Christy Johnson-Lynch’s new offensive rotation has turned heads, but on Nov. 15 the ISU volleyball team’s cause for victory was much more fundamental.

Iowa State defeated Texas Christian in a five-set thriller at Hilton Coliseum where the Cyclones outhit the Horned Frogs .233 to .122. While Johnson-Lynch said a team’s hitting percentage is the stat most indicative of winning or losing, the team’s serving proved to be even more vital.

“It’s probably the most important thing you do,” Johnson-Lynch said of effective serving. “It’s not a very exciting thing — a lot of people don’t just like to stand back and spend a lot of time serving. It can be kind of boring, but it literally is the most important thing you do.”

The Cyclones served up eight aces in the match, their third-most in a game this season, while the Horned Frogs were only able to muster five. ISU hitter Ciara Capezio was responsible for half of her team’s aces, putting all them up amid a 10-0 run to start the second set.

While low-quality serves are nothing more than a formality to get the point underway, strong serving forces the opponent to adjust its play and makes it difficult to play in system.

“It can change everything,” Capezio said. “The last couple of weeks we’ve really been focusing on driving our serve to get them off the net, and I think we really did that tonight. When they’re off the net it gives us more options to dig that ball.”

Capezio’s streak to start the second set proved to be instrumental in the ISU win, as the Cyclones were in need of a way to jump-start the offense after dropping set one.

Iowa State nearly doubled its hitting percentage while forcing Texas Christian’s into subzero numbers. The hot start gave the Cyclones a bit of a cushion to open up a more assertive attack.

“I think the setters just did a really good job of finding openings in the block on [Texas Christian’s] side,” said ISU hitter Morgan Kuhrt. “I think we were just really aggressive.”

The combination the Cyclones now have — a well-balanced offensive rotation and increasingly potent serving — has manifested itself in the form of four consecutive Big 12 wins, Iowa State’s longest streak of the season.

With only three matches left in the regular season and Hilton Coliseum slated to host the third and fourth rounds of the NCAA tournament, and a chance at earning home court in rounds one and two, Johnson-Lynch’s team could not be finding its groove at a better time.

“This is critical. November is critical for NCAA tournament,” Johnson-Lynch said. “This is the time that you want to get some momentum and kind of peak, and I think that’s exactly what we’re doing.”