The ISU football team isn’t the only Cyclone squad heading to the Lone Star State this weekend. 

After an easy sweep against the West Virginia Mountaineers on Wednesday, ISU volleyball will take on Baylor in a difficult road match.

During ISU coach Christy Johnson-Lynch’s tenure at Iowa State, she is 8-2 in Waco, Texas. Even with the historical success, Johnson-Lynch does not believe it will be easy matchup.

“Playing Baylor on the road will be incredibly difficult,” Johnson-Lynch said. “During my time at Iowa State, we have had difficulty passing and serving down there.”

Over the past five seasons, Iowa State has averaged 50.8 assists and 7.4 serving errors when they travel to Baylor, numbers that are worse than they might sound to the volleyball novice.

It is hard for Johnson-Lynch to put a finger on why it is so difficult for the Cyclones to do well in those statistical categories. But she and the rest of the ISU volleyball team may have to figure it out quickly, as a win over the Cyclones would help make a case for the Bears to claim an NCAA tournament bid.

“[Baylor] is playing with a lot of confidence right now, so we have to make sure we do not come out flat against them,” Johnson-Lynch said.

The leaders for the Cyclones will be a key factor in this match against the Bears. Not only will they have to make sure everyone on the team avoids coming out flat, but they will have to prepare for some of the best blocking in the Big 12.

So far this year, Baylor ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 2.28 blocks per set. Baylor also has six players with at least 40 blocks this season. To combat Baylor’s solid blocking, Iowa State will have to do one thing they’ve struggled to do against Baylor in recent years — pass the ball.

“We have to make sure we can pass the ball around and give our setter options when we take on Baylor,” Johnson-Lynch said.

If the Cyclones are able to make passes, ISU setter Monique Harris will have no trouble finding an option, as Iowa State has five players with at least 100 kills this season.

The match against Baylor will mark the end of the first half of the Big 12 schedule for Iowa State. The Cyclones have played solid thus far, only losing to the top two Big 12 teams on the road — Texas and Kansas.

Other than those two losses, Iowa State has dominated its competition of the conference, at least on paper.

“We have sort of established ourselves over the bottom teams of the Big 12,” said junior hitter Ciara Capezio.

In the Big 12 standings, Iowa State ranks third while Baylor stands in sixth place. But according the national rating percentage index, a power-ranking system, the Cyclones are not significantly more talented than the Bears, ranking only nine spots above Baylor nationally.  

The Cyclones will take the floor against the Bears at 2 p.m. Sunday in Waco, Texas.