Now that an exhibition against Drake and the Cardinal and Gold Scrimmage passed, Iowa State volleyball is ready for the regular season.

Friday and Saturday features three matches at home. Iowa State begins the Cyclone Invitational squaring off against Kent State on Friday. Iowa State turns around and plays Omaha and New Mexico on Saturday.

“We want to win. We want to play really hard,” coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said. “I think our offensive numbers need to continue to pick up.”

The Cyclones’ success going into the weekend will partially depend on which rotation they run. On media day, Johnson-Lynch mentioned her uncertainty on whether Iowa State will use the 6-2 or 5-1.

Johnson-Lynch reiterated that uncertainty after the Cardinal and Gold Scrimmage.

“The 6-2 is hard to run, and I think we saw that a little bit tonight,” Johnson-Lynch said. “There’s a lot of moving parts, and the moving parts didn’t look too smooth yet. If we’re going to run [the 6-2], we have to smooth some things out.”

The 6-2 requires two setters. Currently, Iowa State has senior Monique Harris leading the setters. Behind Harris is Des Moines native Piper Mauck.

Mauck, a freshman, lacks experience; however, she does bring the strength of height to the court, measuring in at 6-foot-1.

Some freshmen deal with nervousness prior to their first game, but Mauck has a simple game-plan.

“[We need to] play hard, play our game [and] don’t worry about the little things, but focus on what we do best,” Mauck said.

On the other side of the court, Iowa State will face Kent State to start its season. The Golden Flashes ended last season with a 15-15 record, including a 4-7 road record.

Kent State retained a large amount of experience, listing five seniors on its roster.

On Saturday, the Cyclones will begin the day battling Omaha. Last season, Omaha finished with an 8-22 record with a 2-9 road record. Omaha is less experienced with only two seniors and two juniors.

The final game of the Cyclone Invitational will be against New Mexico. The Lobos finished 2016 with a 16-16 and 3-8 in road matches.

New Mexico is the least experienced of the group. Over half the roster is true freshmen, and only one senior.

Even with New Mexico’s lack of experience, they could have a key factor in the match with redshirt-junior Victoria Spragg.

Spragg is a 6-foot-5 middle blocker, who is taller than any Cyclone, that could pose a problem for Iowa State. Spragg led the Lobos in blocks (118) and hitting percentage (.260), while adding 160 kills.

Iowa State’s hosting the Cyclone Invitational will allow them to be surrounded by a home crowd and ease them back to the regular season. 

The three matches to the season is an opportunity to tinker with the 6-2 and the 5-1. Johnson-Lynch is also keeping an eye out for more production on offense over the weekend.

“We’re big, we’re physical,” Johnson-Lynch said. “We need to put the ball away and run an offense that allows us to do that. I think offensively, just looking for some more firepower from several different people.”