With four matches left in Iowa State’s regular season, the Cyclones get one of their biggest tests on Saturday.

After all the bustle dies down in Jack Trice Stadium, Cyclone fans will file into the seats at Hilton Coliseum for a showdown between No. 24 Iowa State and the No. 3 Texas Longhorns.

Earlier this season, the Longhorns dominated Iowa State in Austin, Texas. Beating Iowa State at home has been a common trend historically — the Longhorns are 23-0 in Austin against the Cyclones.

Texas has controlled the series against Iowa State when the two meet in Ames, as well. Iowa State is 5-16 in Hilton Coliseum against the Longhorns, with four of those wins coming with Christy Johnson-Lynch at the helm for the Cyclones.

Last season’s meeting in Ames, Johnson-Lynch and the Cyclones mustered up enough for the program’s fifth win. Almost a year later, Johnson-Lynch is seeking to duplicate that win.

Johnson-Lynch knows a key ingredient for tackling Texas is serving.

“Serving is a big part of [offsetting their size],” Johnson-Lynch said. “If their setter gets the ball at the net, they’re so physical at two or three spots [it’s hard to defend]. We have to be able to know where the ball is going.”

Realistically, the odds of Iowa State finishing anywhere other than fourth in the Big 12 this season are slim even if it manages to knock off Texas.

The win could provide a rise in Iowa State’s Rating Percentage Index, or RPI, stock. Multiple factors go into determining the host sites for the NCAA Championships for volleyball, and RPI is one of the big ones.

Essentially, RPI is improved when a team beats good teams or avoids losses from bad teams. Even when a team loses to another quality team, its RPI won’t be impacted as much.

Iowa State’s RPI currently sits at No. 13 in Division I. Texas finds itself at No. 6 on the RPI rankings. With a win over the Longhorns, the Cyclones would almost be guaranteed to leapfrog some teams and improve their odds at being a host.

Knocking off Texas will be a tall task for the Cyclones, literally. Up and down the Longhorn roster hitters and blockers are listed at 6-foot-1 or taller, including three players with a 6-foot-4 stature.

The Longhorns aren’t just tall, they also produce. The Longhorn’s 6-foot-2 senior middle blocker Chiaka Ogbogu leads the NCAA in blocks per set, averaging 1.81. Ogbogu is also third in the Big 12 for hitting percentage with a .405.

Ogbogu will be the ringleader for the Texas defense, but Iowa State is preparing for the size.

“As a hitter, hitting against a big block, it’s really important [to hit] high,” said senior hitter Alexis Conaway. “You can use their hands or [hit] around [them], but I think for them it’ll be important to hit high.”

Ogbogu’s partners in crime are 6-foot-4 senior outside hitter Ebony Nwanebu, freshman outside hitter Lexi Sun and 6-foot-1 sophomore outside hitter Micaya White.

Nwanebu and Sun are eighth and ninth in the Big 12 for hitting percentage (.300, .299), edging out Iowa State right side Samara West, who’s No. 10 with a .294 hitting percentage.

White isn’t quite as efficient as the trio, but the sophomore has still managed to rack up the second most kills for Texas, accounting for 245 kills.

“I think for a defensive point of view, it’s just realizing you’re going to have to cover a lot more balls since they are a lot taller,” said redshirt sophomore libero Hali Hillegas.