A point of emphasis for Cyclone volleyball head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch has always been creating tough non-conference schedules.

The main reason for this is so her team can be fully prepared for the rigors of Big 12 Conference play, as well as the national tournament. That’s why, instead of scheduling an easy tune-up to start the season, Iowa State played host to a trio of teams from Power 5 conferences in Ole Miss, Virginia and Oregon State.

The schedule will get even tougher this week, as Iowa State will take on its highest ranked opponent to date on Wednesday. The opponent isn’t anyone unique to the Cyclones’ schedule, and isn’t even a Power 5 squad like the last three teams ISU played. However, they may be the toughest foe that ISU has on its non-conference slate.

Say hello to the No. 17 Northern Iowa Panthers, who defeated No. 13 Creighton and No. 5 Kentucky last weekend to start the season 2-1. The Panthers are winners of the last two years over Iowa State and currently the only ranked team in the state of Iowa.

“They’re a tough bunch of kids,” Johnson-Lynch said. “It’s going to be incredibly difficult. They’re very good and they’re playing at home, so it’s going to be a tough task.”

According to Johnson-Lynch, the Panthers are a particularly tough test thanks in large part to their defensive capabilities. Johnson-Lynch praised the Panthers for their unique strategies, one of which includes following a high-level hitter and using two or more blockers against them, and for being well-coached as a team.

Johnson-Lynch also praised UNI’s two outside hitters, junior Karlie Taylor and sophomore Jaydlin Seehase, as being integral parts to the team’s success.

Beyond players and schemes, making matters more difficult is the fact that the game will be in Cedar Falls at the McLeod Center. The arena is a smaller, yet more intimate environment than Hilton Coliseum, which means that crowd noise can pile on top of players quickly.

That’ll likely be the case on Wednesday, as both the Cyclones and Panthers are expecting a sizable turnout for the in-state rivalry game. With it being also being the first true road game of the season, Johnson-Lynch is interested in seeing how the younger players respond to the hostile environment.

“You really don’t know until you play in that environment,” Johnson-Lynch said. “It’s going to be loud and rowdy, but this is where we see the mental side of it and how you can handle it.”

One of those young players is freshman Eleanor Holthaus, who had a strong debut weekend for Iowa State with 32 kills in three games. Holthaus admitted that she was a bit intimidated by the Hilton Coliseum’s environment and had nerves going into that first weekend, but that she and the team’s other newcomers were able to calm down with help from the upperclassmen.

The McLeod Center will provide a different (and much more hostile) environment to the Cyclones than Hilton, but Holthaus is treating the test like it’s no big deal.

“UNI is just any other game,” Holthaus said. “Whether it’s at home or away, we have the same task at hand and that’s to go in focused and play as best as we can.”

In the past two matches, however, Iowa State’s best hasn’t been enough to take down the Panthers. In both 2016 and 2017, UNI beat Iowa State in five sets to stake its claim as the best team in the state.

Having been on the team for both of those losses, Senior Jess Schaben knows full well what the Panthers are capable of as a team and says that Iowa State will have to bring their own energy if the team wants to break its losing streak against UNI.

In particular, Schaben echoed her coach in saying that UNI is a scrappy team that plays well defensively, rarely letting the ball hit the floor. Add in the unwelcoming environment, and Iowa State will have what Schaben says is a challenge on par with many of Iowa State’s conference opponents.

“(UNI) is pretty similar to a lot of Big 12 schools,” Schaben said. “Not only is (the game) going to help us for the Big 12, but all over, wherever we play. Playing with pressure is good.”