After sticking with No. 18 Kansas State on Wednesday night, members of the ISU volleyball team said they are fired up to take on Baylor at Waco on Saturday in a Big 12 showdown.

“That [Kansas State] game is one of the first games that we had confidence, and we have to take steps to get it back and apply it to every match we have left,” said junior setter Amanda Craig. “We are definitely confident going into Saturday, and, if we play consistent, we should have no problem.”

Baylor was crushed by No. 14 Texas A&M on Wednesday night in a 3-0 rout to drop its record to 11-14 overall. The Bears top Iowa State in conference wins 3-11.

Sophomore Desiree Guilliard-Young boasted a .450 hitting percentage in the A&M game as well as 11 kills. Juniors Stella Odion and Kelly Spriggs each hit at a .500 clip and hammered 10 kills.

Junior Emily Hustonis ranked 10th in the Big 12 in assists with 10.80 a game, as well as sixth in service aces at 0.42. Freshman libero Kristen Schramekis was eighth in digs with 3.78 a game.

The Bears are adamant in blocking as Adeline Meira is second in the conference with 1.62 blocks a game, followed by Guilliard-Young at 1.24. The team ranks fourth overall with an average 2.96 stuffs a game.

As each team comes into Saturday’s contest with losses, ISU coach Linda Crum said she feels her team has the ability to change what happened the last time they played Baylor, when the Bears came away with a 3-1 win during Iowa State’s Homecoming weekend.

“We had a poor match at home against them, playing very flat and not putting much into it emotionally,” Crum said.

“There’s more we can do — as in showing up mentally ready to play and having our outsides be as consistent as they were [against Kansas State]. I was proud of the way we played and pursued the match.”

The Cyclones, now 8-15 overall and 1-13 in the Big 12, nearly matched Kansas State swing for swing, including a record-breaking performance by sophomore Katie Jessen. She posted 21 kills en route to a new career high.

Crum said she was pleased with the consistency of her outside hitters and the team’s passing game. She wants the team to increase the speed of its offense and compete at a higher level than it has been.

The Cyclones will also have to incorporate new rotations due to the loss of sophomore libero Katie Churm, who is out indefinitely with an injury.

Crum said though Churm has been an important part of the team, she was proud of Brittany Dalager’s performance in the role Wednesday night; Dalager finished with 18 digs.

Crum said the team should improve in the finishing of matches and responding to the pushes of opponents.

She also said the team needs to count on a new-found confidence to highlight the fact that no game is out of reach.

“The girls need to understand that they aren’t able to just play well, but they’re able to play well and beat a team,” Crum said.

“Honestly, they don’t need to feel good about competing but about always competing well and getting the win.”