After a win against North Dakota State interrupted conference play, the ISU volleyball team returns to Big 12 action Tuesday against Texas Tech.

Iowa State has won two in a row, and four out of its last five.

The Cyclones (10-6, 3-2 Big 12) have taken great strides this season, already tripling their conference win total from last season. The Red Raiders, however, (8-6, 2-3) hold a 19-2 record in the series.

ISU coach Christy Johnson said Texas Tech presents some unusual situations.

“They’re a pretty tough serving team,” she said. “Five of their six servers are jump servers, and that’s very unusual. Usually most teams have one or two.”

Junior-college transfer Philster Sang leads the way for the Red Raiders with 234 kills, and Emily Ziegler has 21 aces on the season. Comparatively, Iowa State’s Katie Jessen has 177 kills, and Katie Churm also has 21 aces.

Sang had 19 kills against No. 7 Missouri, a match Texas Tech lost 3-2 after taking the first two games.

“We have to slow her down and handle the serves,” Johnson said of Sang.

In addition to aces, Churm also leads the team in digs with 257, 40 more than Texas Tech’s Desiree Batista.

“They’re somewhat of an unorthodox team, and I think that we have to expect the unexpected,” said Churm, who ranks second in the Big 12 with 4.76 digs per game. “We can’t underestimate them at all.”

The Cyclones have found success in part because of the performance of sophomore Erin Boeve, who was named Big 12 player of the week Monday. Boeve leads the team with 14 solo blocks and 54 block assists, and tallied a .348 hitting percentage last week, with 21 kills and 14 block assists.

“She allows us to compete with the better teams,” Johnson said.

“She is an elite athlete, and that’s what’s so special about her. She does some things that none of us could even dream of doing because she’s so physical.”

Texas Tech’s Brianna Florus leads the team with 11 solo blocks and 48 block assists.

The Cyclones’ Amanda Craig, who leads the team with 608 assists, said the newfound success can be attributed in part to fans who come to the game.

“It just keeps bringing in more and more people, and it causes a much more positive environment for us.”

Churm said she agreed, saying Iowa State can’t afford to take any opponent lightly.

“I think [confidence is] very high, but at the same time I think that we have the composure to go out and be competitive each game,” she said. “It’s going to be a semi-tough match, but I think it’s doable and we expect to go out and win.”

Johnson, who is the first ISU coach to win the first five games of a season, said the team has surprised her this season, especially because she wasn’t sure what to expect before the season began.

“We won some matches that I didn’t know we could win,” Johnson said. “Now I know what we’re capable of.”

The first serve in Tuesday’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum.