Christy Johnson-Lynch admits that life feels like an entirely new ballgame now that she’s a mom.

The Iowa State coach remains as passionate as ever about volleyball, don’t get her wrong. But this season, Johnson-Lynch said, it’s almost been impossible not to take a day-by-day, don’t-think-too-far-ahead approach.

She joked that somebody asked her recently about which four schools will be hosting NCAA regionals in December. She thought for a moment, and then realized that she didn’t have an answer.

“I was embarrassed that I didn’t even know where they were,” Johnson-Lynch said, laughing. “Normally, I’d really want to be thinking about things like that. But this year, with so much else going on, I’m just trying to survive and keep my head above water.”

Without question, Johnson-Lynch’s surging Cyclones are making big waves in 2009. And even if she doesn’t know where Iowa State could be headed for regionals (just FYI, coach, your home city of Omaha is hosting one of them) the Millard North graduate and her players seem destined to make it at least that far for a third straight year.

The turnaround of Iowa State volleyball under Johnson-Lynch gets only more remarkable by the season. Five years ago, the former star setter with the Huskers took over a program that had compiled just 10 Big 12 victories from 1997 through 2004. In her third season, she had the Cyclones playing in the third round of the NCAA tournament. Last year, Iowa State came one victory shy of the final four.

Amazingly, all of those achievements now look like a mere warmup.

Johnson-Lynch is married to Cyclones assistant Joe Lynch, and the couple’s son, Jamison, was born in June.

That off-court milestone preceded what’s already been the most dizzying regular season in program history.

Iowa State, which had never been ranked in the top 10 before 2009, is No. 8 heading into its anticipated rematch against 10th-ranked Nebraska tonight in Ames. The Cyclones (20-3, 12-2 Big 12) beat the then-No. 5 Huskers in five sets Oct. 21. That victory was Iowa State’s first against NU in 74 tries dating all the way to 1975 — and it also went down as the program’s first win over a top-five team.

It wouldn’t be the last.

On Wednesday, the Cyclones shocked volleyball fans across the country when they outlasted No. 2 Texas in five sets at Hilton Coliseum. The Longhorns entered that match 18-0, and many experts had wondered whether any team was good enough to take down Texas in 2009.

But Iowa State pulled off the stunner by digging Texas’ imposing roster of attackers out of the building.

The Cyclones totaled 92 digs and limited the Longhorns to a season-low .189 hitting.

The crowd at that match numbered only 3,708, but anybody who was there will swear they witnessed one of the most electrifying sporting events Iowa State has hosted.

“It says that we had 4,000 people in there, but it felt like it was 10,000,” Johnson-Lynch said. “It was so loud, and there was so much energy in the building.

“That was the first time I think I’ve actually felt chills, just thinking about how far this program has come.”

The Cyclones will take an 11-match winning streak into their contest against the Huskers, and there could be closer to 10,000 fans who show up for tonight’s showdown. At the very least, school officials hope that they can top the turnout of 6,705 when NU beat Iowa State in Ames two seasons ago. That crowd is believed to be the biggest to watch a volleyball match, at any level, in state history.

But the Huskers are set on sending most of those people home unhappy.

It’s no secret that it didn’t sit well with coach John Cook and his players when the joyous Cyclones reveled in victory on NU’s home court.

Nebraska (17-6, 10-4) has endured several tough defeats this year. That hard-fought loss against Iowa State, however, might’ve stung the worst.

“I know I’m really looking forward to this one,” said Cook, who hired Johnson-Lynch as an assistant when he coached at Wisconsin in the 1990s. “That was a big celebration here at the Coliseum, and it wasn’t by us. So our players should be fired up to go back and have their turn.”

And as exhilarating as the past few weeks have been for the Cyclones, Johnson-Lynch has kept beating the drum that her team still has a lot of volleyball left to play.

Iowa State has to be considered the favorite to win tonight, and the coach said that alone feels bizarre — and almost uncomfortable.

Plus, it’s a huge day for sports in Ames, with the surprising Iowa State football team also hosting 18th-ranked Oklahoma State this afternoon at Jack Trice Stadium.

Johnson-Lynch said the entire community seems to be buzzing with anticipation, but the coach doesn’t want her players focusing too much on the hoopla.

“I have no doubt that Nebraska is going to be very eager to play us again,” said Johnson-Lynch, who earned All-America honors while helping the Huskers win their first NCAA championship in 1995. “When we played in Lincoln, it really seemed like it was two evenly matched teams going back and forth.

“I know they felt they didn’t play very well that night. And assuming they are going to play a lot better this time, we really better be ready for a very tough match.”

Contact the writer:

444-1207, chad.purcell@owh.com