In the first half of Big 12 play, the Iowa State volleyball team only suffered three losses: Kansas, Baylor and Texas. Come Saturday night at Hilton Coliseum, the Cyclones have a chance to split this year’s series against the Kansas Jayhawks.

In the first match against the Jayhawks this season, Iowa State lost in five sets down in Lawrence after being up two sets to none. But it wasn’t like the Cyclones played poorly in that match.

“[Iowa State] did a lot of things right in that match,” coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said. “We played well. We didn’t lose down there because we didn’t execute or play well.”

The Cyclones’ outside hitters, Jess Schaben and Alexis Conaway, played well in that matchup. They recorded 18 and 15 kills respectively. Iowa State’s back row attack also played well. But as the match wore on, the Cyclones’ performance decreased.

In the three sets that Iowa State lost, the team hit .156, .070 and .200 percent. Plus, the Cyclones’ defense allowed Kansas to hit .314, .214 and .385 percent in those last three sets as well.

“We didn’t quite stick with the game plan,” Johnson-Lynch said.

Not only did Iowa State’s overall play decrease, but there were some areas where the Cardinal and Gold were completely ineffective during that match. The Cyclones slide attack was not producing any offense, their serve wasn’t as tough as it should have been and they could not neutralize Kansas’ outside hitters in Johnson-Lynch’s eyes.

In the first match, Jayhawks’ outside hitters Kelsie Payne and Madison Rigdon both tallied 20 or more kills. Payne had 22 and Rigdon had 20. Most of those kills came while targeting Iowa State setter Monique Harris.

Harris was playing all the way around and she is one of the Cyclones’ shortest blockers. The Jayhawks noticed that and took advantage of it.

“I think we just need to play more defense behind Monique [Harris],” said libero Hali Hillegas. “And just realize that [Kansas] could come after her again on Saturday.”

Hillegas expects Iowa State to hit at Kansas’ setters or Payne and Rigdon in general to try and get them out of the system to lessen their impact the second time around.

Since that loss to Kansas, Iowa State has continued to grow.

The Cyclones have become a better blocking team. Last week against West Virginia and TCU, Iowa State tallied 19 and 14 blocks, respectively. They have also become more dynamic.

Iowa State’s outside hitters and middle blockers are starting to hit different types of shots. Plus, the Cyclones have raved about how their serving has gotten tougher and tougher the past several weeks.

“Our serving has gotten really, really good since the first time we have played [Kansas],” Hillegas said.

Hillegas expects Iowa State’s serving to be a crucial key in the Cyclones chances against the Jayhawks this Saturday.

Staying true to the game plan: that is Iowa State’s mindset heading into Saturday’s matchup against Kansas. If they can stay on course, instead of getting off track this time around, the Cyclones feel like they have a good chance to claim a win over the Jayhawks.

“Staying focused,” Hillegas said. “I think it will be a huge advantage playing at home, in front of our home crowd. I think that will help a lot.”