Headlines and Recaps 2023
September 30, 2023  Bearcats 3, Wildcats 1
Before addressing match results, I'd like to extend my personal thanks to Coach Jason Mansfield, Deputy A.D. Jill Shields and Brian Smoller for the briefing and Q&A session - held in the Shamrock Zone - prior to the match. It was similar to WBB's Nachos with Nick. It was very interesting, and much appreciated. I was quite pleased to hear that there will be more of these, along the way.

The first meeting of these Big 12 teams was interesting. Look at the closeness in several statistical categories: The teams each had 48 kills. KSU had one more ace. UC had 12 blocks, to KSU's 10. UC had 66 points, to KSU's 63. UC had 45 assists, to KSU's 43. The critical difference in this match is that UC had 19 hitting errors, and KSU had 30. (Again... both teams had 48 kills.)

On offense, Aliyah Carter led with 17 kills, while Brenna Schmidt and Izzi Szulczewski both hit .500, and Kadye Fernholz hit .222. Izzi had 29 assists, by the way. Both teams have 8-5 season records.

On defense, Sydney Bolding had 6 block assists, and Aniya Clinton added 5. Libero Mackenzie Morris had 16 digs, Aliyah Carter had 11 and Izzi Szulczewski had 10.

Coach Jason Mansfield said,

(overall)
"I thought Cincinnati played extremely well. We knew what they were capable of, having seen some really good things on film from them offensively. I thought [Zeta] Washington did a great job. She's a tough player to stop, [Abby Walker] as well. We knew going in that those two attackers were going to be tough. I thought they played great defense. Their libero [Carly Skrabak] had 22 digs, and out-dug us by seven. I think that's probably where the match was won; our inability to slow them down offensively at times was a decisive factor."

(on staying composed)
"It's happened a lot. I think that we know that losing one set is not losing the match, and we've come back from that before. We did it last weekend against TCU. I liked the girls' mentality. After we lost the first set, I thought we responded really well in the second, with how we wanted to play. It's difficult when you are going down 0-1 as much as we have this month, but I'm proud of how we battled."

(on creating momentum in tough sets)
"We're trying to move on from good plays, bad plays, celebrate, focus on the next play, and try to be great on the next play because that's all that matters. Just reminding them sometimes... when things are getting tough, and we're feeling down, that we can do it. Let's move on to the next play."

Team Hitting Kills Points Blocks Digs Aces
UC .204 48 66 12 72 6
KSU .118 48 63 10 65 5
September 27, 2023  The Volleycats Sweep West Virginia
The audience for Chris Klieman's weekly radio show was paying close attention to the festivities in Hugginstown, via ESPN+. We did listen to Coach, however, and we sang Happy Birthday when he entered the Powercat Sports Grill.

A fun fact about tonight's action is that the Cats led in every statistical category that didn't include "error" in its name. Here's the official match recap.

On offense, there was some very efficient work. Brenna Schmidt hit an awesome .615, from 8 kills. Shaylee Myers had 11 kills, hitting .417. Kadye Fernholz and Sydney Bolding both hit .500. Aliyah Carter wasn't at her most efficient, but she collected 10 kills, and led with 13 points. Loren Hinkle had an awesome 23 assists, and Izzi Szulczewski delivered 16 assists.

On defense, libero Mackenzie Morris contributed a team-high 15 digs. For some reason, blocks were unusually low tonight: 10 assists and 1 single.

Coach Jason Mansfield said,

"Any win you get in the Big 12 is tough, especially on the road. I thought we showed a lot of grit in that first set, staying with them, and finding a way to win with some great setting choices and defense. We haven't won the first set in a while, so it was nice to be up 1-0. I thought the rest of the match we stayed consistent, which I was really proud of. Hitting over .300 is what we're capable of doing. I thought Sydney and Brenna showed what they can do, if we pass well and get them the ball. Shaylee managed really well offensively tonight, and kept attacking a variety of ways."

Let's all stuff the Morgan Arena on Saturday at 4:30 P, when Cincinnati comes to town. Maybe now that they're in the Big 12, I'll learn how to spell Cincinnati. (Ns vs. Ts)

Team Hitting Kills Points Blocks Digs Aces
KSU .324 46 57 6 40 5
WVU .213 40 45 4 39 1
September 22, 2023  K-State (7-4) Handles TCU in Five Sets
Long-time K-State play-by-play announcer Dev Nelson used to call games like this a "double-barrel double-dip deep-dish dilly." Whatever you want to call it, the Volleycats prevailed, 3 - 2, with set scores of (KSU/TCU) 23-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-27, 15-13, before a crowd of 2,565. It was the program's 900th victory. There were lots of kids present, as they have no school on Saturday. After the match, I said to my fan friends that I think this W will be valuable to the Cats. The crowd was supportive, they defeated a good team, they got behind a few times, but found a way to win, as Jack Hartman used to say.

There were some interesting stats. Both teams had unremarkable hitting (KSU .175, TCU .150). However, KSU hit .532 vs. San Diego State, and .323 vs. Tennessee-Martin. KSU had 85 points, while TCU had 83. Team blocks and assists were almost equal. Kills were, too: KSU 62, TCU 57. Aliyah Carter led with 18 kills, and Aniya Clinton had 17 kills. Meanwhile, Brenna Schmidt was most efficient, hitting .357, and Kadye Fernholz hit .267.

On defense, libero Mackenzie Morris led with 30 digs, and Izzi Szulczewski and Loren Hinkle had 12 digs.

Coach Jason Mansfield (comparing and contrasting the two TCU matches) said,

"Last night's match was just not us. We made a lot of mistakes, but I'm truly proud of the team today for coming back, putting in the work, and believing that we can do better. We had a solid game plan last night; however, we didn't execute on our side of the net. I'm proud of our resilience, even though we let the first set slip away. In the fifth set, we were down 13-10, but we fought through it. I feel genuinely proud of them.

It feels great. This is what we've needed this season – playing a quality opponent, battling, and finding a way to win. It feels like we've lifted a weight off our shoulders. We defeated a strong team, and it shows that we can play great without needing to be perfect. It's all about competing in every play.

Izzi and Loren are both outstanding setters. They contribute significantly to our team, and we're blessed to have two incredible athletes in the setting position. I thought both of them battled and ran a solid offense, putting our attackers in great positions tonight."

Did you see what just happened? At the start of tonight's write-up, I quoted legendary K-State Basketball coach (16 seasons) Jack Hartman's phrase, "found a way to win." Later, I discovered that Jason Mansfield summarized tonight's match with "finding a way to win."

Team Hitting Kills Points Blocks Digs Aces
KSU .175 62 85 12 86 11
TCU .152 57 83 20 82 6
September 21, 2023  Cats Swept by TCU to Start Big 12 Competition
K-State (6-4) trailed almost the entire match - although keeping TCU (8-4) on alert most of the time - with an outcome of (KSU/TCU) 20-25, 16-25, 23-25, before a crowd of 2,698 in Morgan Family Arena. It's interesting to note that TCU barely prevailed over KSU in kills, 38 to 36. We kept seeing a close race in that stat through much of the match. On the other hand, KSU had 24 hitting errors, to TCU's 15. In defense, KSU prevailed slightly on digs, 45-41. But... TCU had 14 blocks, to the Cats' 6. Here's the official game recap.

Individually, Aliyah Carter had 15 kills, hitting .216. Sydney Bolding had 7 kills, with solid .375 hitting. Aliyah led the Cats with 15.5 points. Libero Mackenzie Morris led with 14 digs. A concern was blocks, I would say (KSU 6, TCU 14), and hitting efficiency (KSU .115, TCU .223).

Coach Jason Mansfield said,

"We weren't as consistent from the service line as we need to be. Their 14 blocks in three sets are not going to get the job done. We have to clean up our attacking and serving, but I thought we had chances in the first and third sets. So, I'm proud of how we came out after the five-minute break, and competed with them throughout the whole third set."

Let's pack Morgan Family Arena for the September 22 match! It's a 6:30 P first serve. While the Cats did lose one set by 9 points, they were within 5 points and 2 points on sets 1 and 3. As Mitch Holthus likes to say, let's put... the hammer... down!

Team Hitting Kills Points Blocks Digs Aces
TCU .223 38 54 14 41 2
KSU .115 36 43 6 45 1
September 19, 2023  The Return of Aliyah Carter's Competitive Spirit
D. Scott Fritchen's K-State Sports Extra today is focused on Aliyah, our senior outside hitter. Coach Jason Mansfield talks about how competitive she is. We knew that. She was the 2020 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, on the AVCA Midwest All-Region First Team two times, was All-Big 12 First Team two times, and has been Academic All-Big 12 First Team. She's currently 16th all-time in K-State career kills. Finally, she's one of four current Big 12 players with 1,000 kills. Finally, Part 2: She's returning for a 5th season. Be sure to have a look at the complete Sports Extra.
September 16, 2023  Rice Defeats K-State in Three
A year ago today, the Cats played Rice in Houston, and lost in five sets. Rice hit .235, and KSU hit .187.

Today, attendance was listed as 2,095. K-State Football was in Columbia, playing MU, and a number of fans were over there.

Rice (6-4) is RV in the latest AVCA poll. They hit .231, and KSU (6-3) hit .079. Set scores were (Rice/KSU): 25-15, 25-23, 25-21. Rice either prevailed in - or equaled - KSU in every statistical category.

It wasn't the Cats' best day in hitting. Hitting, by set, was 1: .023, 2: .178 and 3: .038. Shaylee Myers led the Cats with .261 hitting, with 7 kills. Kadye Fernholz hit .200, with 5 kills. Sydney Bolding hit .118, with 6 kills. Aliyah Carter, hitting .042, did turn in a team-high 11 kills and 14.5 points. (recap)

Izzi Szulczewski had 23 assists, and she had the Cats' second-most digs, with 12. Mackenzie Morris had 16 digs, and Loren Hinkle added 11.

Coach Jason Mansfield said,

"I think it shows our character - and how competitive we are - that we're not going to fight. (???) Yeah proud of - of how we battled. It's a really good team, you know, really good team that didn't play their best last night, and or yesterday, but I knew that they are very talented and they have the opportunity to be really good. And they stepped up and made a lot of plays. So yeah, we got to keep battling. We got to keep fighting for every point. You know, compete is a core value of ours, and we've got to find a way to make more plays."
Team Hitting Kills Points Blocks Digs Aces
Rice .231 47 63 14 73 2
KSU .079 35 47 10 60 2
September 14, 2023  K-State 3, Long Island 0
Our Volleycats improved to 6-2 with a sweep, and set scores of 25-20, 25-11, 25-10. Stats categories of note were (KSU/LIU): Points 54-20, Kills 37-16, Digs 42-31, Blocks 10-4 and Assists 35-14.

K-State stats leaders on offense included Aniya Clinton with 11 kills (from .304 hitting), Izzi Szulczewski with 20 assists, and Aliyah Carter with 8 kills (.200 hitting). Izzi was very efficient with her 3 kills, hitting .750, and Brenna Schmidt had 4 kills, hitting .667. Sydney Bolding was third highest with 9 points, from 4 kills, 1 ace and 4 blocks. She hit .273.

On defense, Mackenzie Morris led all players with 12 digs, and Izzi Szulczewski added 5 digs. Sydney Bolding led all with 4 blocks.

Coach Jason Mansfield said,

"Just like us, LIU is a program that is trying to build, and they have a lot of youth on their team. I think their coach is doing a good job of getting them to compete. They certainly did that in the first set. I was proud of the fact that we got a lot of people in, and multiple people stepped up. We're still searching to be better in the first set, but I love how we performed midway through that first set, and the rest of the match. It's been our focus the last couple of matches, but we're searching, and we're certainly capable of being better."

Next up is Rice, on Saturday, Sept. 16 at high noon. As of Sept. 14, Rice is 4-5, and they're RV in the AVCA poll. It should be noted that the Owls were competitive vs. #6 Texas this week, losing 25-16, 25-21, 26-15. Anyway, bring your radios and/or your phones to follow the Football Cats while you cheer for the Volleycats.

Team Hitting Kills Points Blocks Digs Aces
KSU .253 37 54 10 42 7
Long Island -.047 16 20 4 31 0
September 12, 2023  Volleycats on Twitter
Near the bottom of the left-side navigation column of the main page, are links to players' Twitter accounts, as well as K-State Volleyball and the Big 12. There's a bunch of good stuff on the @KStateVB account. You'll find videos, player shout outs, action photos, match updates, etc.
September 9, 2023  K-State Loses in 5 Sets to Lipscomb
So close. Lipscomb prevailed over K-State in their invitational in five sets, with set scores of (Lipscomb/KSU) 25-17, 25-18, 19-25, 17-25, 17-15. Set five was frustrating to follow via live stats, as the lead changed repeatedly, and sometimes minutes passed between score updates. Then (see the box score below), hitting % was very close, points were 103 - 100 in favor of Lipscomb, blocks were equal, and digs were 65-63 in favor of Lipscomb. Lipscomb did have 10 more kills, and 7 more service aces.

On offense, Sydney Bolding was very effective for the Cats, hitting a team-high .588. She had 12 kills. Aliyah Carter had 17 kills (a season high), hitting .351, and Aniya Clinton had 13 kills, hitting .250. Izzi Szulczewski had 32 assists, and Loren Hinkle had 13. Sydney and Aliyah were named to the all-tournament team.

On defense, Mackenzie Morris led with 20 digs, and Aliyah Carter and Izzi Szulczewski each had 14 digs.

Coach Jason Mansfield said,

"I want to start off by congratulating Lipscomb. They are a great program - with a winning tradition - who played extremely well tonight, especially the first two sets. I'm proud of how the girls battled back and competed in the final three sets. We gave ourselves a chance to make an epic comeback being down 0-2, Lipscomb just made a couple more plays in the end. We'll learn from this, and get better from it.

Aliyah and Sydney were very consistent in both matches this weekend for us, both hitting for high percentages. They took some big swings tonight, and continue to make big plays in key moments. They are both working really hard on their game during the week, and I think it is paying off."

Here's the match recap.

Team Hitting Kills Points Blocks Digs Aces
Lipscomb .267 67 103 9 65 12
KSU .296 57 100 9 63 5
September 8, 2023  K-State Sweeps Tennessee-Martin
Kansas State Volleyball, now 5-1, turned in a solid victory in Nashville tonight, with set scores of 25-14, 25-12, 25-13. I wasn't able to listen to coverage, as I was in the Morgan Family Arena for an Ahearn Fund event... a self-guided tour of the volleyball and training facilities. Here's the official game recap.

The Volleycats doubled UT-Martin in kills, 41 - 20, far surpassed them in blocks, 14 - 3, and dominated in aces, 11-2.

Aliyah Carter led the match with 9 kills, Aniya Clinton had 7, Shaylee Myers had 6. Sydney Bolding and Kadye Fernholz each had 5. Izzi Szulczewski was most efficient, hitting .750, followed by Sydney Bolding, with .667. Liz Gregorski recorded 5 aces, and Aliyah Carter had 4. Izzi Szulczewski led the match, with 24 assists!

On defense, Sydney Bolding led with 7 blocks. Aniya Clinton and Shaylee Myers had 4 each. Libero Mackenzie Morris had a match-high 18 digs, and Izzi Szulczewski had 9 digs. Loren Hinkle and Liz Gregorski added 6 digs. Kadye Fernholz reach 300 career blocks this evening.

Coach Jason Mansfield said,

"We wanted to come into this match aggressive and have a chance to be physical against this team. I was really proud of us weathering the storm a little bit in the first set, and being consistent for the rest of the match. ... We want to be road warriors, and be great on the road, so getting these wins is a big deal, however we can do it. To be consistent the way we were tonight, I think is a big deal."

Next up is the host team, Lipscomb, on 9/09 at 6:00 CDT.

Team Hitting Kills Blocks Digs Aces
KSU .323 41 14 50 11
UT Martin -.031 20 3 42 2
September 5, 2023  'It was very electric and special'
D. Scott Fritchen has a "must-read K-State Sports Extra, focused on the first match in Morgan Family Arena, which ended in a 25-21, 25-23, 25-23 sweep of Omaha, on September 1.
September 3, 2023  Nebraska Volleyball Comes South for a Visit
The line for this match formed at least two hours before the doors opened, as a considerable number of fans of #4 NU came to support their team. Cat fans were there early, too, because of general admission seating. Nebraska prevailed, with set scores of 25-21, 25-15, 25-19, but especially with sets 1 and 3, there was a feeling of hope, as those sets were only lost by 4 and 6 points.

Last week, I dug into K-State Volleyball's media guide, and compiled the numbers. I knew Nebraska takes volleyball very seriously, and they're a tough opponent, but I wanted exact numbers. I chose 1990 for a starting point. From then - to our encounter with NU today - the totals are NU 43, KSU 4. A very fun evening was on 12/02/11, when Nebraska was ranked #2 in the AVCA poll, and hosting an NCAA regional. K-State knocked 'em out of the tournament! Big picture, vs. Nebraska... the all-time series, according to one source, stands at NU 81, KSU 4.

Nebraska's blocks were certainly a big part of their win, and that's nothing new. They recorded 12 blocks, and the Cats had 7. That was a factor in the Cats' .056 hitting. K-State's recap points out that NU's opponents currently have the lowest combined hitting percentage in Division 1.

Mackenzie Morris had 12 digs... a match high. Izzi Szulczewski continues to be a very solid contributor. She had 23 assists, 2 kills, an ace and 5 digs. Aliyah Carter led with 9 kills and 12 points, and she tossed in a couple of aces! Sydney Bolding was 2nd in points, with 9. She led the Cats in blocks.

Jason Mansfield said,

"I think we have high expectations and so disappointed but that the crowd was amazing again. So I loved that. I think you want to play the best teams to figure out where you're at. ... I thought we made a lot of really good plays that I haven't seen us make in matches. ... I thought to start the third set and be aggressive and make plays was awesome."
Mackenzie Morris, Big 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year, said,
"It's so amazing just to see all the support we're getting. And I think it's huge for our team and just the program in general. I didn't feel a difference from playing an unranked opponent and ranked opponent. Just super exciting for us."

Here's K-State Sports' official recap.

Team Hitting Kills Points Blocks Aces
NU .277 42 56 12 3
KSU .056 31 41 7 2
September 1, 2023  K-State Sweeps Omaha... Next up: Nebraska!
The occasion was the first intercollegiate match in Morgan Family Arena. Seating capacity in the arena has been billed as 3,000 to 3,100. Attendance was listed as 3,044, and the crowd came in enthusiastic and eager to check out the new facility, which definitely has numerous state-of-the-art features.

Omaha came in 0-4, but they were a competitive opponent. Set scores were 25-21, 25-23, 25-23, with 52 points for the Volleycats, and 46 for Omaha. Digs were close: 54 for K-State, and 48 for Omaha. K-State, however, prevailed in hitting (36 kills to 32, and .179 to .080).

On offense, Kadye Fernholz led in efficiency (.500), while Aliyah Carter (who had a double-double) led in kills (14), and she led with 14.5 points. Shaylee Myers hit .263, and Aliyah hit .250. She recorded 9.5 points.

On defense, Mackenzie Morris had 20 digs, Aliyah Carter had 10 and Loren Hinkle had 7. (By the way, it was great to have Loren, our 5th-year player, back in action! She had a boot on a foot in the first two matches, but was back in action!)

Izzi Szulczewski had a major role, with 25 of the team's 33 assists. Add to that 6 digs, 2 kills and an ace! Oops! Add to those a solo block!

Coach Jason Mansfield was very positive about numerous aspects of the first match in the Morgan Family Arena. He said,

"Oh, I think it was great. I don't think the day was too much. I think we were very excited for this day to come." Of the players, he said, "They showed me that they can improve, and growth is a big deal in our program, and they've improved the last couple of weeks. Some of them have improved in the last nine months. And they've shown me they're tough. You know, we've been in some pretty tough situations so far this season, where we've been down, and the other team is playing really well and they're making us play hard volleyball and we have to play better and we have."

Finally, be sure to have a look at the photo gallery.

Team Hitting Kills Points Blocks Digs Aces
KSU .179 36 52 10 54 6
Omaha .080 32 46 5 48 9
August 30, 2023  Rice Match Time Change (and More)
K-State Volleyball announced today that the Sept. 16 home match vs. Rice has been changed to noon, to accommodate travel. Here are lots of details on the upcoming weekend (vs. Omaha and NU), plus the Invitational, Sept. 14-16. Be there, or be counted absent!
August 29, 2023  Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the Morgan Family Arena: Sept. 1
Here's a detailed announcement of the ribbon cutting event at 3:00 P.M., followed by the match vs. Omaha, with first serve at 6:30 P.M.
August 28, 2023  K-State Goes Unbeaten in Rose City Showdown
Here's a report from the Manhattan Mercury.
August 27, 2023  K-State Sweeps Cal State Fullerton
Izzi Szulczewski had a pleasant return to her home state of Oregon, as she and the Volleycats - defeating Call State Fullerton - won the Hotel Vance Rose City Showdown, 25-7, 25-21, 25-13. And... Jason Mansfield and staff began their K-State tenures 3 - 0. Here's the official match recap.

All-Tournament recognition included three Cats, Sydney Bolding, Aliyah Carter and Izzi Szulczewski, whose names came up constantly during coverage of the matches. Of the three, Coach Mansfield said Aliyah has been focused on being consistent, Izzi "adds so much value to our team," and Sydney was "dominant in every match, and I believe she is one of the best middles in the country..."

Before going farther, I want to give a shout out to Loren Hinkle. After the last home match last November (a win vs. Texas Tech), I asked Lauren Ramatowski if we'd get to keep Loren and Sydney for one more season, and she cheerfully replied, "Yes!" Loren is wearing a boot currently. She's meant so much to our program as a libero (and setter last season), and I wish her the best as she recovers. (She collected her 100th ace last October, among many other contributions.)

How about some fun facts?
   •  Liz Gregorski had 12 kills.
   •  Izzi Szulczewski had 24 assists.
   •  Sydney Bolding hit .700, and our MB had 8 blocks.
   •  Mackenzie Morris, Big 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year, reached 1,300 digs today.
   •  The Volleycats outhit Cal State Fullerton, .400 to .011.
   •  The Volleycats prevailed in blocks, 12.5 to 1.

Team Hitting Kills Points Blocks Digs Aces
KSU .400 40 59.5 12.5 37 7
CSF .011 23 26.0 1 36 2
August 26, 2023  K-State Sweeps San Diego State
The Volleycats improved to 2 - 0 in the invitational at Portland State, and recorded some very nice stats in the process. Set scores were (KSU/SDSU) 25-14, 25-13, 27-25. Our Cats certainly prevailed in hitting, .532 to .243, and 49 to 30 kills.

Aliyah Carter led with 14 kills, hitting .500, and led with 17.5 points. Aniya Clinton had 10 kills, hitting .571. Shaylee Myers had 9 kills, hitting an excellent .643. Kadye Fernholz was very efficient. Her 7 kills came from .875 hitting.

Izzi Szulczewski is having a memorable visit to her home state. She delivered 38 of the Cats' 42 assists. Izzi was also second in digs, with 8, and libero Mackenzie Morris had 14 digs.

I asked Izzi a couple of weeks ago how to properly pronounce her name. It's three syllables. Say them as "SHULL," "CHESS" and "SKEE." Put a little accent on the second syllable, and there you go!

Here are K-State's match recap and box score.

Next up for the Cats: September 1 is a big day. It begins with the ribbon cutting for the brand new Morgan Family Arena, on September 1 at 3 P.M., with the match beginning at 6:30 P.M.

Team Hitting Kills Points Blocks Digs Aces
KSU .532 49 61 9 28 7
SDSU .243 30 37 4 21 5
August 25, 2023  K-State Wins Match #1, vs. Hosts Portland State
Your Kansas State Wildcats are undefeated! The Cats had a slow start in set 1, but they dug in and prevailed 4-1, with set scores of (KSU/PSU): 15-25, 28-26, 25-20, 25-16.

There are definitely changes this season: a new arena, a new court, an entirely new coaching staff, and new match coverage. Out of habit, I turned on the radio 30 minutes before first serve, expecting to hear the voice and excellent coverage of Bryan Smoller. All I heard on KMAN was the Royals. Having heard and posted that some coverage would be on ESPN+, I scrambled and subscribed, and was able to watch and follow the match on my iPhone. I fear that we may not have radio coverage anymore, which leaves me very sad (and irritated). I was also sad that the great Loren Hinkle... back for a fifth season... is in a boot, and couldn't play tonight.

Hey! Before we go farther, how about a shout out to Aliyah Carter, who tonight became the 19th Volleycat to record 1,000 career kills!

Various Cats stood out, some in efficiency, and some with impressive stats totals. Liz Gregorski and Aliyah Carter led with 10 kills each. Kadye Fernholz was very efficient, hitting .385 for her 7 points. Sydney Bolding hit a solid .312 on the way to 7 kills, and Shaylee Myers had 7 points. Aniya Clinton's .235 hitting resulted in 6 kills.

Although she's a setter, playing her first match as a Cat, Izzi Szulczewski hit .600, had two service aces and led with 41 assists!

Middle blockers Kadye Fernholz and Sydney Bolding had 6 blocks each.

Setter Izzi Szulczewski recorded 22 digs, and Big 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year Mackenzie Morris (4.000) had 20 digs. Aliyah Carter had 10 digs.

Here are the links for the box score and detailed stats. Up next is San Diego State on August 26, at 3:00 P CDT.

Team Hitting Kills Points Blocks Digs Aces
KSU .176 50 68 13 73 5
PSU .166 58 67 5 84 4
August 23, 2023  Brand New Everything!
@KStateVB has posted video of the Volleycats checking out their new Teraflex™ court. You will see snow angels, a cartwheel and slides. This synthetic floor makes it possible to slide more than wood, and it also provides some cushioning.
August 22, 2023  Morgan Family Arena Court Revealed / Ribbon Cutting Planned
K-State Sports announced today a ribbon cutting for the new arena. It's set for Friday, Sep. 1 at 3 P.M., by the northwest doors... to be followed by the first match, vs. Omaha, at 6:30 P.M.

There will be two practice courts. Their location is uncertain to your webmaster at this time. As you can see from the photo (click to enlarge), there's only one court. Time will tell! (The announcement link above has a lot of information about the new facility.)

August 22, 2023  Morgan Family Arena Features a Teraflex™ Floor
Teraflex™ is a vinyl floor product that is described as resilient, and meant to prevent injuries. It allows an appropriate degree of sliding. It provides shock absorption, by way of its foam backing. (link)
August 18, 2023  K-State Is the 'Right Spot' for Izzi Szulczewski
Here's a must-read K-State Sports Extra. (Thanks, D. Scott!) Izzi Szulczewski is our new junior setter, who transferred from Oregon State - after three seasons - when their coach retired. Izzi had some very nice stats and accomplishments there, including a triple double. She was All-Pac 12 last year. Now, this month, Izzi will be playing in Portland, Oregon (August 25-27), before she plays here!
August 17, 2023  Wildcats Unveil 2023 Broadcast Schedule
The Volleycats are headed for ESPN+, which intends to carry every home match this season. Reportedly, a ESPN+ subscription is $9.99 per month, and $99.99 per year. (K-State announcement link)
August 14, 2023  Volleyball Seasons Tickets and the Nebraska Match Are Sellouts!
K-State Volleyball announced today the exciting news that Morgan Family Arena season tickets are sold out. Capacity for the arena is listed as 3,100. The announcement linked here has lots of interesting and important information. For example, it covers amenities, special events, promotions, special ticket deals, and more. Considering all the promotions being planned, a percentage of tickets from the 3,100 seats must have been set aside.
August 11, 2023  K-State Players Bought in to Coach Jason Mansfield
Aliyah Carter told The Mercury that it only took one practice for her to buy in to Jason Mansfield and his approach. Aliyah is one of 11 returners to KSUVB, and Coach Mansfield has two transfers from other Power 5 schools. Manhattan Mercury link
August 8, 2023  Volleyball to Open Mansfield Era in Brand New Facility
Here's an article in the Mercury, with pictures of the court, and some players.
August 8, 2023  New Stuff for the Volleycats
In this Twitter video, the Cats display their latest stuff, including shoes, bags, lavender caps, jackets, hoodies and water jugs. Ava LeGrande has informed Lebron James that if he comes to a match, she'll sign shoes for him.
August 4, 2023  K-State Volleyball Holds Media Day
August 25 is coming... the day of the first match (vs. Portland State). Be sure to check out this coverage of K-State's Media Day.

The first home action is vs. Omaha on Sept. 1. Our old rivals, Nebraska, will visit on Sept. 3. The Morgan Family Arena has two courts, a team room, a weight room and film room. The Volleycats return 11 players, and Coach Mansfield is very pleased about that. He says we have depth at every position. He said that of the new Big 12 opponents, BYU will likely be the toughest. Houston was great last year. (Oh, my... they went 30-4, and they have returners.)

I'm really looking forward to the intrasquad scrimmage, at 2 P.M. on August 12, at Morgan Family Arena!

July 28, 2023  Hide and Seek
Posted yesterday... and already with 5,000+ views, it's the Volleycats playing Morgan Family Arena Hide and Seek. We don't know who won - or if anyone won - but a good time was had by all, just like when they were throwing axes in Aggieville in May. There's lots of whispering, screaming and maniacal laughter. Don't miss this. (Twitter video)
July 25, 2023  Morgan Family Arena Preview & Scrimmage on August 12
The Volleycats will have a scrimmage in their new arena on August 12 at 2:00 P.M. Here's the announcement.
July 21, 2023  NCAA Tournament 2023 Details Set
Our pals at the NCAA have released their Power 10 teams for the new season, a summary of the 2022 tournament, and details on the 2023 tournament.
July 13, 2023  K-State Earns a 13th Straight USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award
This award is for a team GPA of 3.30 or higher, and it's the program's 21st time to receive this recognition. Kadye Fernholz, Loren Hinkle and Mackenzie Morris - with their 4.000 spring GPAs - played a major part. And... Mackenzie is the reigning Big 12 Volleyball Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Kadye's majoring in Elementary Education. Loren brought in perfect grades, while majoring in Life Sciences, Pre-Physician Assistant, Biology and Leadership Studies! Mackenzie's a star student in Accounting and Leadership Studies.

July 11, 2023  Sydney Bolding and Aliyah Carter: Preseason All-Big 12
K-State Sports announced today that Sydney, a senior MB (returning for another season) and Aliyah, now a senior OH, are preseason All-Big 12. I recall asking Lauren Ramatowski on Nov. 23, after Senior Night vs. Texas Tech (a W for the Volleycats at 3-2) if seniors Sydney and Loren Hinkle might come back for an encore season. I was delighted that the answer was an enthusiastic yes.
July 10, 2023  Big 12 Volleyball Preseason Poll
The soon-to-disappear Texas Burnt Oranges - for the 13th straight time - are at the top of the Big 12 preseason poll, having gotten 12 of 13 first-place votes. K-State is at #7 of the 13 in the poll. WVU captured the last place, having finished 7-22 / 0-16 Big 12 in the 2022 season. (Big 12 preseason awards link)   (Big 12 poll link)
July 7, 2023  Volleycats Tour the Morgan Family Arena (Facebook)
The Cats are clearly pleased and excited. It appears that the first match will be vs. Omaha, on September 1, with first serve at 6:30 P. The last encounter with Omaha was at their house, in September 2021. The Cats prevailed, 3 - 1. (recap)   team photo, with Wade and Brenda Morgan)   (tour video link)
July 7, 2023  Volleycats Tour the Morgan Family Arena (Twitter)
The construction fences got taken down on about July 1, and today the Volleycats ventured into the arena to check it out. The arena has a capacity of 3,000 seats. K-State's home attendance - spanning 13 matches - was 1,293, so at the present, it seems that there will be enough seats. (Tweet 1: walking tour) (Tweet 2: photos)
June 29, 2023  Kadye Fernholz Tells Why She Chose K-State
Apparently the Princeton Review has named K-State as its #10 school for making an impact. In this brief video, Kadye Fernholz explains why she chose - and likes - K-State and Manhattan.
June 7, 2023  Volleyball Super Powers
Here's a fun Twitter video. The topic is Super Power Preferences. The setting looks for all the world like Ahearn Field House, but it's close shots. Aliyah Carter wants to fly. Loren Hinkle wants to be invisible. Sydney Bolding wants to teleport. Mackenzie Morris says being invisible would be cool. Q: Why did Aliyah call Mackenzie Mary?
May 21, 2023  John Dunn: New Assistant Coach for the Volleycats
John Dunn is headed our way as an assistant. He's been a grad assistant and assistant coach at Washington, and has had several other experiences with the sport, including high school, club and college. (announcement link)
May 16, 2023  K-State Volleyball Announces 2023 Schedule
Here are links to the Volleycats' 2023 schedule press release, and the 2023 Schedule and Results page.
May 16, 2023  Big 12 Schedule Announced
Here we have the Big 12's schedule announcement and schedule grid
May 12, 2023  Izzi Szulczewski Transfers from Oregon State
Izzi Szulczewski is a 5' 7" setter, and she is signed! Coach Mansfield said, "I've been watching Izzi play since she was 15 years old, and ever since the first time I saw her compete, I've wanted to coach her. Her passion, skill, athleticism, leadership and experience will add so much value to our team. We are so excited to get her to K-State, and help her grow as a player and as a person." (announcement)
May 5, 2023  Volleycats Throw Axes at Innocent Boards
The video story begins with a photo of our volleyball heroes, Aliyah Carter and Loren Hinkle, looking very happy and innocent, but what have they been up to? They've been hurling axes at perfectly innocent boards. Apparently this activity is available at 1220 Moro St. in MHK. I'd better be on alert when I have my monthly visit to the Campus Barbershop, at 1206 Moro St. Check out video of this mischief.

In my screen capture of the video, you see a small image of Johnny Kaw, over Aliyah's shoulder. I got the joke, but thought of Paul Bunyan, the giant mythical lumberjack. I created a controversy by referring to Johnny Kaw (whose statue I hadn't seen recently) as Paul Bunyan. Johnny Kaw carried a giant scythe, to harvest crops, while Paul Bunyan worked on wood, as did the Volleycats in this story.

May 5, 2023  Aliyah Carter: Volleyball Is Just Part of the Story
D. Scott Fritchen has an excellent K-State Sports Extra... a profile on our star OH, Aliyah Carter, who's heading into her senior year in the fall.
April 29, 2023  K-State Volleyball's Spring 2023 Exhibition Matches
K-State Volleyball has 11 returning players. Coach Jason Mansfield announced K-State's spring exhibition schedule on March 8. Here's an update, with the outcomes:

Date Day Opponent Location First Serve Score
March 25 Sat. Wichita State Wichita 2 P.M. W: 3 - 2
April 22 Sat. Minnesota Indianola, Ia. 1 P.M. W: 3 - 2
April 29 Sat. Omaha Omaha noon W: 3 - 1
April 28, 2023  K-State Volleyball Adds Liz Gregorski
Coach Jason Mansfield announced today the addtion of Liz Gregorski, a 5' 11" OH. She is transferring from the University of Wisconsin, after four seasons there. Wisconsin grabbed four Big 10 Championships - and the program's first NCAA National Championship - in 2021. Welcome to Liz, our new Volleycat!
April 12 , 2023  Quinn Roche: Director of Volleyball Operations
K-State Volleyball announced today that Quinn Roche is joining Jason Mansfield's staff. Quinn will focus on recruiting efforts, as well as managing the team's travel and summer camps.

She was a grad assistant at the University of Washington for the 2022, with similar responsibilities as she will have here. For two years prior, she worked in marketing and promotions for multiple sports.

Quinn graduated summa cum laude in business from Washington last year.

March 6, 2023  Suzie Fritz: Associate Head Coach at Arkansas
I'm pleased to announce that Coach Fritz has been offered a new opportunity, while sad that she will no longer be with us. She has much to offer the Razorbacks. Arkansas head coach Jason Watson knows Suzie well. He was her assistant and associate head coach in 2000 and 2001, before moving on to BYU. I wish Suzie well in her new position, and certainly thank her for her excellent service to K-State Volleyball for so many years! (announcement link)
February 27, 2023  Aliyah Carter on Black History Month / Overcoming Challenges
Aliyah has a nice, positive Twitter video on how her teammates have been supportive of her. Aliyah's dad has also been very helpful.
February 22, 2023  K-State Sends Three to U.S. Women's National Team Open
Mackenzie Morris, Aliyah Carter and Shaylee Myers are heading to Colorado Springs this weekend, for the U.S. Women's National Team Open at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center. K-State Volleyball's release has lots of details, and links to follow.
February 13, 2023  Morgan Family Arena Preview
I'm not sure how this was produced. It's mostly architects' renderings of the interior of the facility. It does give a sense of what it will look like, as well as some of the amenities. (video link) The Feb. 1 video below shows our current players walking around in the actual building. They seemed to be very excited about it!
February 1, 2023  The Volleycats Get a Tour of the Morgan Family Arena
The arena's exterior seems to be very nearly complete. The interior has a way to go. A few players, dressed up in construction jackets and helmets, got a tour today. I've been told that there are lots of amenities in this facility. We appreciate the generosity of Ward and Brenda Morgan! (Twitter video)
January 26, 2023  Jason Mansfield Looks to Be the Next Stellar K-State Hire
Learn about Coach Mansfield's experiences and goals in this profile in the Collegian. Jason has a variety of experiences working with eventual national champions, Olympians and All-Americans. He wants to inspire his players, and have them believe in themselves. Players he's worked with had great attention to details, and were intentional in their approaches. He wants players to learn and grow. To conclude, Jason has been involved in seven Final Four teams. We look forward to exciting things to come!
January 13, 2023  Jason Mansfield Adds Steve Astor and Fiona Fonoti to Staff
It was announced today that our coaching staff has expanded.

Steve Astor will be Associate Head Coach. He's been at Pepperdine the last three seasons, as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. He has 20 years of coaching experience, including clubs, high school and college.

Fiona Fonoti is from Hawaii. She will be Assistant Coach. She played for Nebraska, then she coached at WVU and ISU. At NU, she played in three Final Fours, and in the 1995 national championship match. She was an AVCA All-American, and three-time First Team All-Big 12. Fiona got quite a shout-out from Christy Johnson-Lynch (ISU head coach) this week. It's in the announcement linked here.

January 4, 2023  Jason Mansfield Introduced as Volleyball Head Coach
And now... Jason Mansfield is officially K-State's coach. Via this link, you'll find thorough coverage (from K-State Athletics) of the introduction event, which took place in Football's Team Theater, in the Vanier Complex. From the link provided, you'll be able to watch and listen to the event. A transcript of remarks - plus a Q&A - is provided.

This just in on Jan. 5: Coach Mansfield asks fans to pack the Ward and Brenda Morgan Arena. (YouTube video)

Don't miss D. Scott Fritchen's excellent K-State Sports Extra, Mansfield Ready to Lead K-State into New Era. You'll learn all kinds of details about Jason's background, his teams' accomplishments and his goals.

Speaking of miss, I somehow missed this next one for three days. It's the great Brian Smoller, interviewing Coach Mansfield on his introduction day. (video link)

January 4, 2023  Fresh Start: K-State Introduces New Coach Jason Mansfield
Here's the link to the announcement in the Manhattan Mercury. It will probably require an online subscription. Coach Mansfield was introduced in the Team Theater in the Vanier Sports Complex this afternoon. There were comments from Gene Taylor and Coach Mansfield, and questions were taken from media representatives.

We learned that Jason interviewed online, and this introduction event marked his first trip to MHK. I was impressed and appreciative that after the formal event, and most people had left, Jason approached me and my friend Denver to meet us and visit. He has about two decades of coaching experience. Included in that experience is coaching club teams, which I believe he said can involve about 60 to 90 matches per year!

K-State players were not present for the event. I can understand that being there with the media could result in some questions that might be awkward to answer at this time. My understanding is that there has been some interaction with them online, but they have not yet met in person. Since it's still winter vacation, they may not currently be in MHK!

January 3, 2023  K-State to Formally Introduce Jason Mansfield on Wednesday
Here's the announcement of the plan for the formal introduction of Jason Mansfield, which will be in the Vanier Complex.
December 27, 2022  Jason Mansfield Is the New Coach of the Volleycats
Jason is an assistant at Washington, and is headed to MHK. He's been part of seven NCAA Final Fours, and a national championship. Here's the announcement from K-State Athletics. I'm adding a number of announcement articles to the media page on this site.