After Colorado trounced the ISU volleyball team Wednesday night, the Cyclones will attempt to avoid the same fate this weekend.

Iowa State was downed in three games at Colorado, a feat it had handed to the Buffaloes on Sept. 28. Although Iowa State has increased its level of competition, it wasn’t the only team that had improved.

“Colorado is playing much better volleyball now, and that was apparent with the win streak it was on,” said coach Christy Johnson. “We were in their gym and we were not quite as aggressive or confident as we were in Ames.”

She said the loss was a disappointment to the entire team, but it’s something that has happened and will continue to happen.

“We’ve been able to bounce back from losses so far, and we take the lessons we learn from those to heart,” she said. “You have to move on from those pretty quickly.”

Iowa State hopes to take another team it defeated earlier in the season and gain a similar outcome, especially with a home advantage.

The Cyclones downed Baylor 3-1 in Waco, Texas, on the heels of a hot streak but, like Colorado, the Bears aren’t the same team as before.

Iowa State slipped to sixth in the Big 12 rankings. Both teams share identical overall records at 13-10, but Iowa State holds a 6-6 conference record, while the Bears are 4-7.

“They will be a lot more athletic and bigger on the net, similar to Colorado,” Johnson said. “They are a better team this time around and we have to be better prepared for them.”

Junior 6-foot-5 middle blocker Desiree Guilliard-Young is back from a knee injury she sustained early in the season and she made her presence known with a Big 12 Player of the Week honor.

Guilliard-Young notched a .373 hitting percentage and averaged four kills a game in wins over Texas A&M and Kansas. She was phenomenal against the Jayhawks with a .414 hitting mark and a career-high 18 kills. Her blocking game will be a factor against Iowa State, as she averages 1.74 a game.

“They have a few players back that we didn’t see the first time, especially their middle blocker,” Johnson said. “They will be better in that area and will be feeding her a lot of balls. We need to get our defense working first before we concentrate on our offense.”

Baylor is second in the conference in blocks, topping Iowa State 3.11 to 3.07. Junior Nicole LeBlanc is eighth in the Big 12 in kills with 3.70 a game, aided by senior setter Emily Huston at 11.92 assists per game.

Iowa State’s priority has more to do with its side of the net instead of its opponents’, starting with its passing game, Johnson said.

“If we can get our passes on, we are more able to get a sideout,” she said. “If we can get at least one to [Amanda] Craig, we can allow one or two bad ones. Some rotations are more difficult for us to sideout, and we have to find ways to score during those.”

In addition to the physical tweaks of the game, Johnson said mental clarity will need to be apparent for future wins.

“We’re successful when we got after everything and take chances,” she said. “When we back down we really struggle, and that’s a reminder that we have to keep at it.”