted,” she said. “We didn’t have as many blocks as we could have, but the ones we planned on we executed perfectly.”

Sophomore Erin Boeve said she agreed that the Cyclones’ defense played an intricate part in the win.

“Our defense was really scrappy and we took care of our side of the net,” she said.

Iowa State has three games left to win this season if dreams of an NCAA Tournament berth remain feasible. The first test of its durability is a trip to Lubbock on Saturday.

The Cyclones take on Big 12 foe Texas Tech, a team they already beat on their home court earlier in the season.

Iowa State (14-14, 7-10 Big 12) swept the Red Raiders in Ames on Oct. 4 behind 10 kills from Boeve. She was the only player in the match to garner double-digit kills, the Cyclones’ Katie Jessen and Texas Tech’s Philister Sang finished with nine each.

Texas Tech mustered only 20 assists to Amanda Craig’s 37, and Iowa State outdug the opponent 31-19. Katie Churm led all players with 14 saves.

The Red Raiders fell to 11-17 overall and 4-13 in the conference after succumbing to No. 10 Texas on Wednesday in three games. Sang was the offensive leader for Texas Tech with eight kills and added six digs on defense, while Desiree Batista accrued 12 digs.

“As we were with Oklahoma, we will be better prepared,” Johnson said.

Sang is ranked third in the conference with 4.43 kills per game, and has the sixth-highest kill accumulation with a 29-kill game against Texas A&M on Oct. 22.

Aiding her offensive success is sophomore Emily Ziegler at 7.45 assists a game. Ziegler is also ranked seventh in the league in service aces with a .35 average. Batista is sixth in the Big 12 with 3.81 digs per game.

Iowa State reclaimed its blocking game against Oklahoma and moved back up the ranks to second. The team did, however, drop a spot to Texas A&M in the dig category with 15.14 per game. Texas A&M’s Holly Clay is hot on the heels of Churm, who notches 4.37 per game to Clay’s 4.17.

The Cyclones said they can’t overlook Texas Tech, reminiscing of past matches against Colorado and Baylor.

The Cyclones executed their game plan and consistently stayed a step ahead of Oklahoma.

“We definitely need to take at least two of these next three games, and the motivation from Oklahoma should help a lot,” Boeve said. “We just have to play smart, because we don’t want too much pressure on us.”

Johnson said these next few weeks will be a testament to how far the team has come.

“It will be exciting and we know we can beat those teams,” she said.

“There will be pressure on both sides, but we just have to stay relaxed and stay confident.