• Brooke Heyne - Communication Sciences & Disorders
   • Shelby Martin - Sociology & Criminology
   • Megan Vernon - Biology
   • Brynn Carlson - Nutrition and Dietetics (M.S.)
   • Abby Archibong - Life Sciences / Gerontology

During the regular season as a basketball pro, Peyton averaged 8.6 points, with a .528 field goal percentage and a .722 free throw percentage. She averaged 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists. Then in four Euroleague games, In four Euroleague games , she averaged a team-high 19.5 points, hitting 69.2% on FG, nine rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal.

As a Wildcat, Peyton was the first player in program history with the combination of 1,500 or more points, 900 or more rebounds, 200 or more assists, 150 or more steals and 100 or more blocks.

Freshman OH Aliyah Carter is First Team All-Big 12! She's on the All-Rookie Team, and she's Freshman of the Year. Aliyah was Rookie of the Week five times, and was named Offensive Player of the Week. (Aliyah Carter: Season Review)

Our senior setter, Shelby Martin, is Second Team All-Big 12. She was Offensive Player of the Week on October 27, after turning in a triple-double.

Jayden Nembhard made the All-Rookie Team. She was Rookie of the Week two times.

Freshman libero Mackenzie Morris led with 12 digs, and Aliyah Carter had 10. Kadye Fernholz and setter Shelby Martin each had three block assists

Kansas State ended the fall at #10 in the AVCA poll, but never were included in the spring rankings, as other teams started play early, and K-State lost to Texas State at the start of this month. The Baylor match was announced after the impressive defeat of Creighton, and probably most assume that if the Cats prevailed today, they definitely have a tournament invitation. Now, it's wait-and-see.

Kadye Fernholz was a star for the Cats today. She led with 11.5 points, from .421 hitting and team high 9 kills, 3 block assists, 3 digs and and ace! Aliyah Carter, who was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week for the third straight week, also had 9 kills, along with Jayden Nembhard. Shelby Martin had 26 assists.

Suzie said,

"At times I thought we looked really good, and did a lot of positive things. But also, at times, we looked like freshmen, and out of sorts a little bit. In sets one and three, a couple points fall our way and the match completely changes. In the second set, we didn't do a good enough job adjusting to what Baylor was throwing at us defensively. That's a tremendous team on the other side, and they're top 10 in the country for a reason."

I sure hope the Volleycats get a chance in the tournament. They've had impressive matches this season, and some epic individual performances. In it or not, the program is headed the right direction, with some very good talent, and it's been great to watch them this season.

After an impressive win over a ranked Creighton team last week (and hitting .392), I came in expecting a W. Suzie Fritz said, "That's a good Wayne State team. We tried to caution against any complacency coming into this one." It didn't take long to see that Wayne State is very good, and set scores of 25-23, 25-23, 25-19 support that. Although their hitting percentage was low (.083), it seemed as if they were digging everything, and they did surpass the Cats on digs, 62 to 61.

The Cats had the services of the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, Aliyah Carter, who contributed 22 kills and solid .288 hitting. She led the Cats with 22.5 points. So... she had 7.3 kills per set today, compared to 5.2 kills per set vs. Creighton, although her astronomical .449 hitting vs. Creighton should be noted.

Kadye Fernholz had 6 kills and 8.5 points, hitting .267. Megan Vernon had 5 kills, with excellent .333 hitting. Along with her 4 blocks, Megan had 8 points. Brynn Carlson had 6 kills and 6.5 points.

Let's not overlook service aces! Mackenzie Morris had 3, Loren Hinkle had 2, and we had 1 each from Teana Adams-Kaonohi, Jacque Smith and Dru Kuck.

It was good to see Dru Kuck able to play again. She had 8 digs, along with Loren Hinkle. Jacque Smith and Aliyah Carter each had 6 digs.

So... what's next? The Cats will play Baylor on March 31 at 2:00 P. Big 12 fall competition ended with Baylor at #2, 13-3, and K-State #3, 10-6. The Cats lost both fall matches, but definitely competed with them in both. Let's get it done!

It was good to see a total of seven aces. Kadye Fernholz and Jacque Smith had two, and Aliyah, Loren and Mackenzie each had one.

The Cats were efficient in offense, leading Creighton .392 to .226 in hitting over the four sets. Along with that, please note that hitting in the four sets was .500, .257, .538 and .333. When have we seen that kind of team numbers?! Other Cats had great hitting days, along with Aliyah. Kadye Fernholz had 8 kills and 11.5 points, with .438 hitting. Jayden Nembhard had 11 kills and 11.5 points, with .375 hitting. Holly Bonde had nine kills and 10 points, with .286 hitting.

Shelby Martin had a very busy evening, with 56 assists, and she added 8 digs. Something that was very unusual in this four-set match was only four team blocks. Creighton seemed to have a strategy of hitting into midcourt. Aliyah Carter received 19 hits, but she had no block assists. Jacque Smith received 18 hits, Loren Hinkle handled 15, and libero Mackenzie Morris received 13.

As of this write-up, there's no press conference video. Possibly that was related to the senior night recognition of Megan Vernon and Abigail Archibong. Here's a link to a transcript of the comments. Suzie Fritz said, "Our setter serving was tremendous. ... They hit it high, and are very terminal. We were able with our serving to be disruptive and limit their options."

Suzie said of Rookie of the Week Aliyah Carter's evening,

"Play of the game, there was a pursuit play where the ball went awry. She pursued a ball all the way back to where our team stands at the end of the bench, pursued the ball and brought it back. We sent it back. Somehow she made it all the way back to the net to try to defend and slow down a quick. It was unbelievable. It was an unbelievable effort play on her part. I think the thing I'm most pleased with is how Aliyah's all-around game is coming along. We this spring have started to ask more of her in terms of her responsibilities. Sometimes when you start to ask more and they take on other responsibilities, other things suffer. In her case, everytime she has an opportunity to go, we see her growing as a complete volleyball player. (hitting) .449 on the left is pretty special."

To conclude, this was a victory that came from teamwork, focus and heroic extra-effort plays. After the last match, Suzie had commented that freeballs are like "happy birthday." I felt that tonight the Cats were much more terminal, with a number of dynamic, well-placed attacks from Aliyah, Holly, Megan and Kadye.

The AVCA Division I Tournament field has been reduced from 64 to 48, for unknown reasons. All matches will be played in Omaha. Tonight's victory was considered going in to be a critical step if the Cats were to be selected. They beat a ranked team, and looked impressive doing it. It appears that the postponed Wichita State matches will not be played, and according to announcements today, the two matches vs. Wayne State have been reduced to one, on Sunday, March 28. Go Cats!

Good things happened on offense. Aliyah had 15 points + 13 kills, enroute to her double-double, hitting a solid .294. Jayden had 12.5 points + 12 kills, hitting .286. Holly Bonde had 8 points + 7 kills, and she hit .263. Kadye Fernholz had 7 points + 5 kills. Kayley Hollywood added 6 points + 5 kills, with spectacular .364 hitting! The team, after a slow start in set 1, hit an outstanding .351 in set 2, and a very good .293 in set 3.

On defense, Kadye Fernholz led with 4 block assists. Libero Mackenzie Morris led with 11 digs. The aforementioned Aliyah Carter was next, with 10 digs, thereby earning her double-double. Jacque Smith had 8 digs, Shelby Martin had 7 and Loren Hinkle had 5 digs. As usual, Loren had an ace.

If you'd like to hear from the experts, here's the official match recap. Also, the Collegian has some good quotes in its match recap.

Go see the Cats vs. #23 Creighton on March 20, in the Octagon of Volleyball Doom at 6:00 P.

Aliyah Carter had a Player of the Week worthy night, with a career-high 32.5 points, 27 kills and solid .235 hitting. Add 4 aces to her stats. Kadye Fernholz was extremely efficient, with .333 hitting. She had a career-high 13 kills and 15 points. Holly Bonde was solid on offense, with 12 kills and 13 points. She hit .189.

On defense, libero Mackenzie Morris had 24 digs, and two aces. Loren Hinkle added a season-high 18 digs, and an ace. Setter Teana Adams-Kaonohi was up front a lot. She had a career-high 17 digs and a career-high 59 assists!

All I can make of this is the Cats started so strong in the first two sets, that they sort of lost their edge partway in. Attack errors started in set three, and probably account more than anything for the loss. Hitting efficiency over the five sets dropped from .353 and .412 to .109, .111 and .120. Texas State is now 27-3. To their credit, they dug in after losing two sets, and got the W.

"At this point, the NCAA has not identified specific criteria for NCAA participation, beyond the fact that it will be a reduced field, and it is likely that it will be played at pre-determined sites. Assuming we continue to progress and improve through the spring, this team deserves to be a tournament team based on our finish in the Big 12 and our performance during the fall."

Kansas State, #10 in the final fall poll, is RV... and four positions from being ranked. The preseason poll records column shows the 2019 record and ranking for some schools, and 2020 for others. Wisconsin, #1 in the poll, has only their 2019 record shown. The Big 10 postponed 2020 Women's Volleyball until spring 2021, so the top poll position went to a team that got credit for their 2019 outcome. Then we have Kentucky, #4 in the poll, who only played eight matches in fall 2020. So... the poll is based partly on 2019 results, and partly on 2020. What a mess!

On offense, Brynn Carlson led with 10 points from 10 kills. Kadye Fernholz had 5 points and 5 kills, and she hit .333! Abigail Archibong had 4.5 points, Jayden Nembhard had 4 and 4 kills, and Holly Bonde had 4 points. Loren Hinkle had 2 aces, and Holly Bonde had 1. Setter Teana Adams-Kaonohi had 24 of the Cats' 28 assists. Unfortunately, the Cats' total of 29 kills was a season low.

The Cats gave Baylor a run for the money in set 2. They stopped Baylor on five straight set points in that 23-25 outcome. The Cats a 10-6 run, then Baylor responded with an 11-2 run. In set 3, the Cats were held to .000 hitting.

NCAA spring competition will begin on January 22, with postseason selections made on April 4. The NCAA Tournament will have 48 teams instead of 64. The Final Four is scheduled for April 23-25 in Omaha.

From this proud fan's point of view, this season was highly enjoyable, and it marked a big step in the right direction for the program. The #23 recruiting class made their mark. Kadye Fernholz had an impressive start to her career, and she was second in points, with 142. Jayden Nembhard was Rookie of the Week two times, and Aliyah Carter was also Rookie of the Week two times. Aliyah led the team with 247 points and 228 kills!! I don't know if senior Shelby Martin would be considered part of the recruiting class, but we were very fortunate to have her, and I'm sorry that she and Dru Kuck weren't able to be present for the final four matches. Shelby was honored as Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week after a triple-double, and Abigail Archibong was Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, after a strong performance on blocks. Brynn Carlson was solid, as always, with 151 points and 143 kills. Mackenzie Morris led the team with 22 aces, and Loren Hinkle added 15. Did I mention that Shelby Martin had 399 assists?

On defense, Abigail Archibong led with 62 blocks, and Kadye Fernholz had 50. Mackenzie Morris led with 256 digs, Jacque Smith had 130 and Loren Hinkle added 117. You can check all the Cats' stats right here.

Hitting percentages were low for both teams, with #10 KSU at .124, and #3 Baylor at .212. The Cats did have some very impressive individual performances. Aliyah Carter led with 20 points and 18 kills. Abigail Archibong added 14.5 points, hitting an awesome .500, with 12 kills. Kadye Fernholz (with .462 hitting!), Holly Bonde and Brynn Carlson each had 6.5 points. Holly Bonde gave us two aces!

Libero Mackenzie Morris led with 19 digs. Jacque Smith had 11, Loren Hinkle had 7 and Holly Bonde had 6. Abigail Archibong led with 5 block assists. Blocking was distributed among the team, maybe more than usual. The Cats need to find some blocks. Baylor surpassed them 17.5 to 8 in that department.

The dream of finishing 2nd in the Big 12 didn't happen, but the Cats have secured 3rd place alone. Tomorrow marks the season's end (16 matches) for both teams. It'll be interesting to see how Part 2 comes out!

K-State was missing two starters in the TCU matches. Unfortunately, setter Shelby Martin didn't get to have her senior recognition, and libero Dru Kuck was also absent. Possibly there was some kind of COVID-19 exposure that prevented them from being present, in keeping with Big 12 policy. This match, with 588 in the Octagon, had the second-highest attendance of the season.

For offense, it was a big night for Brynn Carlson, who led in scoring with 20.5 points and 20 kills, with .308 hitting. Aliyah Carter had 19.5 points and 19 kills. Abigail Archibong had 13 points and 10 kills, and hit a spectacular .643. Holly Bonde had 9 points and 8 kills. Kadye Fernholz had 7.5 points and 5 kills. Teana Adams-Kaonohi had a very busy evening, with 55 assists. The team had their most kills in set one: 16, and their best efficiency: .405 hitting, in set five.

The team was a bit low in blocks for a five-set match, with 8, but had 82 digs. Abigail Archibong had 4 block assists, and a single. Teana Adams-Kaonohi and Kadye Fernholz had 3 block assists, and Holly Bonde had 2. Libero Mackenzie Morris led the Cats in digs, contributing 20, Holly Bonde had 14, Loren Hinkle had 12, and Teana Adams-Kaonohi had 11.

TCU is a bit of a mystery. They left MHK with a 1-7 record, but tonight gave our #10 Wildcats all they wanted. They did a good job of keeping the ball in play. They led in blocks, kills and points, but a shortcoming was hitting percentage. They have played the fewest matches of any Big 12 team. I predict that they will give Iowa State, Oklahoma and KU strong competition. They also have Texas coming up, who will probably go through conference play undefeated.

It's sad to see the Cats' home competition end on Nov. 14, but wonderful to see their success this season. K-State solidified a top-three finish in the Big 12 standings for the first time since 2008. Also, the 10 program wins are the most since 2008, and the most since the Big 12 went to 10 teams.

Up next is Baylor in Waco. KU (3-9) took a match from them, so let's go!

Here's a nice photo gallery.

TCU has a good team. The set scores (KSU/TCU) of 25-15, 25-16, 25-15 don't show a total runaway, but it was a dominating performance. The Cats' season-high .367 hitting vs. the Froggies' .088 is quite impressive, and there was consistent domination of that stat in the three sets, .259 to .000, .395 to .125 and .440 to .174!

Let's look at offense. Aliyah Carter, two-time Big 12 Rookie of the Week, had an excellent night, leading with 16 points, 14 kills and .379 hitting. Kadye Fernholz had 8.5 points and 7 kills, and she hit .700! It should be noted that she had kills that were extremely impressive. Holly Bonde was busy all night. She added 7.5 points, from 4 kills. Brynn Carlson was busy, too, adding 6.5 points from 6 kills, hitting .429! Jayden Nembhard, reigning Rookie of the Week, was only in for one set, but added 6 points, and hit .750! The Cats had 6 aces, from Kadye, Kayley Hollywood (so great to see her on the court!), Loren Hinkle, Holly Bonde, and two from Mackenzie Morris. Teana Adams-Kaonohi had 32 assists!

On defense, libero Mackenzie Morris led with 11 digs, setter Teana Adams-Kaonohi had 7, Holly Bonde had 5, and we had 3 from Aliyah Carter, Kadye Fernholz and Loren Hinkle. Abigaiil Archibong had 6 block assists. Holly Bonde added 3 block assists, with a single. The Cats prevailed in blocking, 9 to 3... something I've been hoping for of late.

Coach Fritz was pleased. She commented, "We've won some really close matches, and we've been in a lot of five-gamers. We've played more games than anybody in the Big 12, but we are finding ways to win when it matters." She added, "Just to be able to hit near .400 as a team feels really good."

Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, Dru Kuck and Shelby Martin were not present. This is especially unfortunate, because Shelby's senior recognition was announced for tomorrow's match. I wish them the best.

It will be exciting to see what the rematch brings. Here's where the 9-4 Cats stand. Texas (14-0) has won the Big 12. Baylor, now 13-3, can finish no lower than 13-5 (if the Cats sweep them). Kansas State can finish as high as 12-4, and no lower than 9-7, so three straight Ws would give KSU 2nd place in the Big 12! WVU is 7-7, with two matches at OU remaining, so they can finish no lower than 7-9. So... K-State has secured 3rd place in the Big 12, which could end in a tie with WVU. Again, the Cats can finish no less than 9-7, and WVU can finish no higher than 9-7. No other team can touch 9-7!!

Thanks to the Cats for an extremely enjoyable match, and certainly to numerous Cats for very impressive hitting.

Here's the release from K-State VB.

Josie Halbeib led Howards Grove to a 21-1 season, and state title. The first thing I noticed is that she had 75 kills, along with her 153 assists this season. She's taller than the average setter. I like setters who can do some damage at the net. Here's Josie's signing tweet.

Molly Ramsey is a libero, with 1,700+ career digs, with 465 in her senior season. She averaged 4.5 digs per set, and accumulated 150 service aces. Coach Fritz described her as a hard worker, selfless, quick, athletic and a good student. Here's Molly's signing tweet.

Jaden Ravnsborg, also a libero, made the all-region team this year. Her team went 22-7. PrepVolleyball.com has her as a top-150 prospect. She logged 353 digs and 59 this season. Coach Fritz said Jaden's passion and energy motivates her teammates. Suzie described her as passionate, fast and fearless, and an excellent student. Here's her signing tweet.

These three newcomers will join this year's #23 recruiting class, which has received 4 of the 7 Rookie of the Week honors from the Big 12.

In spite of a delayed arrival, and quarantine once she got here, she has made quite an impact! For example, she was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week on October 27, as the only player in the country with a triple double! As of this week, Shelby is #4 in the Big 12 in total Assists. Something I enjoy is that she looks for opportunities to dump the ball at the net... the move Katie Brand perfected. She plays with confidence and skill, and she's certainly had a large part in the team's improved season! And, as reported below on Nov. 7, Shelby surpassed 3,000 career assists! And, Part 4... she hit .833 in the glorious victory over Texas Tech two days ago.

Here are some items to brag to your friends about (or compliment players on): 1. The Cats hit .360, a season high. 2. Shelby Martin reached 3,000 career assists. (and she hit .833!) 3. Five Cats hit .357 or better. 4. Our opponents in Lubbock were held to .137 hitting, and in set three, to –.032! 5. Loren Hinkle successfully received 14 of 15 serves (if I understand the new box score).

Coach Fritz said, "I thought it was a really well-balanced effort in all phases. We were, offensively, more productive. We were better defensively and our transition game, in the last two matches, I was really pleased with."

Something positive about this match was that K-State put strings of points together. In set one, the Cats finished with an 11-3 run. The Cats opened set three with an 11-2 run.

Let's have a look at offense, via this fancy table.

K-State's recap credited Loren Hinkle's serving for a 10-3 scoring stretch in the first set, and this included five straight points. In the second set, Kadye Fernholz was responsible for another five-point run. Jayden Nembhard hit .556 in set two!

You'll see below the shout out KSUVB gave Shelby Martin, our senior transfer, for reaching 3,022 career assists today. And, of course, just days ago she was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week!

Obviously, defense was excellent, as demonstrated by Tech's .137 hitting. Libero Mackenzie Morris had 9 digs. Dru Kuck and Shelby Martin added 8, Jacque Smith had 6 and Loren Hinkle had 5. The blocking output was lower than usual, in part because of the sweep. Kadye Fernholz led with 3 block assists, and a single.

The Cats will be in the Octagon of Doom on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13 and 14, with 6:30 P starts. March yourself over there and support them on the home stretch. Remember... they could possibly finish 2nd in the Big 12.

Let's look at offense. You hear about balanced scoring being a good thing, and we more balance than in many matches, I think. Holly Bonde and Jayden Nembhard had 14 points, Holly with 12 kills and Jayden with 14. They each hit about .250. Brynn Carlson had 13.5 points and 12 kills, and Kadye Fernholz had 13, from 10 kills and 4 block assists. Kadye was exceptionally efficient, with .409 hitting (a career high)! Abigail Archibong added 11 points. Teana Adams-Kaonohi had 34 assists in four sets, and Shelby Martin added 17, in three sets. The Cats' best offense came in set three, with .406 hitting, from 17 kills, resulting in a 25-15 score.

Mackenzie Morris led the team with 23 digs (a career high), Dru Kuck had 15, Jacque Smith had 14 and Loren Hinkle had 10. Abigail Archibong was the blocks leader, with 6 block assists and a single. Holly and Kadye each added 4 block assists.

Coach Fritz said, "One of the things I like most about this team is their competitiveness, and I think it really showed up late when we really needed it." She singled out Abigail for being competitive, with high praise for Holly Bonde for being composed, along with Jayden Nembhard for her play in general.

The DS/liberos also got a shout out as a group. Suzie said, "Our liberos made some really significant plays late in the match, that gave us opportunities to score." The Cats held Tech to .000 hitting in set one!

The Cats have gone to five sets seven times this season, and have won five of them. Here's the photo gallery for the match.

It was a pretty good offensive performance, with .250 hitting, and totaling 61 kills to KU's 55. Aliyah Carter wasn't the most efficient Cat in hitting, at .250, but she kept swinging, and led the team with 26 points and 23 kills! Holly Bonde was impressive. She had 11.5 points and 10 kills, and hit .360! Kadye Fernholz also had 11.5 points, from 9 kills. Abigail Archibong was definitely a factor, with 9.5 points and 7 kills, and she hit an outstanding .600! Jayden Nembhard had some critical hits, adding 5 kills. Service aces are always fun. Mackenzie had 2, and Jacque, Loren and Dru each contributed an ace.

Kadye Fernholz and Abigail Archibong each had 5 block assists. Aliyah Carter had 4 block assists, and 1 single, along with her 23 kills. Mackenzie Morris, libero, led with 18 digs, Jacque Smith added 14, Loren Hinkle had 9, Aliyah Carter had 8, Dru Kuck with 7 and Kadye Fernholz had 6, so the team was sharing the work on defense. The Cats recorded 73 digs to KU's 57, which certainly contributed to the W.

On Nov. 6, the Volleycats will journey to Lubbock, to play Texas Tech (3-7). Let's get it done! There is a very reasonable chance that K-State can finish 3^rd in the Big 12 Conference.

Finally, there's a real nice photo gallery for tonight's match, compliments of Scott Weaver, and very few Jayhawks are visible.

The match went to four sets, with scores of (KSU/KU): 11-25, 23-25, 25-11, 22-25. The Cats led in kills, points, and digs, and they had just 1 less block, but KU was more efficient in hitting, at .323 to .267. The teams each had 9 service aces, while the Cats had 3 more service errors.

Now, to some impressive performances! Aliyah Carter, Big 12 Rookie of the Week, led all players with 22 points, from 22 kills and .450 hitting! Jayden Nembhard, a previous Rookie of the Week, had 13.5 points and 12 kills, and she hit .450! The team combined for 9 service aces. Shelby Martin had 35 assists.

On defense, Mackenzie Morris led with 12 digs, and Kadye Fernholz and Loren Hinkle each had 5. Blocks were fairly evenly distributed among several players.

Areas for improvement, in the eyes of this non-expert, are the need for more blocks production, and trying to reduce the number of service errors.

OK, Cats... I've been bragging about your #11 ranking at every opportunity, and you've done great things this season, including giving #1 Texas what their own media called a thriller. Let's have no mercy on the Squawks on Friday night!

A week ago, referring to Aliyah Carter, I wrote, "Remember the name," after she broke a Kylee Zumach record. On Thursday vs. OU, Aliyah led all players with 17 kills and 17.5 points. She wasn't done. The next night, Aliyah again recorded 17 kills, and thanks to a big night of blocking, led all players with 20.5 points. Those performances resulted in being named today as Big 12 Rookie of the Week. (Big 12 release) (K-State release)

Written here after the sweep of OU, "Mackenzie Morris, libero, had 18 digs, and 2 aces. Our defensive specialists were subbing in and out all night. Jacque Smith had 13 digs, Dru Kuck had 9, Loren Hinkle had 8. Shelby Martin, as mentioned earlier, had 10 digs. The Cats prevailed in digs, 73-60." Our #13 Cats are currently #12 in Division 1 in team digs, and are also #3 in the Big 12 in team digs and digs per set. Loren told Austin, "We've been working a lot on our transitions. That's helped a lot. We're getting a lot better at putting plays together, a dig to a set and a set to a kill."

Suzie Fritz says our liberos are doing "a tremendous job" of keeping us in rallies. Be sure to read all the positive aspects of the group in the Sports Extra.

Let's begin with a shout out to our setter, Shelby Martin, who got herself a triple double, with 38 assists, 10 digs and 11 kills, and .769 hitting! Shelby found occasions to dump the ball on OU at the net, like the legendary Katie Brand used to do. (This was K-State's first triple-double since a big night for Katie Brand in 2014.) Our senior transfer from Texas, via East Carolina, is playing with confidence, and is a great asset. She recorded the 20^th triple-double in KSUVB history.

It wasn't a record-breaking night for the Cats on offense, with only .159 hitting, but how about Aliyah Carter, with 17 kills for 20.5 points (some from blocks)! Kadye Fernholz had a solid night, second in points with 13.5, from 10 kills, 5 block assists and an ace. She hit .250, with two or three hits that should be on a highlights video. Holly Bonde had 11.5 points from 11 kills, and .250 hitting.

Mackenzie Morris, libero, had 18 digs, and 2 aces. Our defensive specialists were subbing in and out all night. Jacque Smith had 13 digs, Dru Kuck had 9, Loren Hinkle had 8. Shelby Martin, as mentioned earlier, had 10 digs. The Cats prevailed in digs, 73-60.

I've been concerned about blocking. Tonight, OU had 19 blocks, to the Cats' 7. It seems to me that the Cats need to try not to hit into their opponents, right at the net. For example, Texas outblocked the Cats 12 to 5, and 11 to 4 the next night. To be fair, K-State surpassed WVU on blocks in one match, 15 to 9.

On offense, Holly Bonde added 10 points, Kadye Fernholz had 9.5, Brynn Carlson had 9 and Megan Vernon had 6. Holly Bonde and Brynn Carlson each had 8 kills. A fun fact is the Cats had 9 aces, led by 4 from Mackenzie Morris, with five other Cats adding one each. Shelby Martin was busy, with 39 assists. We saw impressive hitting: Megan Vernon at .714, Kadye Fernholz at .357 and Holly Bonde at .333!

I've been concerned about blocking (although Texas can make that a problem for any team). Megan Vernon, along with her epic offensive efficiency tonight, drew praise from Coach Fritz as "an elite blocker." I've wondered why we haven't seen her in a lot in earlier matches, and happy that she played three sets tonight.

Good things happened on defense. OU was held to .092 hitting for the match, and by set hit –.038, .094 and .207, and had a modest 22 kills.

To this untrained observer, I thought the Cats played well together (good passing, etc.). I felt they were making an effort to not be predictable in terms of who would send the ball over the net, and how. I'm looking forward to tomorrow night's match. Attendance was only 355. Let's get some more fans in the seats tomorrow. Finally, this match resulted in a nice photo gallery.

I felt that the Cats were moving the ball around well tonight, but Coach Fritz informed the media that last night was better. UT's dominating blocking, however, was a major factor. Strong hits were back in the Cats' territory a second later. Jayden Nembhard, who was the previous Big 12 Rookie of the Week, didn't play last night, but tonight she led with 7.5 points and 7 kills. Kadye Fernholz and Brynn Carlson each had 6.5 points and 6 kills. Aliyah Carter added 5.5 points. Shelby Martin had 18 assists over two sets.

Mackenzie Morris wore the libero shirt, and led with 9 digs, Dru Kuck 6 and Loren Hinkle had 5. Loren seems to be put in to serve quite often, and she got an ace.

Oklahoma's up next for the Cats, in five days. OU's spent some time at the bottom of the Big 12, but in their defense, they've played Texas and Baylor. They defeated the Squawks twice this weekend.

Freshman OH Aliyah Carter, who is 5' 9", had an outstanding evening on offense. She led all players with 27 points, and 26 kills, and she broke Kylee Zumach's record for kills by a freshman. Her parents were in from Iowa to cheer for her, and seemed to be enjoying the evening very much! Aliyah hit .293, a team high. It was great to have Brynn Carlson available again. She had 20.5 points and 20 kills, hitting a solid .246. The rest of the offense was fairly evenly divided among Holly Bonde, Shelby Martin and Abigail Archibong. It was strong night for serving, with two aces from Jacque Smith, Shelby Martin, Loren Hinkle and Mackenzie Morris. Shelby had 49 assists.

On defense, Texas led with 12 blocks, with 5 by K-State, but K-State prevailed in digs, 76 to 67. Mackenzie Morris had 21 digs, Shelby Martin had 12, Dru Kuck and Jacque Smith had 11, and Loren Hinkle added 8 digs.

K-State was a bit inconsistent in hitting. In winning sets 2 and 3, the Cats hit .379 (although UT hit .387) and .293. After K-State had two sets won - and Texas on alert, Texas hit .479 in set 4, to the Cats' .182. Texas sealed the victory by outhitting the Cats .316 to –.087 in set 4.

Of the Cats' performance, Suzie Fritz said, "I think they're disappointed and a little bit angry, which is exactly how we want them to be. And somewhat optimistic about the level that they're capable of playing at. We are still a work in progress, we are still learning about each other and learning how to play together a little more seamlessly."

An interesting fact is that K-State and Texas have gone to five sets in four of the last five meetings in Manhattan. Come and see the Cats in the second match on Saturday! If Aliyah Carter turns in similar numbers, she'll be a contender for Big 12 Rookie of the Week!

For some unknown reason, she only played in one set vs. Iowa State, so West Virginia was her breakout game, including her first points... 47, to be exact, and she played in all 10 sets! The 24 kills recorded in one WVU match currently leads the Big 12. Clearly, great things are in store for Jayden.

Abigail turned in impressive blocking numbers, with a 10-block total in one match. She's presently at #2 in the Big 12 in blocks. Here's K-State's announcement of Abigail and Jayden's recognitions. Here's K-State Volleyball's tweet about Abigail's Player of the Week recognition.

Jayden Nembhard, who I believe is going to be named Big 12 Rookie of the Week, led in offense with 20.5 points, from 19 kills and three block assists. Aliyah Carter had another fine match, with 17 kills and 19 points. Next in points was freshman Kadye Fernholz, who had 12 kills and 4 points from blocks for 16 points. Kadye hit .346!! Abigail Archibong was solid, with 10 kills and 6 block assists for her 13 points, and she hit .286. Holly Bonde had 8 kills and 10.5 points. Setter Teana Adams-Kaonohi had 46 assists and an ace!

On defense, libero Mackenzie Morris had 24 digs, and Dru Kuck added 17. Abigail Archibong and Kadye had 6 block assists (and a single), and Holly Bonde added 5. The official recap points out that the defense held WVU to .105 and .000 hitting in sets four and five.

As of this evening, three of the Cats' four matches have gone to five sets. They're at 3-1, and alone in second place in the Big 12. Iowa State and Baylor play again tomorrow, and there will probably be a three-way tie for second place, 24 hours from now. The Cats will continue to improve. They lost one match to Iowa State on service errors. Tonight, they had 11 service errors, but did manage a victory, and their 7 service aces helped with that. The Cats need to try to stay away from the net, I'd say. They have a full two weeks before their next competition: Texas in Austin. Go Cats!

This was a close, long game, by way of five sets, countless contested calls and close scores, but our Cats clawed their way through it, and never let themselves get intimidated if they got a few points behind.

Along with Jayden's career offensive evening, Aliyah Carter had 17.5 points and 16 kills, and Abigail Archibong had 12.5 points, 7 kills, and hit .267. Kadye Fernholz was a big factor, too, with 12 points, and 6 kills and 3 aces. Setter Shelby Martin had quite a busy evening, totaling 52 assists, a service ace and her 12 digs! This was the 30th double-double of her career. By the way... Kansas State hit .556 in set five!

On defense, libero Mackenzie Morris led with 18 digs, Shelby Martin had 12, Jacque Smith had 11, Loren Hinkle had 10 and Dru Kuck had 6. Abigail Archibong led with 9 block assists, Jayden had 5, and Holly Bonde and Kadye Fernholz added 4 each.

The match had 46 tied scores, and 21 lead changes! Set scores were (KSU/WVU): 25-21, 17-25, 25-27, 26-24 and 15-13. The Cats finished set one with a 7-1 run. It'll be very interesting to see what happens tomorrow!

I'm sure that freshman Aliyah Carter, a native of Dubuque, Iowa, took some enjoyment in a strong team performance vs. Iowa State. In the victorious second match, Aliyah led the Cats on Saturday with team highs of 15 kills and 17 points. Mackenzie led with 13 digs, after her 15 digs the night before. Both freshman played in all nine sets over the weekend. They're part of the #23 recruiting class nationally.

The Cats' most decisive victory was in set one, 25-16, no doubt related to hitting 75% to Iowa State's 48%. Iowa State turned that around in set three, hitting 66% to K-State's 37%.

On offense, Holly Bonde was most efficient, with excellent .400 hitting, She had nine kills and nine points. Aliyah Carter had a big night, leading with 17 points and 15 kills. She hit .222. Brynn Carlson had a busy evening, with 16 points and 15 kills. Shelby Martin had 41 assists.

On defense, freshman libero Mackenzie Morris led with 13 digs. Dru Kuck and Jacque Smith added 11 digs. Kadye Fernholz had a good night of defense, with four block assists and a single. Aliyah Carter had four block assists. Abigail Archibong had three block assists and a single.

For the two matches combined, Brynn Carlson led with 36 points, and Aliyah Carter was close behind, with 32. Shelby Martin had 101 assists over the two matches. Mackenzie Morris had 28 digs, Jacque Smith had 24, and Dru Kuck added 22.

The Big 12's two-match weekends will be interesting. They're not double-headers, but almost. Looking at the Cats' 2019 schedule, 57 days passed between matches with TTU, and three or four weeks passed between matches with most teams. Eight Big 12 teams played this weekend... all except for TCU. Of the 16 matches, 12 of them had 1-1 outcomes, with Texas winning both, and Oklahoma losing both. Will there be a pattern of split decisions, or more consistency as time goes on?

RS Junior Brynn Carlson passed 500 career kills (19 tonight), hitting an impressive .300, and she led the Cats with 20 points. Abigail Archibong hit a spectacular .562, with 13.5 points and 11 kills. Aliyah Carter had 15 points and 14 kills. Holly Bonde also had 15 points, with 13 kills, and she hit an awesome .370! Kadye Fernholz, in her debut as a Cat, hit a solid .250 and added 10.5 points. Senior setter Shelby Martin, in her first outing as a Cat, recorded 60 assists!

Freshman Mackenzie Morris, wearing the libero jersey tonight, led with 15 digs. Abigail Archibong led in blocking, with 5 assists. There was quite a distribution on digs. Dru Kuck had 11, Loren Hinkle had 11, Shelby Martin had 12, and Jacque Smith added 13.

It'll be very interesting to see what the Saturday night rematch shows us. Obviously, ISU and KSU played very even. Something to watch for the Cats is minimizing service errors, as the team totaled 13 in the two-point loss. I'll be interested to see where the Cats go on offense. Hitting .267 against a solid opponent is good, and the Cats prevailed on offense. It was nice to see first-year players Kadye, Shelby and Mackenzie playing in all five sets, but I want to see Kayley Hollywood and Faith Hammontree get on the court. They're both 6' 5". Get 'em in there!

Finally... supposedly the season's matches were moved to the Octagon of Doom because of virus concerns, which I don't understand. The Coliseum's a nice place, but from the point of attendance, this move is questionable. Attendance was 377... possibly a record low in recent decades. The Cats averaged 1,112 in Ahearn last season. I have a feeling that this decision is locked in for the season, but I'll sure miss having matches in my favorite place on earth.

Here's my NCAA tournament bracket. If you'd like to review the season, and see my recap of the historic match, here's my Headlines section for 2011. After the huge win I wrote, "Here's some perspective: With this victory, Kansas State improved its series with Nebraska to 80-4. (That's NU: 80, KSU: 4.) But... K-State (22-10) has beaten Nebraska (25-5) at home twice in the past 10 years. Only UCLA equals that achievement. Nebraska has only 10 losses in 10 years at home."

We had players that season who still are seen at matches, almost a decade later. They truly cared, and their skill and determination took them to this epic win. I highly recommend Austin's look back at those wonderful players, and that unforgettable match! Finally, how about a YouTube video of the final point and celebration?

Well, OK, but then the release talks about play in January. It continues, "Regular-season play will span from Jan. 22-April 3, with selections April 4." What? Regular season play is underway right now! What on earth are they saying?

That team was loaded. Have a look at David's K-State Volleyball Page 2011. The number of stars on that team was amazing: Caitlyn Donahue, Gina Madonia, Tristan McCarty, Kathleen Ludwig, Courtney Cook, Ashley Kelican, Alex Muff, Lilla Perubek, Natali Jones, Taylor Johnson, Kuulei Kabalis, Dakota Kaufman, Kaitlynn Pelger and Courtney Traxson.

Unfortunately, I think the final play is all I have video of, but it's sure worth a look!

The first two-time All-American in K-State volleyball history, Liz Wegner-Busch helped the Wildcats to one of their most successful four year stretches in school history, from 1998-2001. Winning 80 matches over four years, and making four NCAA Tournaments, Wegner also set the school record for career kills with 1,907 kills per set at 4.48, 20-kill matches with 27, total attacks at nearly 4,900, and total points at 2,161, over 280 more than the next student athlete. She is one of only three Wildcats to post 30 or more kills two or more times in a match, including her career high of 35 against Baylor in 1999, which ranks third in school history. Wegner was also the first K-State attacker to post back-to-back seasons of 500 kills or more in school history. Not just an offensive force, Wegner posted over 1,000 digs in her career to be one of only five players ever with over 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs. Her 44 career double-doubles rank fifth all-time, including three matches of over 20 kills and 20 digs, fourth-most in K-State history. A three-time All-Big 12 selection, Wegner became the first Wildcat in school history to be named to an NCAA All-Tournament team, when she earned the distinction in 2000 for the Mideast Region. Wegner was also a two-time Academic All-Big 12 selection, and earned Second Team Academic All-District honors as a senior.

Mati (pronounced "mah-tee") is a 6' 4" OH from Grosseto, Italy, who has played on two club teams.

Suzi said, "We are excited for the addition of Tessa to this already dynamic incoming class. She will add a strong presence, standing at 6-4, as well as experience competing at the international level. She has a great arm, and the ability to generate kills offensively, as well as a strong blocking presence at the net. She will surely increase depth to our outsider hitter group."

The incoming class includes four freshmen, OH Aliyah Carter (Dubuque, Iowa), MB Kadye Fernholz (Miller, South Dakota), DS/libero Mackenzie Morris (Dallas) and OH Jayden Nembhard (Keller, Texas), plus senior transfer setter Shelby Martin (East Carolina).

Tessa is the first Volleycat from Italy, and the 12th international recruit. Suzie is the winningest head coach in program history, with 350 victories over her 19 seasons.

Now... have a look at this brief Twitter video of Tessa putting the smack down at the net. Welcome, Tessa!

(First Set)    (Second Set)    (Third Set)    (Fourth Set)

Loren Hinkle & mom

In my write-up (below) of the Nov. 30 sweep of Texas Tech, I mentioned Loren's 23 digs, and predicted she'd be Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week. On Dec. 2, the conference announced her selection!

Along witih Loren's success on the court, she's a biochemistry major, which is as challenging as any K-State major. She's always eager to learn.

Be sure to check out the positive comments on Loren in the Collegian's profile, and also this video of Loren, after a smooth move in practice.

One good act leads to more with these things. The Feed It Forward account has raised over $41,000, as of this moment. Jack Stack Barbecue is able to feed about 125 people for every $1,000, and has pledged to donate 200 additional meals for every 1,000 people fed. This brings the number of health-care workers fed through the campaign to well over 5,000.

Shelby has played three seasons at Eastern Carolina, where she was honored at conference Freshman of theYear, and has been named Second Team All-AAC two times.

Suzie Fritz said, "Shelby has both experience and proven success at the collegiate level, which is what we were really attracted to and hoping to add to our young team." As a setter, she will have a great amount of influence over our team's collective success. She has good size and athleticism to upgrade our team immediately. She possesses the right kind of intangible qualities that really connected with our team." Here's K-StateVB's announcement.

Be sure to read this awe-inspiring profile!

1. Here's a must-see YouTube video from 8/06/19, that has Kadye's comments on recruiting, and clips of spectacular plays. Kadye says she chose K-State because she loves the coaches. 2. South Dakota Public Broadcasting: Kadye Fernholz of Miller Commits to Kansas State 3. Huron Daily Plainsman: Rustler standout commits to K-State