The No. 25 Iowa State women’s volleyball team looks to make a late-season push with six matches remaining. The Cyclones will travel to Houston before returning home to face No. 16 TCU.
Iowa State had built strong momentum after its five-set win over No. 6 Arizona State, but that was quickly halted with a sweep loss to UCF in the following match.
These final regular-season matches could play a major role in determining how the first rounds of the NCAA Tournament unfold for the Cyclones.
64 teams earn a spot in the NCAA volleyball championship. The top 32 receive a favorable first-round matchup, and the top 16 host the opening weekend.
Iowa State is currently ranked No. 25 in the AVCA poll and No. 20 in RPI. Who the Cyclones face and where they play will depend heavily on the final six matches of the season.
Houston
The Houston Cougars are 8-15 (1-11 Big 12), but the record isn’t the full story. Houston leads the all-time series between the pair 4-1.
While the Cougars are on a 10-game losing streak, they have a .500 record at home.
The Cougars have some individuals who can be dangerous if taken lightly. Redshirt senior middle back Barakat Rahmon is second in the Big 12 in hitting percentage, hitting .364. Right behind Rahmon is Iowa State senior middle blocker Tierney Jackson at .362.
Also on the Big 12 statistical leaderboard for the Cougars is senior libero Alana Torress-Rivera for digs, averaging 3.76 a set.
While the match against Houston shouldn’t be close on paper, the contest could allow the Cyclones to get back on their feet after getting swept by UCF. The Cyclones will need everything they have for their next home contest.
No. 16 TCU
The TCU Horned Frogs will travel to Ames for a match Saturday following a Thursday contest against the Colorado Buffaloes. Playing TCU on the second leg of their road trip could benefit the Cyclones, but playing at home has also been a key to their success.
The Horned Frogs are also coming into the week on a two-game win streak with wins over Utah and West Virginia.
TCU is going into this week’s matches in fifth place in the Big 12, just a spot behind Iowa State.
While Iowa State finds itself ahead in the conference standings, TCU is both ahead in the AVCA poll and RPI. TCU does have some big-ranked wins at the time of the contest. The Horned Frogs defeated No. 5 Penn State, No. 19 UCLA twice, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 23 Missouri, No. 18 Kansas and have a battle with No. 22 Colorado before traveling to Iowa State.
That is a reason one finds TCU’s RPI ranking at No.15 and the coaches poll at No. 20. RPI doesn’t take into account when the matchup happened, while the coaches poll is a survey on who the best 25 teams are right now.
Iowa State will be at Houston at 7 p.m. Thursday and host TCU at 2 p.m. Saturday. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
