After getting some much-needed rest with an off day Wednesday, the K?State volleyball team gets back to action Saturday when the Wildcats travel to Iowa State.

Coach Suzie Fritz said the extra rest will help the Wildcats avoid falling into a slump after back-to-back losses.

"I think we are trying to combat fatigue at this point in the year, and the October slump that can sometimes consume teams," Fritz said. "We were able to get a little rest, which is important, and we were also able to really focus on and identify things and have some training time."

The past two matches could be enough to shake the confidence of some teams. K-State was swept by Nebraska and then lost 3-2 to Texas in a match that could have gone their way.

"I know our team understands the caliber of the teams we were playing," Fritz said. "I talked to the captains about, 'Are we rattled? Are we shaken, or do we still feel good about the kind of team we think we can be?' Their answer was 'No, we had every opportunity to win that Texas match.'"

The confidence booster for the Wildcats was the way they played at various times in the matches.

"We didn't play well at Nebraska for two out of three games, so I think they feel like after that Texas loss, although we didn't win the match, we did play well at times during the match," Fritz said. "I think they have taken some confidence from that."

Fritz said the best teams in the Big 12 Conference are the ones that can win on the road, and the Wildcats will get a chance to do just that when they travel to Iowa State.

"The best teams in this league are good road teams - you know, finding ways to win in other environments," Fritz said. "This will be a very difficult challenge. Iowa State is about where we are at this point in the league standings."

At this juncture of the season, the Wildcats are looking to become a more well-rounded team. Fritz said her team is good defensively and will devote most of its training to offense.

"This is a good serving team, so by nature a good serving team is going to be a defensive team," Fritz said. "Undoubtedly we have to dig more balls, but we are also a pretty capable blocking team. I think we are a better defensive team than we are an offensive team."

K-State tips off with Iowa State (11-7) at 6:30 p.m. in Ames, Iowa.