Junior outside hitter Jess Schaben has spent the last two-and-a-half years rifling volleyball’s past opponents for Iowa State.

The previous four seasons, Schaben was a leading force for a different Cyclones team.

Growing up, Schaben was one of about 280 residents living in Defiance, Iowa, located in the southwest region of the state. Defiance’s slim population isn’t large enough to warrant its own school, so Schaben commuted 13 miles to Harlan.

Compared to Defiance, Harlan is a metropolis, maintaining a population of almost 5,000 residents. When Schaben became a Harlan Cyclone, she put herself on coaches’ radars.

“I started getting recruited around my freshman year [of high school],” Schaben said. “I think I committed after my sophomore year.”

What did Schaben do to earn that much recruiting attention so early in her high school career?

Schaben’s freshman season showed a glimpse of the outside hitter’s potential. Schaben racked up 459 kills, ranking her seventh in the state of Iowa.

Derek Martin, the manager of sports operations at a western Iowa radio station named KMA, covered all four seasons of the Schaben’s career. Martin noticed Schaben from the beginning.

“She was awesome, immediately,” Martin said. “Obviously, she was really tall, long, athletic and could jump, [but] I think the thing that was most impressive with her is she was also really, really volleyball smart.”

Schaben would follow up her strong freshman campaign with more dominant seasons. Schaben accounted for at least 400 kills each season, totaling 2,002 kills throughout her high school career.

Not only was Schaben a commanding player on the court, but she also grew throughout her high school career.

“She turned into a leader there throughout her high school career,” Martin said. “A lot of people [were] really impressed with her athleticism [and] her abilities, but I think if you talk with some of her high school coaches, [they would say] she was ultra-competitive.”

It’s worth noting that some of the competition in rural Iowa is sometimes lackluster. Regardless of the size of a school, when the state tournament rolls around, it’s guaranteed to be stocked with quality talent.

If Schaben was feasting on less-talented schools and padding her stats, one could believe she might be quieter when Harlan was in postseason play against higher-ranked schools.

Instead, Schaben answered the call. In her junior season at Harlan, Schaben managed 81 attack attempts and connected on 31 of those in the Class 4A State Semifinals.

After a five set win in the semifinal match, Schaben backed it up with another 31 kill performance; this time, the high school standout was more efficient, only using 73 attempts, while leading Harlan to a state championship.

“Every time I saw her [in high school], [it] was a standout moment,” Martin said.

All good things must come to an end, and Schaben’s high school career was no different.

As Schaben’s high school career concluded, her name was being tossed all around in the volleyball world.

The lanky hitter earned the 2015 Des Moines Register female high school athlete of the year and was heralded as the No. 27 recruit in the nation according to PrepVolleyball.com.

After snagging two state titles for the Harlan Cyclones, Schaben was on to her next team: the Iowa State Cyclones.

The gap between high school volleyball and college volleyball is a big one. Even with all of Schaben’s recognitions from high school, it was no certainty that her success would translate to the Big 12.

Not only is the talent level heightened, but the pressure and crowds also increase.

“It’s definitely different from having a high school game, where there’s maybe 100 people, [compared] to coming to a game [in Ames] where there’s thousands [of people],” Schaben said.

Schaben had the luxury of an experienced coach with a lot of success when she entered college.

Iowa State coach Christy Johnson-Lynch saw Schaben’s potential early on in the hitter’s career.

Johnson-Lynch saw Schaben succeed early on at Iowa State, but she also got to watch the hitter grow.

“She’s growing as a leader,” Johnson-Lynch said. “[She’s] ultra-competitive. You definitely see that in the big matches. I think she’s taking more and more ownership of the team.”

Johnson-Lynch isn’t the only member of the Iowa State team to notice Schaben’s growth.

A common theme in describing Schaben is talking about her competitiveness. Competitive fire is almost necessary for any athlete, but it needs to be controlled.

Senior middle blocker Alexis Conaway has been Schaben’s teammate for the entirety of Schaben’s collegiate career.

Conaway has taken note of how Schaben’s competitiveness has changed as the junior’s career has progressed.

“You can tell [Schaben’s] just a competitor, so I think she’s always had that,” Conaway said. “But now, over the years, she’s learned how to channel that.”

Schaben has this season and the next to continue to impose her trademarked competitiveness on Big 12 opponents.

It’s been a long road for Schaben, from a town of 280 people to a campus of 36,321 students. The jump was a big one, but Schaben thinks it was the right one.

“I just loved the atmosphere here and the way the team [is] such good friends.” Schaben said. “I like the campus, just everything Iowa State had to offer I really liked. It felt like a really good fit.”