A trap game is built around the idea that a team will look past a lesser opponent while focusing on a game or match that is two or three days away. This mentality has been producing upsets for years and is something of which the ISU volleyball team is very aware.

Iowa State (15-7, 8-3 Big 12) is preparing for a midweek matchup with West Virginia (5-18, 0-10 Big 12) that has all the makings of a trap game. Iowa State is coming off a big win at Texas Christian and sits third in the Big 12.

“West Virginia is a tough team, and we’re playing down in their place,” said ISU coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. “They are easy to overlook with Texas coming later in the week, but we are going to play one match at a time.”

The Cyclones are coming off of a sweep against TCU. They had their offense firing on all cylinders behind stellar performances from Samara West and Morgan Kuhrt. Both Kuhrt and West finished with 12 kills and hit over .500 for the match.

“We just wanted to be competitive and kill any ball that came our way,” West said. “They do a great job of blocking, so we stayed hitting high to get over the top.”

Iowa State could be in store for another offensive showcase against an WVU defense that has been lacking all season. The Mountaineers rank dead last in the Big 12 in opponent hitting percentage and digs, which should provide openings for the Cyclones, who rank fourth in the conference in kills.

The Cyclones have also been serving the ball with precision recently, landing a high number of aces. Against TCU, Iowa State landed four straight aces to save its sweep in the second set, and that is just a small sample size.

The Cyclones are leading the Big 12 in aces with 105 total at 1.46 per set. Their serves could prove lethal once again against a WVU defense that has allowed the most aces in the conference.

“We’ve gone into games knowing we have a much better chance to win if we can keep them away from the net,” said Caitlin Nolan, who was responsible for back-to-back aces against TCU. “We just want to try and keep teams away from executing their game plans.”

One major issue the Cyclones will have to deal with is the hometown crowd of the Mountaineers.

West Virginia has always boasted a quality homecourt advantage, even when its team isn’t at the top of the standings. The Cyclones got a taste of playing in a small, hostile environment last week against the Horned Frogs, so they will try to put the crowd away early again as they did in Fort Worth, Texas.

“It’s always tough to go into Morgantown, it’s a big arena that they fill pretty well, but we are going to go in focused,” Nolan said. “We aren’t thinking about Texas right now. Our only goal is beating West Virginia.”