The Cyclone volleyball team needed to regroup.

After getting swept in three straight sets by Division II Wayne State College on Saturday morning, the first match of the Iowa State spring tournament, the Cyclones knew that things needed to change fast if there was any hope of salvaging the day.

So, they formed a circle.

“We didn’t respect [Wayne State] as much as we probably should have and when that happens, things don’t go well,” said senior right-side hitter Hannah Bailey. “We went around the circle and each said a thing as an individual that we could do to bring energy and do our job.”

The result? All nine Cyclones succeeding in both regards, as Iowa State responded from their morning letdown in emphatic fashion by sweeping the Drake Bulldogs in three sets.

Not only did Iowa State sweep the Bulldogs, but each set was more impressive than the last. After taking the first set 25-21, the Cyclones dominated the final two games to the tune of 25-14 and 25-12 scores.

By the time the third set came along, Iowa State looked flat-out dominant against a Bulldog team that finished 23-10 last season. The Cyclones flexed their muscle to the tune of a 9-1 run and an early 12-3 lead in the final set.

Put simply, Iowa State looked like a team that’s made 12 straight NCAA tournaments and is a regular in the American Collegiate Volleyball Association top 25.

This makes it even harder to believe that just three hours earlier, the Cyclones were beaten handily by a team that finished in eighth place in the Division II Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

Even head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch was dumbfounded by her team’s performance in the opening match.

“I really don’t have a great explanation,” Johnson-Lynch said. “Perhaps we just weren’t ready to go or there were some nerves maybe playing at home, but I was definitely proud of the way (the team) turned it around. They could’ve come out frustrated and down from the morning, but they didn’t.”

While Johnson-Lynch noted that the Cyclones made several errors throughout the morning, including ten missed serves in just the first set, she also credited Wayne State’s effort during the match. Specifically, Johnson-Lynch complimented the Wildcats’ serving and defensive capabilities.

With so many errors, however, it would’ve been hard to blame the Cyclones’ head coach had she chosen to rip into her team for losing to a less-talented team. That’s not Johnson-Lynch’s style, though. Instead, she chose to let her players figure out how to right the ship.

“It was all them,” Johnson-Lynch said. “They said they talked, they worked somethings things out and they took care of it. That’s a great response.”

The challenge now for the Cyclones will be ensuring that that response carries over into their final two matches of the spring.

Although a loss won’t hurt the team’s record, the Cyclones know that it would be a let-down if the momentum that they built by the end of Saturday’s tournament vanished with two straight losses.

To avoid this potential disappointment, redshirt junior defensive specialist/libero Hali Hillegas says that the team is set on ensuring that the spring season ends on a high note, despite a currently limited depth chart.

“We’re focused on finishing out strong,” Hillegas said. “It’s just how bad do we want it? How bad do we want to show people that we’re going to have a good spring and that having nine people doesn’t matter?”

The Cyclones will get the chance to show just how bad they want it when they travel to Iowa City next weekend for a match-up with the rival Iowa Hawkeyes.

The Cyclones have had plenty of recent success against the Hawkeyes in the regular season, winning the last two meetings between the teams. The most recent of these meetings was a 3-1 win just last fall, also in Iowa City.

While finishing strong, cleaning up errors and avoiding a slow start are all certainly goals for the team, Bailey made it very clear that there’s one goal above all else for next weekend.

A goal that will never need a team-circle to be made clear.

“Beat Iowa.”