After a weekend ripe with disappointments at the Results Advertising Missouri State Classic, the ISU volleyball team will have another crucial hurdle to clear – the start of Big 12 play.

The Cyclones face a powerful Missouri team Wednesday night in Columbia, and additional fuel has been added to the Tigers’ fire. The team recently earned a spot in the top 10 after an outstanding weekend performance at the Holiday Inn Classic.

The Tigers downed No. 9 Wisconsin, Montana State and Northern Colorado to garner the votes to move in to the No. 10 spot in the polls.

Iowa State, on the other hand, saw its fire slightly extinguished after setbacks from Utah, Missouri State and Arkansas, dropping its record to 6-4 on the season.

“We played three great teams, and we knew that coming in,” said sophomore hitter Erin Boeve, who had 13 kills in the loss to Arkansas. “We were close in all the games, but there are those little things we need to improve when we start the Big 12.”

The Cyclones must make those improvements now, as they won’t have an easy task on their hands when they open Big 12 play Wednesday.

Missouri is the second-highest ranked team in the Big 12, following indestructible Nebraska, who received 57 of 60 first-place votes. Missouri earned the jump from No. 14 after defeating Wisconsin and then-No. 9 Tennessee a week earlier.

The leadership of the team is placed on the shoulders of senior Lindsey Hunter, who has already earned a Big 12 Player of the Week accolade this season. Last week, Hunter was first in the nation in assists, and now she rests at fourth in the Big 12 with 13 per game. She tallied 41 assists in the Tigers’ win over Wisconsin.

The team is sweeping the conference in nearly all statistical categories and its offensive output seems to be in check. The Tigers are first in hitting percentage with .329, and are keeping opponents to a .126 mark. The team cranks out 18.44 kills a game, and is also first in assists with 17.22 a game.

Boeve said the team, which struggled with hesitation last weekend, will be ready to focus and shock the Tigers.

“They will be looking at our record from last year and expect to shut us out, but they will be totally wrong,” she said.

“They’ll be shocked by our improvement, and they’ll have to watch out for what we have to offer.”