In the dog days of Big 12 play, the ISU volleyball team may have found a spark.

Implementing a new 6-2 offensive attack, the RPI No. 23 ISU volleyball team (12-9, 4-6 Big 12) rolled past RPI No. 15 Kansas State in a 3-0 romp.

With its newfound success, Iowa State is hoping it will translate into its first Big 12 road victory when the team travels to Morgantown for a matchup against West Virginia (13-11, 3-7 Big 12) in the first of six remaining conference matches.

“I feel like we found a lineup, finally,” said ISU coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. “This was a different system than we have ever trained, a 6-2 system, but a little goofy because of the way we used it, the way we used [Victoria] Hurtt.”

Hurtt, a senior outside hitter, was asked to play more on the right side, something she has done very little of in her four years at Iowa State. The switch paid dividends right away, as she recorded 12 kills, eight of which came in the first set to jumpstart the team early on.

The Cyclones found mixed results when they switched to a 6-2 in their fourth set of a 3-1 loss to RPI No. 3 Texas on Nov. 2, but after a few practices under their belt and not much tape for Kansas State to study on Iowa State’s new attack, significant strides were made.

While the Cyclones developed confidence from a win over a top-25 opponent, they will have to take their new scheme on the road, where they have gone 0-5 away from Hilton Coliseum in Big 12 play.

“They’re definitely a great team,” redshirt sophomore Morgan Kuhrt said of West Virginia. “I think we have to take what we did tonight so well, and that’s just competing and working hard for every point, and take that there. That’s something we’ve struggled with, playing on the road. So I think it will be a really great opportunity for us.”

Freshman setter Monique Harris echoed Kuhrt in saying that the win, albeit at home, has been a confidence booster for a team that has lost four of its last seven matches.

“It builds confidence knowing that we can go out and win,” Harris said. “I feel that we’re much more confident after the rough patch that we’ve had and we know we can go further and win matches.”

Along with confidence from a win over Kansas State, the team also has confidence stemming from a 3-1 win against West Virginia on Oct. 4 that saw the Mountaineers jump out to an early 1-0 lead only for Iowa State to take control of the final three sets.

“I think it’s a very, very tough match, they’re so improved from last year,” Johnson-Lynch said. “They were really good when they came here. They run a very fast offense, they just do a lot of good things. That’s going to be very tough match for us because we know we haven’t been the best on the road, so we have to amp it up again this weekend.”

First serve is at 3 p.m., Saturday, Nov.8 in Morgantown, W.Va.