The ISU volleyball team (10-6, 2-3 Big 12) swept South Dakota Oct. 14, earning its second victory in a row but do not call it a winning streak – yet.

It has been eight matches since Iowa State has put together at least three consecutive wins, a feat the team will attempt to accomplish Oct. 18 against Texas Tech University.

“It would be huge to keep this winning going and keep building confidence, especially on the road,” said senior defensive specialist Taylor Goetz. “We have started to develop more of a killer instinct and part of enjoying it is getting some wins and seeing the benefits of all the hard work.”

A victory in Lubbock, Texas would signify not only an official rash of winning for the Cyclones at a critical junction in the season, but would also pull them to .500 in the Big 12 – a position that has eluded the Cyclones since they suffered a conference-opening loss to Texas Christian.

“It would add a huge amount to our momentum to go win on the road,” said ISU volleyball coach Christy-Johnson Lynch. “I do not care who it is, it would be very good for us.”

Iowa State is currently 0-3 away from home during conference play and Texas Tech, a perennial cellar dweller in the Big 12, provides perhaps the best opportunity at a victorious road trip for Iowa State this season.

Texas Tech (14-4, 2-4 Big 12) has lost four of its last five contests, including matches to West Virginia and Oklahoma, the two conference foes Iowa State has been able to vanquish thus far in 2014.

The Cyclones beat the Red Raiders twice last season, sweeping them while on the road and winning a five set nail-biter at Hilton Coliseum.

But every year is different as players graduate and transfer, underclassmen become veterans and a new crop of freshmen arrive on every Big 12 campus.

One such ISU freshman is middle blocker Alexis Conaway, who said that at this point in the season, momentum becomes paramount as the physical and mental stresses of the game begin to take their tolls.

“You can tell that your body is getting a little tired,” Conaway said. “Classes are kind of wearing on you, so I think it is important to push through this time, continue to play well and get momentum going into the second half of the season.”

Conaway said two wins in a row has helped the team garner some momentum and that a third would even Iowa State’s record to 3-3 in conference play and only add fuel to the competitive fire beginning to roar throughout the ISU roster.

Conaway added that another supplement to the renewed ISU vigor is the milestone of 200 victories during the Johnson-Lynch era, which was attained against South Dakota in Iowa State’s most recent match.

“It was very cool,” Goetz said. “[Johnson-Lynch] has worked very hard for it. She is a great competitor and she passes that on to the team. To be a part of that was very special.”

Johnson-Lynch, who was humble in the lead-up to her 200th win, remained humble in its wake.

“It is a reflection of a consistent program and a consistent staff,” Johnson-Lynch said. “It feels good and it is nice to have that recognition, but it is [due to] a lot of peoples’ effort.”

Goetz said that there was no ceremony after the game, indicating that the best way to celebrate her coach reaching the career benchmark of 200 wins would be to help extend it to 201.

The Cyclones will get their chance to do just that against Texas Tech bright and early, as first serve is set for 10:00 a.m. on Oct. 18 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas.