In what has been an up-and-down conference season for the ISU volleyball team thus far, the Cyclones are again looking to get back on track.

After two road losses to start Big 12 play, the Cyclones (8-6, 1-3 Big 12) appeared to find their groove in a home win over West Virginia on Oct. 4. They couldn’t keep the momentum rolling, however, as they dropped to 1-3 in conference play with a loss on Oct. 8 at Kansas State.

Road wins are hard enough to come by in the Big 12, so the Cyclones can’t afford to stumble at the home match on Oct. 12 against Oklahoma. The Sooners (12-4, 3-0 Big 12), sit at second place in the conference and received votes to place 26th in the most recent poll, present a formidable challenge for Iowa State’s attack.

“They’re always a great defensive team,” said ISU coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. “They can be very frustrating to play because they can just turn their defense on. What we’ve found, especially when we play them here, is you can kill them one game and they’ll come out and be All-Americans the next.”

Oklahoma has two middle blockers, Marion Hazelwood and Micaela Spann, who have 53 blocks each this season, providing the Sooners with depth up the middle. To counter that, the Cyclones will need strong showings from their hitters.

Unfortunately for Iowa State, its hitters have been plagued with injuries this year. Victoria Hurtt, Mackenzie Bigbee and Ciara Capezio have all seen playing time reduced at some point this season with mild injuries.

Stepping up in times of need, however, has been redshirt sophomore Morgan Kuhrt. Kuhrt had a breakout performance at Northern Iowa Sept. 24 when she had a team-high 14 kills on .355 hitting. Her role in the ISU offense has increased drastically since that match, with 144 of her 194 attacks on the season coming in the last five contests.

She’ll need to be on top of her game to keep the OU defense in check.

“The main thing is that I’m trying to be aggressive as I can and work as hard as I can out there,” Kuhrt said. “No matter what happens, I always go out swinging and have a good attitude.”

The Cyclones will have an advantage on the defensive end however, as ISU setter Suzanne Horner played her freshmen year at Mississippi State with Oklahoma’s Kimmy Gardiner. Gardiner, an outside hitter, is third on the Sooners’ roster with 158 kills.

Horner said that after setting for Gardiner all of last season, she knows some of her offensive habits and how the Cyclones can prepare for them.

“I haven’t dropped any hints yet, but I have some up there,” Horner said, pointing to her head. “I know her tendencies that she had when we played together, so hopefully that will help us prepare.”

The Oct. 12 match might be a must win to keep Iowa State in contention for the conference crown, so the Cyclones will have to give it their all to avoid a damning 1-4 start to Big 12 play.

“They’re going to be pretty scrappy,” Kuhrt said. “The biggest thing we can do is hit high, swing hard and try to out-work them to get kills. It might take a few tries, but we’ll get it.”