The ISU volleyball team is looking to get one step closer to becoming state champions Tuesday when they travel to Cedar Falls to face No 6. Northern Iowa at 7 p.m. in UNI’s West Gym.

Iowa State hasn’t defeated Northern Iowa since Sept. 12, 1992.

Despite that record against the Panthers, head coach Linda Crum said the team is excited for the match.

“UNI is obviously a great team. Their environment to play in is just a great competitive volleyball arena,” Crum said.

“They have a great fan base and draw an exciting crowd that likes volleyball.

“Going there you just know it’s a fun volleyball venue and that is something you really enjoy seeing if you are a volleyball fan. You love to see that atmosphere and you love to have your kids be a part of it.”

In the meeting between the two teams last season, the Panthers won three games to one.

“Every year we have gotten better and every year we have played UNI better,” said senior Dana Koziol.

“Last year we took a game from them here at Hilton, so this year we should do even better.”

Playing their first nationally ranked team doesn’t worry Cyclones players.

“We play in the Big 12 and almost every team is ranked, so we are used to that,” Koziol said.

Crum adds that playing a ranked team puts the team in a great opportunity.

“It’s a big deal if we beat them and they are expected to beat us,” Crum said.

“So going in as the underdog, it is a great situation to go in and come out with a victory.”

With a 5-1 record, Iowa State is off to its best start since the 1997 season, when the team won eight straight matches.

The Cyclones are coming into the match off a second-place finish in the Cyclone Challenge.

Playing Iowa for the first time since 1997 last Friday, the Cyclones defeated the Hawkeyes 3-1. Iowa State went on to beat Western Illinois 3-0 before falling to Kentucky 3-0 for their first loss of the season.

Northern Iowa is currently 3-1 and is coming off a 3-1 win over Northern Illinois. The Panthers’ only loss has been to No. 1 University of Southern California.

“They have a senior setter and two senior middle blockers that are very strong,” Crum said. “They are all strong players, so if they keep getting the ball offensively, they can be very dominant.

“That is why if we serve well, we hope to keep the ball away from those middles and maybe make their offense more predictable, defend well, and therefore put ourselves in a situation where we can be very competitive.”

Senior middle blocker Molly O’Brien leads the Panther offense with 57 kills, averaging 4.07 per game. She also averages 1.29 blocks per game and has recorded 33 digs.

Jill Arganbright, senior setter for the Panthers, has 183 assists, averaging 13.07 per game and also has 32 digs.

“UNI is a tough team and I think if we can serve well and defend well, I think it can be a very competitive match,” Crum said. “We really have the ball control that can keep us competitive with UNI.”

Along with defense, Crum said communication is going to be important for the game.

“Really, the key is going to be communication and how hard we work,” Crum said.

“If you play great defense, it means you’re talking about what is happening.

“Serving is going to be the second most important thing. If we can keep their offense system out of rhythm, that’s going to affect them.”

Koziol said the team wants to go in and see what they can do.

“UNI is always a fun match,” Koziol said.

“We are going to have to have ball control, pass and play defense, which will allow us to run the middle and open up our outside hitters.”