The ISU volleyball team has suffered three straight conference losses, and to overcome the hump will take a win over the No. 24 team in the nation.

The Cyclones (13-11, 6-7 Big 12) have lost consecutive games to Missouri, Colorado and Baylor – the latter two are teams that Iowa State dominated in the first round of Big 12 play. Iowa State endured its first five-game match of the season to Baylor on Saturday, but couldn’t hold on as the final two points slipped away on the team’s own court.

Iowa State will retain home court advantage Wednesday night against Kansas State, which is ranked fifth in the Big 12, one spot above the Cyclones. The teams met Oct. 8 when the Wildcats were ranked at No. 20, and they easily clipped Iowa State in three games.

“Our confidence is huge right now despite our losing streak,” said libero Katie Churm. “We just have to come out from point one this time. We didn’t even show up the last time we played them.”

The Wildcats are 15-7 overall and 6-6 in the conference after losing to No. 8 Missouri last week. Kansas State fought on the road in five games against the Tigers, eventually succumbing in the final game 15-11. Powerhouse Wildcat Agata Rezende totaled 22 kills on the night, followed by three teammates, also in double figures.

Coach Christy Johnson said Kansas State will be a challenge in every aspect, but Iowa State should expect a better game out of itself.

“We didn’t play strong down there at all; there was no match there,” she said. “We are much more competitive than that and we were pretty tense.”

The team will have to defend against Kansas State’s effective jump serving and aggressive blocking.

Joy Hamlin is fourth in the conference in blocks with 1.45 a game and Megan Kroeker is eighth at 1.29. Angie Lastra is one of the most efficient and reliable liberos in the conference, ranking third with 4.14 digs per game.

Iowa State must revamp its blocking game after it has slipped to fourth in the conference rankings behind Kansas State.

The Cyclones have been outblocked in their last four games, including a eight-block margin against Missouri.

Johnson said her team has been working extensively on its rotations, figuring out which patterns work and which need resuscitation.

“We score well with some but need to break down the ones that cause us trouble,” she said. “We need to work on our weaknesses, and look at what the strong rotations are.”

Churm said effort and success comes from practice and it is a basic principle that the team needs to reinforce.

“It all goes back to practice, and we have to come out as hard in those as we do in games,” she said. “We have to do just as well in the second half of the year if we want a postseason.”

The clear answers for the Cyclones’ dismal streak are few, but Johnson said one factor that weighs the team down is simply playing volleyball every day.

“The girls are tired, practice can be a grind and it’s hard to keep pushing yourself,” she said. “But we don’t want to be that team, the one that gives up when it’s down a little.

“We have to get better this month in the second round, and that is our only goal in the next few weeks.”