When Iowa State volleyball faces Nebraska in Lincoln on Sunday, it’ll be like a family reunion.

That’s because two of the team’s coaches, coach Christy Johnson-Lynch and assistant coach Fiona Fonoti, will return to the Bob Devaney Sports Center for the first time as members of the same staff.

The two were part of the Nebraska team that won the school’s first national championship in 1995, and starred for the Huskers by winning All-America honors as setters (Johnson-Lynch in 1994 and 1995, and Fonoti from 1996-98).

Now in her 14th season as head coach, Johnson-Lynch is no stranger to the homecoming. She’s faced her alma mater 18 times since taking the Iowa State job and knows what to expect at this point. Fonoti, however, will be returning for the the first time as a coach in any capacity, and she’s excited to share the moment with a close friend.

“Going back, especially with Christy, it’s going to be pretty awesome,” Fonoti said. “All the former Huskers, they still carry that red ‘N’ with pride.”

There’s a reason for that, too. On the court, Nebraska is arguably the gold standard in women’s college volleyball. Not only has the team won two of the last three national titles, but the Huskers also have wins all-time than any other program with over 1,300.

That combination of current success and storied tradition gives the Huskers access to blue-chip prospects year in and year out, basically ensuring that the team is always re-loading. Needless to say, winning against Nebraska is a big deal because it’s rare that most teams ever do.

Even for a traditionally strong program like Iowa State, that’s the case. In 17 tries against her former team, Johnson-Lynch has only two wins, one in 2009 and one in 2012.

Some of of Nebraska’s strategies have certainly changed over the years, especially since Johnson-Lynch was in school playing under former coach Terry Pettit, but the recipe for success is largely the same. Not only will the Huskers be more talented, but they’ll likely be better coached, too.

“It’s a little bit different style,” Johnson-Lynch said. “It’s a different coach (John Cook) so that makes sense, but they’re still huge and physical and well-trained.”

While the on-court success is/was great, Fonoti emphasized that the values learned as a Husker is what sticks with current and former players the most.

For her personally, Fonoti said that the hard work and dedication to excellence expected at Nebraska has carried over to both her teaching and coaching career. In fact, she said that those values have, essentially, helped mold her into the person she is today.

“It’s big time,” Fonoti said. “A lot of the values that I learned from coach Pettit and being with the Husker program instilled a lot of great things in me. It was such a wonderful experience.”

Make no mistake about it, though. While Johnson-Lynch and Fonoti hold deep admiration for their time at Nebraska, they’re also competitors at heart. The two have every expectation of going into Lincoln and pulling off an upset over the No. 7 team in the country.

It certainly won’t be easy. Nebraska has plenty of newcomers this year, which may help, but the team is as talented as every bit as talented as its predecessors. On top of that, the Devaney Center will almost certainly be packed to the brink with Husker fans, like it always is.

It’s safe to say that those fans will be loud and will make life very difficult for the Cyclones when the game starts. Before that, though, the two coaches say that it’s an equally safe bet that they’ll recognize the contributions and achievements of two of their finest.

“I’m sure Fiona will get a standing ovation when she comes back,” Johnson-Lynch said.

To which Fonoti replied, “If I get one, it’ll probably be a few seconds after hers. Hers will probably be a few minutes.”