[media-credit name=’BRYAN FAUST/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Christy Johnson's return to the UW Field House was rather bittersweet.

Johnson, a former Wisconsin assistant and now Iowa State's head volleyball coach, coached the Cyclones to a first round win over UW-Milwaukee Friday, but lost to the Badgers in the second round Saturday.

"I loved coming back, I love coming here," Johnson said. "I hoped we would come back here, not just for my ties, but because Wisconsin is such a great place to play.

"I'm happy that our program and players got to experience the atmosphere here," she continued. "Sure, [it was] bittersweet because we're going home with a loss, but I'm proud of how we played. … You can't ask for more than a great effort from your team."

In just her second year in Ames, Iowa, Johnson has quickly turned the Cyclones' program around.

Last year, she coached Iowa State to its best year in the Big XII since joining the conference in 1996. This year, she earned the program's first NCAA tournament win since 1995.

Nevertheless, it was an awkward feeling coaching against the Badgers in the Field House, as Johnson feels as if Madison is still her home.

"It does feel pretty comfortable," Johnson said. "Especially [Friday] when we started on the home side and I thought, it's still just like home."

And it was an awkward feeling for Wisconsin head coach Pete Waite, coaching against one of his former protégés.

"It was strange," Waite said. "Just when you go over to shake hands, even, it's just really different."

Regardless of how strange it may have been, Waite knows Johnson had a hand in molding the team Wisconsin is today.

Just two years ago, Johnson was still recruiting players for the Badgers, many of whom are currently juniors and seniors on the current UW team.

"She recruited a lot of these players that are on the court, and she trained a lot of these players," Waite said. "She had a hand in a lot of what went on in the court [Saturday], and our players did well."

Maybe the one player who was touched most by Johnson is UW junior setter Jackie Simpson.

Johnson was a setter herself, playing for Nebraska from 1991 to 1995, where she helped guide the Cornhuskers to their first national championship in 1995. She was also an All-American in 1994 and 1995 and is currently fifth all-time in Nebraska school history with 3,183 assists.

And her influence on setters as a coach is just as remarkable.

At Wisconsin, Johnson trained Lizzy Fitzgerald and Morgan Shields, both of whom earned All-American status. In Johnson's final season as an assistant at UW, Simpson was named to the Big Ten all-freshman team.

Today, Simpson still views Johnson as her coach in a way.

"I'm glad [Iowa State] got to come out here just to see Christy," Simpson said. "She taught me a lot about setting and knows my strengths and weaknesses."

In Wisconsin's 30-20, 30-25, 30-27 sweep over Iowa State Saturday, Waite saw some Wisconsin influence on Iowa State's brand of play, although he said Johnson is definitely making her own mark on the program.

"I think she has [adopted some of the things she learned at UW]," Waite said. "But they play a little different defense than we do, and she has to coach according to what players she has."

Johnson's mark on Iowa State has already become noticeable, as the Cyclones were just 1-19 in conference play the year before she arrived, and their tournament hopes were slim to none.

"I'm happy and excited that we took our program to this level," Johnson said. "Two years ago, I don't think any of us would have dreamed we would be sitting here having advanced a round in the tournament.

"It's hard to be in a good mood after a loss, but we have to look at the big picture and be really happy about where we're at."