I don't know anything about Volleyball although I've gone to some matches this year.

Anyhow, the Cyclones are in the NCAA tournament as some of you may know. They have advanced to the Sweet 16 yet again this year!

I gotta give them props!

On Friday they beat UNI 3-1 (26-24, 16-25, 25-21, 25-16). I'm not sure if we were expected to win or not as I don't really understand the NCAA tournament pairings in this sport. They seed the top 16 teams, but then spread them around so that 4 are in each bracket of 4. We did lose to UNI 1-3 earlier in the year, so we got some payback here!

Today, they beat 6th seeded Minnesota 3-1 (25-14, 26-24, 25-27, 25-29). This was an upset as Minnesota was seeded and we aren't. It was also in Minneapolis, so this was like a home meet for the Gophers.

Up Next: ISU vs. 11th Seeded Oregon on 12/12. Time not set yet. If they win, they will face the winner of Texas-UCLA. If we get to the Elite 8, the remaining matches will be on ESPNU and ESPN2 (depending). I don't want to get too far ahead though.

I hope the Cyclones have a good week of practice and we are able to get ourselves to the Elite 8 and on National TV!

For those of you that could care less about Iowa State volleyball, ignore this post, but the Cyclone volleyball team is preparing for action, hoping to make their second straight trip to the NCAA tournament.

The Cyclones were picked for sixth place in the conference.

2007 Big 12 Preseason Volleyball Poll

1. Nebraska (10) 100

2. Texas (1) 91

3. Missouri 68

4. Texas A&M 66

5. Colorado 62

6. Iowa State 57

7. Kansas State 54

8. Baylor 42

9. Oklahoma 31

10. Kansas 23

11. Texas Tech 11

The volleyball team will go into the 2007-08 season much like they finished the previous season, sitting firmly on the bubble for NCAA consideration. A look at the voting shows that there will be a lot of competition for 3rd through 7th in the conference, so a team like Iowa State needs to make sure that they can beat the teams that they should this year so that they can return to the tournament.

Two v-ballers, Erin Boeve and Kaylee Manns, were both named preseason all-Big 12, a first in school history.

Boeve, an honorable mention AVCA All-American last season, returns for her senior year following one of the most impressive individual campaigns in school history. The Steen, Minn., native averaged 3.20 kills and 1.56 blocks while hitting .350 or better in 12 matches. She broke her own single-season block assist school record with 158 and her .294 hitting percentage is the third best in Iowa State history. Boeve will play outside hitter after playing her first three years at middle blocker, a move that will allow her to stay on the court and be more active in the Cyclones’ attack.

Manns, a native of Topeka, Kan., shattered the single-season school-record with 1,433 assists during her freshman campaign. She helped the team to a .230 hitting percentage, the second-best season in Cyclone history. Manns also set the ISU freshman record with 359 digs in 2006. The sophomore was a member of U.S. National A2 Program and earned a spot on the U.S. Women’s Junior National Training Team this spring.

Christy Johnson has done one hell of a job making the ISU volleyball program relevant at Iowa State. The next step is securing a spot as a top-tier team in the conference.