The ISU volleyball team wants fans to know the football game isn’t the only match in town on Saturday.

After years of disappointing seasons and conference defeats, many people will wonder why they should stick around for a normally lackluster game.

The reason is that this year is different.

“We are surprising people this season and really putting the excitement back in there,” said ISU coach Christy Johnson. “This will be a great match against two very high-level teams.”

“High-level” has never been a staple in the ISU volleyball vernacular, but the Cyclones’ fourth-place Big 12 ranking is turning heads this season. A team that is no stranger to the phrase, however, is Iowa State’s weekend opponent.

No. 10 Missouri blazes into Ames with one of the best programs in the country, with a 14-2 record and eight wins in the Big 12. The team’s only two losses have come from conference rivals Nebraska and Texas.

The Tigers neatly disposed of Oklahoma in three effortless games Wednesday night, getting outstanding nights from hitters Jessica Vander Kooi and Na Yang, as well as All-American setter Lindsey Hunter.

Missouri cruised to a 3-0 victory over Iowa State earlier this season in Columbia, but ISU hitter Katie Jessen said the team is a different entity than it was at the beginning of first-round play.

“We’re very excited about how it went, but we always feel like we could have played better,” Jessen said. “We’ve never done this good in an entire season, let alone the first half of the season.”

Johnson said she is excited to get a chance to play Missouri again, even if the outcome doesn’t go her team’s way.

“We are playing our best volleyball right now,” she said. “We are playing hard with a great defense.”

Missouri’s arsenal of players will attempt to derail the Cyclones’ conference success.

The Tigers are led by Hunter, who has reigned as the focal point of the Missouri offense and is ranked second in the nation. Hunter controls the conference in assists with 14.48 per game, and she consistently coaxes 17.67 kills per game from her hitters.

“She is an exceptional setter and a lot of fun to watch,” Johnson said. “She runs the team, which is pretty talented all-around. They are solid; they have no weaknesses.”

Missouri is first in kills in the conference, as well as in service aces and digs. The squad trails only Nebraska with its .300 hitting percentage.

Yang is fifth in the conference with 4.10 kills per game, while Hinton native Vander Kooi takes ninth. Vander Kooi is third in aces with 0.42 per game, followed by Hunter and Shen Danru in the top 10.

“We definitely struggled with their serving last time, and as long as we pass strong we should be able to handle it,” Jessen said.

Win or lose, Johnson said her team will give Missouri a challenge during a weekend of Cyclone pride.