The situation is entirely unfamiliar to Christy Johnson-Lynch. For the first time in her decade-long role as head ISU volleyball coach, the Cyclones have lost back-to-back games to start the conference slate.

After falling on the road to the TCU Horned Frogs last Saturday and returning to The Lone Star State just four days later to be swept by No. 2 Texas, the ISU volleyball team (7-5, 0-2 Big 12) will have a chance to right the ship against West Virginia this Saturday at Hilton Coliseum.

The Mountaineers (11-5, 1-1 Big 12) are a relatively young team, boasting a 15-player lineup that features nine underclassmen and a lone senior. Johnson-Lynch has a good idea on how to scout the youthful West Virginia squad, as Iowa State often plays multiple underclassmen, too.

“I think similar to the way teams look at us, when you see two freshmen and a sophomore or all underclassmen in the front row [you can exploit that],” Johnson-Lynch said.

One way Johnson-Lynch plans to attack that inexperience is by occasionally deviating from the regular offensive systems Iowa State likes to run. By playing unlike what the Mountaineers will see on the game film of the Cyclones, Johnson-Lynch hopes to catch them off guard.

“They’re going to see some things that maybe they weren’t ready for,” Johnson-Lynch said. “When [they’re] inexperienced, that’s a good way to wear teams down. Maybe present a wrinkle in your offense – something a little bit different that they might not catch on to right away.”

Lack of experience does not necessarily correlate to lack of skill, however. West Virginia’s offense runs through sophomore outside hitter Jordan Anderson, who is head and shoulders above the rest of the Big 12 in kills per set (4.88) and points per set (5.41).

Through 16 matches, Anderson has racked up 260 kills, while her next closest teammate sits at 133. The Cyclones, who often stress the importance of blocking, will have to keep Anderson in check to control the match.

“[Blocking] is going to be very, very important,” said outside hitter Victoria HurttC“Every single time it’s going to be important that we make sure we block balls and make sure we’re playing well on defense every single point.”

Keying in on blocks will be especially important for Cyclone freshman middle blocker Alexis Conaway, whose knack for sending back opponent’s shots has been the catalyst for her quick emergence onto the NCAA volleyball scene.

Conaway, who sits in second place in blocking in the Big 12, has to prepare for stopping Anderson’s attack while also trying to maintain her team-leading offensive efficiency.

“It’s just a part of the game – you have to prepare for everything,” Conaway said. “I know one of my big roles is still blocking so we’ve worked on that a lot in practice. Being solid and set up in that role so my team can play defense behind me is going to be really big.”

Though keeping Anderson in check will be critical for the Cyclones, they cannot ignore the rest of the WVU offense. If Iowa State can get to the point where both are handled, Johnson-Lynch will have found the recipe for success.

“A lot of times you have a couple key offensive players on a team that, if you can slow them down, you’ll control the team,” Johnson-Lynch said. “Some teams handle that well, some don’t. You can’t focus so much on one player that you let the other ones start to be successful against you, so we’ll have to find that balance.”

Iowa State will look to notch its first conference win when West Virginia comes to town this Saturday. First serve is set for 1 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum.