Cyclones take a different route, but NCAA tournament the same result

AMES - It was been smooth sailing for Coach Christy Johnson-Lynch and Iowa State's volleyball team the last couple of seasons.

This year has been full of obstacles.

The Cyclones (20-8) will make their fifth-straight NCAA tournament appearance tonight in Minneapolis against Creighton, but the match against the Jays (20-11) at the Sports Pavilion continues what has been a bumpy ride dealing with injury, relocation and some uncharacteristic losses.

“Up to this point it felt easy to get to where we wanted to go,” Johnson-Lynch said. “Things kind of fell into place and we managed to win every match that we needed to. This is really the first season where I've felt we've had to face a lot of adversity.”

Floodwater filled Hilton Coliseum and the coaches' offices in early August, two weeks before the season. Coaches were relocated and home matches were moved to Ames High School. They returned to the arena last month.

Outside hitter Rachel Hockaday injured a knee in the season opener and was lost for the season. Hockaday was honorable mention all-Big 12 as a sophomore and preseason all-conference.

ISU dropped its four matches against the top two in the league - Texas and Nebraska - and lost to a couple of middle-of-the-pack teams it handled in past years.

The Cyclones still finished tied for third with Oklahoma at 13-7 and are ranked 16th nationally.

“I'm most proud that this team has seemed to respond and didn't get distracted or negative,” Johnson-Lynch said. “They stayed positive.”

This will be Creighton's first appearance in the NCAAs.

ISU has reached the Sweet 16 the last three years and went to the regional final in 2008. On deck Saturday if the Cyclones win tonight is North Dakota State - who they beat 3-1 Sept. 3 - or host Minnesota.

“We've got our work cut out for us,” Johnson-Lynch said. “To even advance one match will be a challenge.”

The regular season ended with a loss to league runner-up Texas, but it was a good showing. Johnson-Lynch said she hadn't seen her team that sharp in a while.

“We passed really well,” she said. “We haven't been in that kind of a rhythm for weeks. That's exciting and encouraging to see.”

It's been a season of adjustment. But with the postseason here, and the grind of the Big 12 over, there's renewed focus.

“We started off kind of rough,” setter Alison Landwehr said. “Progressively through the season we've improved more and more. The mentality of the team is more focused, and that'll help us out.”