Iowa State’s volleyball team was not expecting the success they have seen this season. With only seven returning players and nine newcomers, the season looked uncertain.

Freshman starter, Jennifer Collins, also saw the unexpected early this season.

Collins once believed that her first season on the ISU volleyball team would be a nice, quiet transition from high school. She thought that she would be an off-the-bench contributor, and possibly wiggle herself into position a starting position later in her career.

After the first two tournaments of the season, it has become quite clear that this “subtle” transition thing is not going to fly.

The team is off to a 6-0 start after the tournament, the best start in school history. And it just so happens that Collins has been one of the team’s key contributors.

Collins, from Arapahoe, Neb., was named the MVP of the Hofstra Tournament over the weekend, garnering 35 kills and 10 blocks over three matches.

“To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to start right away, I didn’t think that I would,” Collins said. “I certainly wasn’t expecting to improve as much in such a short period of time.”

Collins was also named to the Creighton all-tournament team after recording 22 kills. Her progress this season has impressed ISU Coach Jackie Nunez.

“I knew Jennifer Collins was going to be great; I didn’t realize that she was going to be so good so soon,” Nunez said. “I think the most impressive thing is that she is playing like a seasoned veteran already at this point of her career.”

Collins is far from being the only Cyclone this season to receive post-tournament accolades.

Outside hitter Colleen Henican and setter Julie McGrath were named to the all-tournament team in both tournaments this season.

Senior outside hitter Heidi Rogers, was named all-tournament at the season-opening Creighton Tournament.

“We all know our roles on the team and what we have to do,” said Henican, who was named MVP of the Creighton Tournament.

“We’ve all been able to do our roles and that has contributed to our success,” she said.

Henican and Rogers played major roles on the first team in school history to make the NCAA tournament in 1995.

ISU beat Idaho, 15-13, 15-15, 15-10, in the first round at Hilton Coliseum before losing to Notre Dame at South Bend, Ind.

Henican started and Rogers rotated in as a reserve in both matches.

“I remember it so vividly, it was one of the funnest things I’ve ever done, it was just so awesome,” Henican said.

“Being in the national tournament is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before,” she said. “I’ve won a state championship and all kinds of stuff, but nothing compares to that.”

Rogers, the only senior on the team, also said she had good memories of the NCAA tournament years ago. But she said she wanted to advance further into the tournament during her final season.

“I remember after we lost to Notre Dame, Colleen and I looked at each other and said we wanted to go farther,” Rogers said. “It’s such a great experience to get there, but once you’re there, you want to go farther.”

Collins experienced something similar at Arapahoe High, a school with an enrollment of 71 students in grades 9-12.

“I was on a team that qualified for the girls’ state volleyball tournament for the first time in school history,” she said.

“We were really excited. Coming from a such small school, making it to state was a such a big deal,” she said. “We didn’t get past the first round, but it was still exciting.”

Catch the netters as they continue to work on their flawless record with hopes of going all the way to the NCAA tournament.

This weekend they play host at the Iowa State Invitational on Friday and Saturday in Hilton Coliseum.