Meg Brown, 6' 3", has had four seasons at Pepperdine, and was All-Conference all four years! She was on the U.S. Women's Collegiate National Team in summer 2023. (Pepperdine roster)

Jordyn Williams, 6' 2", has been at Kentucky for two seasons. Her club team won two national championships. She has been an Under Armour First Team All-American. (Kentucky roster) (Twitter announcement)

Kadye Fernholz is majoring in Elementary Education, and she's turned in a 3.88 GPA. Both of these star players are seniors, and had their Volleyball senior night last month. They will be greatly missed. We know they will do excellent work in their careers. Here's the announcement from K-State Sports, and from the CSC.

Here's K-State Volleyball's announcement of Sydney's selection. It has a great deal of information and comments about our favorite pro player.

Sydney... along with Aliyah Carter and Mackenzie Morris... was voted First Team All-Midwest Region by the NCAA a week ago, as reported right here on December 7. Finally, Sydney's team will be playing in Omaha in February, March, April and May. (schedule)

• Sydney Bolding - Communications Studies
• Aliyah Carter - Kinesiology
• Loren Hinkle - Life Sciences

• Their RPI around selection time was about 59, which is a lower number than 64, right?
• If the AVCA wanted good attendance, K-State Volleyball had the highest average attendance (at home) in the last quarter century.
• Then there's the matter of signature Ws, for example: 13 sweeps (including #3 Texas, #8 Brigham Young, #8 Brigham Young again, Iowa State, Texas Tech, Texas Tech again, etc.
• Three players: Sydney Bolding, Aliyah Carter and Mackenzie Morris are First Team All-AVCA Midwest Region.
• Aniya Clinton and Mackenzie Morris were Big 12 Players of the Week on Nov. 21
• Aliyah Carter and Mackenzie Morris were Big 12 Players of the Week on Nov. 14

Here's the announcement from K-State Volleyball. This is a big deal. Congrats to our awesome players!

   • Aces: Liz Gregorski #6, with .34 per set
   • Blocks: Sydney Bolding #2, with 1.4 per set
   • Digs: Mackenzie Morris #1, with 4.82 per set
   • Points: Aliyah Carter #5, with 4.56 per set

As ironically posted just below, "Aliyah Carter is First Team All-Big 12 (unanimous) for the third time," and "Aliyah Carter is the first Volleycat to earn three unanimous First Team All-Big 12 recognitions."

Aliyah Carter is First Team All-Big 12 (unanimous) for the third time. She recorded 390 kills this season (4.06 kills per set). She's fifth in the Big 12 and 37th in the country in kills per set. Her 4.43 kills per set in Big 12 competition is 3rd in the Big 12.

Sydney Bolding, middle blocker, led the Big 12 with 134 blocks. Her 1.40 block average is 2nd in the Big 12, and 12th in the nation. Add to those numbers 157 kills and 28 aces. Sydney's 1.30 career blocks average is 2nd in K-State history (in rally scoring).

Mackenzie Morris played in all 27 matches, and in all 97 sets! She led the Big 12 with 4.82 digs per set, and 468 total digs (35th in the nation). Add to that 22 service aces.

Aniya Clinton made the All-Rookie Team. She had 261 kills, and averaged 2.84 per match. She laid 17 kills on TCU in September. She hit an amazing .684 on the first night of K-State's double sweep of BYU in October! She followed that with .455 hitting the next night.

Here's the official announcement from the Big 12 office.

Meanwhile, six teams the Volleycats defeated (Texas, BYU, TCU, Baylor, Iowa State and Omaha) are on the bracket. The Volleycats had 5 sweeps of tournament teams, including then-#3 Texas and then-#8 BYU. I'm thankful to them for a very enjoyable season that we can all be proud of, and our wonderful group of seniors, Loren Hinkle, Mackenzie Morris, Aliyah Carter, Sydney Bolding and Kadye Fernholz. We are going to miss them so much.

On offense, Aliyah Carter led with 18 points and 15 kills, although her hitting was less efficient than usual. Sydney Bolding had very efficient hitting (.455). She had 6 kills, and Aniya Clinton (Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week) had 9 kills. Both had 10.5 total points. Kadye Fernholz hit an impressive .364. Izzi Szulczewski contributed 29 of the Cats' 36 assists.

On defense, Mackenzie Morris, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, had 17 of the Cats' 53 digs. Liz Gregorski added 10 digs, and Aliyah Carter had 9. Sydney Bolding contributed 5 of the Cats' 10 block assists, to add to her efficient hitting.

Coach Jason Mansfield said,

(overall thoughts)
"Congratulations to Houston. I thought they played exceptional defense. After the first set, we got pretty tight and had some plays in the second set that I think would have potentially changed the match and put us up 2-0. I like our chances there, and it wasn't for lack of effort, but I think that their serve and their defense was really good and did a great job of slowing us down."

(on his first season as a head coach in the books)
"Just a lot of gratitude. I mean, it's been an up and down season for sure, but just so many great memories. Hope it's not over. As I told the players, I would love to coach them for at least another week, but that's out of our hands. It's been special because of the people on the team, and how much they've improved, and how much they've grown this season. I'm obviously really proud of them, but I still feel like we can get better. So hope we have another week to do that. I couldn't ask for anything more in my first season."

The NCAA Tournament selection show will be on ESPN at 5 P.M. CST on Nov. 26, and round one of the tournament begins on Nov. 30.

Aniya Clinton is the Big 12 Rookie of the Week. It's her second honor of the season. K-State Sports reports 27 kills this past week, and .297 hitting vs. Tech. She was seventh in the Big 12, with 4.83 points per set.

On offense, Aniya Clinton had a big day, leading all players with with 13.5 points and 12 kills. Aliyah Carter had 12.5 points, from 11 kills. Izzi Szulczewski added 9.5 points and 8 kills. She was extremely efficient, hitting a match-high .583! Brenna Schmidt added 9.5 points from 8 kills, and was very efficient, with .294 hitting. Again, K-State prevailed on hitting, .252 to Tech's .153. (That had something to do with the Wildcats' 48 kills to Tech's 28.) Have I mentioned that Kadye Fernholz concluded her Morgan Arena days with .400 hitting? I wish we could keep her! And... our awesome transfer, Izzi Szulczewski, led all players with 32 assists.

On defense, the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, Mackenzie Morris, led all players with 21 digs. I will miss the Big 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year so much! We all will. Izzi Szulczewski had 10 digs. It's great that she's returning for 2024. It's no surprise that Sydney Bolding had 4 block assists. She has been so valuable to our team these past two seasons.

How about a special paragraph for the great Mackenzie Morris? She got a shout out in the title of Volleyball's official recap, as she reached 100 digs during today's match. Come back, Mack! You can be an accountant later.

Coach Jason Mansfield commented...

"It was a special way to end the seniors' career, winning at home. I can't remember the last set we've lost at home. I was thinking about it today, and it's been a while. We've had incredible matches here for a while, with a special environment. We needed the crowd today. We didn't play super clean, but we battled and we found ways to win the points that we needed to. I was proud of us for that. It was just really special to have the seniors win their final match here."

OK... I just checked out Coach Mansfield's comment.

The Cats haven't lost a set at home since Cincinnati on September 30... so 7 weeks.

No surprise... senior Aliyah Carter (Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week) led in offense, with 18 points and 17 kills, as she hit a solid .268. Aniyah Clinton was next in points, with 15.5, and she had 15 kills, with impressive .371 hitting. Someone should have gotten Shaylee Myers the ball more often, as she hit .667. Kadye Fernholz and Brenna Schmidt both hit .400. Izzi Szulczewski delivered 34 of the team's 43 assists.

On defense, Mackenzie Morris, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, had 18 digs, while the team's other 39 digs came from nine other players.

I'd say that the biggest difference in stats, and the reason for the sweep, is K-State's .316 hitting, to Tech's .093. OK... let's also mention K-State's 14 block assists, to Tech's 2.

The departing seniors were recognized after the match. This included Loren Hinkle, Sydney Bolding, Aliyah Carter, Mackenzie Morris and Kadye Fernholz. Here's video of the Senior Day recognition. I have tremendous appreciation for these players. They are exceptional people, and they're going to have awesome lives, and do amazing things. Here's a photo gallery of the game and senior recognition.

There was a very nice pre-match gathering for season ticket holders, which featured coaches Fiona Fonoti, Steve Astor and John Dunn. Two of the three have been on the staff of other Big 12 schools, and at least two have been junior high math teachers. It was most excellent to hear from each of them, and it was clear that Coach Mansfield hired very good, capable people!

Coach Jason Mansfield commented...

(overall thoughts)
"Congratulations to Houston. I thought they played exceptional defense. After the first set, we got pretty tight and had some plays in the second set that I think would have potentially changed the match and put us up 2-0. I like our chances there, and it wasn't for lack of effort, but I think that their serve and their defense was really good and did a great job of slowing us down." (on first season as a head coach in the books)
"Just a lot of gratitude. I mean, it's been an up and down season for sure, but just so many great memories. Hope it's not over. As I told the players, I would love to coach them for at least another week, but that's out of our hands. It's been special because of the people on the team, and how much they've improved, and how much they've grown this season. I'm obviously really proud of them, but I still feel like we can get better. So hope we have another week to do that. I couldn't ask for anything more in my first season."
"It was a weird match, and there wasn't a lot of rhythm to it, you know? But I'm proud that we battled and found a way to pull it out. I think after the second set break, we settled down, and we played a lot more consistently in the third, which I'm very proud of. They're a good team, playing good defense, taking big swings, and I'm just glad that we steadied out, and stayed aggressive offensively. I think that was probably the biggest difference. We made some great plays defensively, but it's a tough team to beat, and we've got to figure out how to be a little bit better for tomorrow."

(on the seniors)
"It's a special group. Their legacy is left in the younger players, and how they showed up every day, how they competed, and how they grew. I've only been around them for 10 months, but it's a special group, and I've seen growth in all of them. And to me, that's the most important thing – obviously, great volleyball players, but they're even better people. I love that they're my first senior class, and I'm never going to forget them."

Some time today, Coach Mansfield commented to a reporter on how long it had been since K-State VB had lost a set at home. Well, I got into my trusty schedule page. The last set loss was to Cincinnati, on Sept. 30, so it's been about 7 weeks. Since then, the Volleycats have swept Iowa State, BYU x 2, Texas and TTU x 2. That is quite impressive, since BYU was ranked #8 on its two sweeps, and Texas was ranked #3.

This is exciting news, but not surprising in the least! Here are links to K-State's, and the Big 12's announcements. "What awards," you ask? Aliyah Carter is the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, and Mackenzie Morris is the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week. We've been extremely fortunate to have these two stars on our rosters, and I'd love to see them come back in 2024.

The occasion that allowed our superstars to shine was the Volleycats' sweep of #3 Texas (the defending NCAA champions), in their last visit to MHK. K-State hadn't won vs. Texas in 20 years... since 2003, when our Cats won the Big 12.

Mackenzie, our libero, turned in a match-high 20 digs. She's very skilled, and the Big 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year makes good strategic choices. She leads this year's team in sets played, digs (412), and digs per set (4.74), so it's no surprise that she always wears the libero jersey. Here's the Big 12's announcement photo tweet for Mackenzie.

Outside hitter Aliyah Carter led all players with 20 kills, and she hit a solid .311. As you might expect, she also led all players with 21 points. She really can jump, and her swing is quick and dangerous. It was Aliyah who took the final swing of the match. Here's Volleyball's announcement photo tweet for Aliyah.

• Tatum Tindall from Manhattan is a 6'1" middle blocker / OH. She was 2nd Team All-Conference last year, and had 523 kills.
• Emerson Van Lannen is a 5'11" setter from Appleton, Wisconsin. She's been All-Conference three times, and has 1,500 career assists. Liz Gregorski is her cousin!
• Alyss Kelly is the #1 libero in the state of Washington, and the #5 overall player, as designated by Prepdig.com. She's known as "fiercely competitive and extremely skilled."

Here's the announcement from K-State Sports today.

Edit: I've found a complete match video replay link!

Let's begin with some perspective. 1. K-State Volleyball had lost 39 straight matches to Texas. 2. The Volleycats hadn't defeated Texas in 20 years... since Oct. 15, 2003 (the year the Cats won the Big 12). 3. This was UT's first Big 12 loss of the season. 4. Texas is the defending NCAA national champion.

This was an unforgettable experience. It was our last meeting with Texas as original members of the Big 12 Conference. Here's a shout out to Joni Smoller. I assume that she and her Fan Experience staff were involved with Volleyball's Taylor Swift Night. I saw postings about it all over K-State residence halls this past week. The student section was packed, and were loud, rambunctious and supportive. The match attendance is listed as a sellout, at 3,044. Volleyball's average attendance this season is 2,704. The crowd tonight was outstanding. The band was outstanding. Fans clearly had a great time. And... we got Sandstorm!

I went in expecting a close match. The Cats had swept then-#8 BYU a couple of weeks ago, and had a very close match with #14 KU four days ago. The title of the advance write-up for tonight's match was "Wildcats Ready for No. 3 Longhorns." Yes, they were!

The box score for the UT match is interesting, in this match with close set scores of (KSU/UT): 25-22, 25-22, 25-21. For example: KSU prevailed in kills, 45-44. KSU prevailed in points, 55-54. The teams tied in aces, 5-5. Blocks were equal, at 10. On the other hand, K-State outperformed UT on hitting, .351 to .246! K-State also outperformed UT on digs, 53-35. From my front-row seat, I never saw any sign that the Cats were intimidated by the #3 team in Division I.

On offense, certainly the Cats' .351 to UT's .246 hitting was significant. Aliyah Carter had the most attempts (45), and she hit a solid .311, resulting in a team-leading 20 kills. Aniyah Clinton and Brenna Schmidt both hit an impressive .333, and had 7 and 6 kills. Izzi Szulczewski, playing setter and DS, hit .857! Oh... and Izzi had 31 assists! She was second among the Cats in points, with 8.0.

On defense, libero Mackenzie Morris led all players with 20 digs, and she added 7 assists to her duties. Liz Gregorski, who's been doing solid work for her team, was second among the Cats in digs, with 9. Izzi and Aliyah had 6 digs. I believe the Volleycats' prevailing on digs, with 53 vs. 35 for UT, was very significant in the sweep.

I've been writing up this match using the box score posted early by UT. Here's the official recap from K-State Sports. Oh... if you'd like to gloat a little, here's the official recap from UT.

One final comment is that I was sad that the great Kadye Fernholz didn't get to be a part of tonight's festivities. She was in street clothes, so I assume she's recovering from some kind of injury. She did play vs. KU four days ago.

Finally, Part 2, here's D. Scott Fritchen's awesome K-State Sports Extra, A Historic Night, posted the day after the glorious victory (with several fun photos).

Coach Jason Mansfield commented to the media...

(overall thoughts)
"I think we just tried to really believe this week. It was tough after losing two close matches to Kansas, and left feeling disappointed. I think that the goal and the message was just to believe from then on. We felt it on Monday's practice, as we got back at work, and with Texas coming, and we needed to get ready and the last few days they've been really focused. There's no reason to believe that we cannot only compete with a team like this, but beat them. I'm really proud of our effort. The crowd was incredible, and the girls definitely fed off that, they were a huge, a huge part of what we did tonight."

(on accomplishing so much in his first season)
"When I took this job, I believed in the players that wanted to stay, and getting Izzi and Liz was a big deal to our culture, and certainly our play. I know what good volleyball looks like, and the girls on this team can play, and it's about the players making plays. It's not about me. I knew that we had enough talent, if we just believed and kept getting better, we'd find a way to be a team. We've had lots of examples this year that not only show we can play with teams, but we could beat quality teams, and that we have players on our team that need to be recognized, in the same way that these other girls on other teams have been recognized. I'm just really proud that they're showing it over, and over, and over again. I'm not a big stats guy, but anybody getting 20 kills in three sets like Aliyah, or 20 digs in three sets like McKenzie is absolutely exceptional, against one of the best teams in the country. So if that doesn't prove that we have great players on this team, then I don't know what does."

Setter Izzi Szulczewski commented on the upset...

"I don't know if I anticipated it, but I knew I was coming into a great program already, and a great culture just within the girls. We all get along so well, and that just translates onto the court. I think that when we played Nebraska, we thought 'dang, that got away from us,' even though we got beat in three straight. We were disappointed. We knew what we were capable of, and know that we can actually do some damage to these teams that are ranked."

Aliyah Carter commented, in part...

(on defense): "You could see it at the end of that third set. There was no way that the girls in the back row were going to let a ball just hit the floor without them going crazy. So I think the mindset, I mean, we just have a whole bunch of dawgs back there that are going to get anything up. So that's the mindset, going into each and every game. We pride ourselves on defense, and keeping balls alive so our offense can work."

(on the difference from last season): "This is completely different, just from the way it feels. There's a lot of confidence and encouragement. I think of this team as like a big circle. Without one part of that circle being there, it's not going to work. It's not a circle. So it's like, from the bench, the coaches, and the people playing, to practice every day, to even weights, everything's working, and everything just feels good. So I don't really like to speak about the past, but I think that this is showing it all, what's going on right now."

Aliyah Carter led in points, with 14.5, with 14 kills and .214 hitting. Aniya Clinton was next with 12.5 points, and 12 kills. In terms of efficiency, Kadye Fernholz was most efficient, hitting .500. She had some kind of injury, late in the match, and had to come out. I wish her the best on a quick recovery. Here's the box score.

On defense, libero Mackenzie Morris led all players with 18 digs, and she had 6 assists. Izzi Szulczewski had 14 digs, and 26 assists. On offense, add a couple of aces and .400 hitting to her afternoon's work. It was great to see Loren Hinkle back on the court, but I'm very disappointed that she's not being used more, of late. She has earned it. Here's the official recap.

Coach Jason Mansfield said,

"It's my first time experiencing the rivalry, and as I mentioned last night, it's awesome. You can feel the passion people have for this matchup. [KU's] program is currently a bit stronger than ours, as it should be. The coach has been there for 27 years, and I have a lot of respect for what he's built, because it's something we are striving for in Manhattan. I'm proud of our players for their effort last night, but it was another disappointing loss, in the second set, where we felt we had a chance to win. Coming back to battle in the third set speaks volumes about our group, and shows that we are continually finding ways to improve. We have a tough stretch ahead, with five consecutive matches against ranked teams, but we're holding our own, and believe we can compete with these teams. Now, we are focused on finding small ways to get better, and maintaining our health."

on Izzi Szulczewski's performance
"I'm really proud of how Izzi is growing as a leader on the court. Obviously, she's been more consistent, and making more plays. Her defense has been excellent against teams that are attacking her. She's doing a commendable job in digging the balls she's capable of defending."

KU got a good start in set one, 25-16, but only squeaked by in set two, 25-23. Then our Volleycats took the next two sets, 25-20 and 25-19. So... KU won the match by three points.

On offense, Aliyah Carter led in kills, with 24, and in points, with 25.5. Sydney Bolding had 15 kills, spectacular .625 hitting, and was second in points, with 18.5. Aniya Clinton had another productive match, with 17.5 points and 16 kills. Setter Izzi Szulczewski led the match with 51 assists. She's having a very impressive season. She also laid a couple of aces on the Squawks.

On defense, our awesome libero, Mackenzie Morris, led the match with 34 digs, and added 7 assists. Izzi Szulczewski and Aliyah Carter each had 14 digs, Symone Sims added 11, and Liz Gregorski had 9 digs.

Coach Jason Mansfield said,

"First time in the rivalry match, it was exciting, and the crowd was great. Really proud of our comeback from the third and fourth set, after being down 0-2, and a disappointing second set. We're proud of how we battled, and our defense was really good tonight – 94 digs are a lot. We gave ourselves some chances. It's tough to play a close match and lose. It's happened a couple of times, but I think the resilience of our team to come back the next day - and hopefully be better - is what we're going to focus on. A lot of really gritty effort. Sydney Bolding was phenomenal tonight offensively. It was great to see a lot of good individual performances. Just try to be a little better tomorrow, and I'm sure the environment will be great again."

Aliyah, who's Preseason All-Big 12, had 35 kills + .238 hitting. She got her 23rd double-double. Aliyah is 3rd in K-State history (in the rally scoring era), with 1,283 kills.

Aniya had .538 hitting for the week! In the first match vs. BYU, she hit .683!

The above is just a small sample of these fine players' accomplishments this week. Be sure to click the link above for all the good news!

  • The BYU sweeps were the first Top 10 victories at home in 20 years.
  • The 2023 Volleycats are the first to record two Top 10 sweeps.
  • On Thursday, Aliyah Carter had 18 kills and .317 hitting.
  • On Thursday, Aniya Clinton had 13 kills and .684 hitting!
  • On Friday, Aniya Clinton had 16 kills and .455 hitting, on 33 swings with one error.
  • On Friday, Aliyah Carter had 17 kills and 9 digs.

Starting with offense, there were some very fine performances. Aliyah Carter had 17 kills, and hit .163. Aniya Clinton a very fine night, with 16 kills and .455 hitting! (She led the match with 18 points.) Sydney Bolding had 5 kills, with .455 hitting. Mackenzie Morris and Liz Gregorski each recorded 2 aces. Izzi Szulczewski had a match-high 37 assists!

On defense, the aforementioned Mackenzie Morris had 12 digs, Simone Sims had 11, and Aliyah Carter had 9. Liz Gregorski, Izzi Szulczewski and Aniya Clinton had 6 digs. Sydney Bolding had 5 block assists, along with her impressive .455 hitting.

K-State Sports has proclaimed that the 2023 Volleycats are our first team ever to have two Top 10 sweeps. The second victory over BYU marks the third season ever - and the first season since 2003 - with two Top 10 victories.

Oh... I've been chirping about attendance of late. Total home match attendance this season is 26,695, with an average of 2,669. Over the last 24 seasons, no season has a higher average attendance than this one!

Here are links to the official recap, the box score, and a fun photo gallery.

Coach Jason Mansfield told the media a lot of good stuff, so here it is,

(on if this is what he signed up for at K-State)

"Absolutely. From day one, I told this group we could be great, and that we could not only compete with anyone, but we could beat anyone. After the Nebraska match, I went to the locker room and the girls were disappointed because we could have made more plays, and if you're disappointed losing to a team like Nebraska, then the expectations are high. Not from me, but from them. So that's how we've tried to keep things the whole season. We've had a lot of ups and downs as far as wins and losses, but the point is to get better, to grow as a group and individually as the season goes on. So I'm really proud of them. I knew this was possible. We have opportunities coming up where we could try to do it again."

(on the attention that the program has received after two straight Top 10 sweeps)

"We never talk about rankings, or at least I don't. I'm sure the girls probably do, but every week we try to figure out how we can beat the next team. I've said this before, but Steve Astor is the best defensive coach in the country, and he prepares us every week to slow down the other team. He's very unique. He coached at Pepperdine, and has played BYU the last three seasons, so our game plan was awesome against them, and the girls obviously executed it. I think we have to have wins like this, in order for the perception of the program to be what we know it to be, which is that we have great players, and we have the capability to play with anyone."

(on the biggest adversity that the team faced)

"We knew it was going to be a different match, and it was. BYU played better, and they certainly played really good defense, scrapping for every point. Each set was a battle tonight. So I think the challenge was it's going to be different. The biggest question was can we handle the big moments towards the end and make plays, and that's exactly what they did. I think the challenge for us was just knowing that they were going to be better, and so that we needed to be better as well, and we were."

(on what this means for the team moving forward)

"It should give us a lot of confidence. First off, let me say this, for Aniya Clinton to have 29 kills and one error in two matches is exceptional, and the one error is a ball that Aliyah Carter should have covered, so I'm sure Aniya will give her a hard time about that. Just unbelievable, swing after unbelievable swing, and I've said this before about Aniya, she's fearless. We saw that all the way back in Portland, the first weekend she had an opportunity to play. This girl is special, and she has a chance to be one of the best outside hitters in the country this year. So I think Aniya and Aliyah taking a lot of swings for us was the right move, and they're really feeding off each other. Our team is so confident, because they're just going for it. Symone coming in that last three matches has really solidified our serve receive. She had 11 digs tonight, and is still figuring out how to play a brand-new position back there at right-back, which I don't think she's played before. Her serves are getting better. I love our lineup right now. I think that we're really athletic. Again, we're fearless. We're going for it. With Izzi in the 5-1, and I just love the momentum that we have right now, and we've got to keep it up. It's going to be tough, going on the road against our rival. [KU] is playing really well right now, but we'll prepare for them. We're proud of this team."

By the way, things got a little rambunctious when Coach Mansfield entered the locker room after the glorious victory. (Twitter video)

The statistical category that jumps out at you is hitting: K-State .382 and BYU .075. With the exception of BYU having three more service aces, K-State prevailed in every other statistical category, as shown below.

Aliyah Carter showed no mercy on the Cougars. She had 18 kills, with .317 hitting, and led with 20 points. Aniya Clinton had a huge night. She had 14 points and 13 kills, and she hit an incredible .684!! Izzi Szulczewski was extremely valuable on offense, with an awesome 27 assists. She had a couple of kills, too, hitting .500! Kadye Fernholz hit .300, with 4 kills.

On defense, Sydney Bolding led with 4 block assists + a single. On the rare occasions that she subbed out, fans couldn't wait to see her check back in. (She was 3rd in points for the Cats.) Izzi Szulczewski led with 11 digs. She was very involved in the team's success. We're always confident with Mackenzie Morris on the scene. She had 9 digs and 9 assists, and she laid an ace on the Cougars.

I'm not a volleyball expert, but as a fan, I'm extremely proud of the Cats' performance tonight. I thought they were very focused, and they made lots of sound decisions. I felt that the coaches had a very solid game plan for them. Many thanks, by the way, to Coach Mansfield and Brian Smoller for the pre-match briefing for fans, in the Shamrock Zone. It was extremely informative and interesting. Thanks, also, to manager Fletcher Larson for the amazing graphics he prepared for Coach's presentation! Here's the official match recap, and the box score. Hey... After I finished this post-match write-up, I discovered this awesome photo gallery!

Coach Mansfield's post-match comments...

"It was big. We don't talk like a ton about rankings or the quality of the team. We just try to focus on their strengths, how we're going to try to slow them down, and be consistent. We did the work - the last couple days - of trying to figure out how to slow them down offensively. They're a really good offensive team, and I think our defense did a great job tonight. Offensively, we looked really good tonight, specifically from Aliyah and Aniya. Really proud of the group. I mean, it felt like a blur. We played so consistently, and just made play after play after play. Every time they made a little bit of a run, we stopped it, with a really good play. That's the type of team that I know we can be. So, it was awesome."

(on his first Top 10 win as a head coach)

"It feels great. It always feels great to win, no matter who we play. It certainly feels good to beat a really, really good team that's been incredibly consistent this year, and has been a challenge for everyone they've played. It's weird, because now we have to try to do it again tomorrow. We should feel good with how well we played tonight, but as I told the girls, we have to anticipate they're going to be better. They're going to know the environment that they're in now, and they're going to know how good we are. Knowing that program and their coach, I would anticipate them stepping their game up."

(on the dominating offensive performance)

"We want to be a complete team. We leaned a lot on our defense in the 6-2, and we really slowed teams down, but as I said earlier, in volleyball, you have to score 25 points, and the easiest way to do that is get kills. With our passing improving - with Symone in there and having Aliyah and Aniya hit a lot of balls for us - just makes a lot of sense. They're able to get kills, and put a lot of pressure on the defense. It feels really good when we slow a team down defensively, and click like we did offensively. That's the team that we can be."

D. Scott Fritchen dedicated today's K-State Sports Extra to K-State's own Loren Alivia Hinkle. She has been a steady contributor to her teams.

Loren joined the program in the 2019 season, serving as DS/Libero for three seasons. Beginning in 2022, her role changed to DS/Setter. We're fortunate to have her for a 5th season currently, and she has collected some impressive stats along the way. It should also be noted that she's made multiple appearances on the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll. This is especially impressive, as she has majored in microbiology and biochemistry! I believe her present goal is to be a physician's assistant.

Loren's Sports Extra is linked in the first paragraph. D. Scott reports,

"She is 19 shy of 1,000 career digs, which would put her in the Double-Grand Club. She would become just the ninth player in K-State history to reach 1,000 in two statistical categories. She reached 1,000 assists in 2022, and currently has 1,305 in her career. She also has 122 service aces."

A theme of D. Scott's update on Loren is how she is serving as a leader. A look at her entry in the university directory this semester shows her also with a major in Leadership Studies. Loren said,

"Honestly, despite all the numbers, I'm probably most proud of how far I've come as a teammate and as a person. Comparing myself to my freshman and sophomore self, I'm proud of how I've been able to communicate with people, and step into a leadership and mentor type of role with younger players."

Our Volleycats looked progressively stronger as tonight's match went on. The outcome was (KSU/OU): 25-23, 25-18, 25-15. Of course... if not for a questionable review that led to a net violation in what would have been the last play of the match... KSU would have taken both matches. It was a fun match to follow on my iPhone, and the Mansfield brothers are now tied in head-to-head competition.

On offense, the Cats hit .313, via 44 kills, to OU's 39. The Cats prevailed in points, 58 to 45.5. Aliyah Carter had a big night, leading with 16 points and 15 kills. Aniyah Clinton recorded 13.5 points and 12 kills. Next in points was Sydney Bolding, with 11.5 and 7 kills. She hit a spectacular .667. (And... she had 4 aces!) The team scored 25-23 in set 1. Set 2 was odd, with a comfortable score of 25-18, but the Cats only hit .270. Things really clicked in set 3, however, with team hitting of .448 leading to a 25-15 score, and the sweep of the match. I felt that the team did a very nice job of passing the ball, and playing together. Izzi Szulczewski had a great night, with 37 assists. Also, she hit 1.000, via the kill she recorded.

On defense, Mackenzie Morris led with 11 digs, Aliyah Carter had 7, Liz Gregorski had 6, and Izzi Szulczewski had 5. Kadye Fernholz and Brenna Schmidt had 3 block assists. Have I mentioned that Kadye hit .571?

Coach Jason Mansfield said,

"The theme of the day was to be resilient, and I'm really proud of them for executing that. It's the first time that we've lost the first match of a weekend - and had to compete the next day - and I just loved the resilience they showed throughout the day, in preparing for this team. OU does a lot of things that are a little unorthodox, that they are good at, and so I think playing them last night prepared us for today. We opted to a 5-1 offense tonight with Izzi, and moved Aniya to the left, and I thought our team played well together. I'm really proud of what they did here."

"We needed just a little bit more passing. With Symone Sims being in the back, I thought she did a great job with that. That was really the main idea behind it. While it's little easier to be in rhythm with one setter, we've had so many great wins in the 6-2. It was a tough decision to make the change, but I think it worked out well, and the offense looked solid tonight."

Regarding the upcoming visit from BYU (18-3, 7-2), Coach said,
"BYU is a consistently strong program, and Heather Olmstead has done an exceptional job with them. They're a team you have to beat, because they're not going to beat themselves. Facing them twice in a tough matchup will be a challenge, but with a couple of days off, we'll put in the work this week to prepare. I'm really excited. Besides Nebraska, they're the best team we've faced so far, making it an exciting week ahead."

Here's the official match recap.

Aliyah Carter's name came up often during the match. She led the Volleycats with 15 kills and 17 points. She did have 11 hitting errors, and .080 hitting, as a result. Sydney Bolding contributed 12 points and 7 kills, and she had very solid .308 hitting. Aniyah Clinton was third in points production, with 11. Aniyah had 9 kills and .238 hitting. Brenna Schmidt hit .333. Loren Hinkle, Liz Gregorski and Sydney Bolding had 2 aces. Izzi Szulczewski had 24 assists, and Loren Hinkle added 13.

On defense, Sydney Bolding had 6 block assists, and Aliyah Carter had 4. Mackenzie Morris - no surprise - led all players with 21 digs, and Aliyah Carter added 10. Loren and Izzi each had 7 digs.

Coach Jason Mansfield said,

"Certainly a disappointing loss. I felt we played extremely well in the first few sets; however, their offense picked up pace in the last few sets, even though we started clicking in the third and fourth set, but struggled slowing them down. In the fifth set, I liked the way we battled back. We had match point, and unfortunately didn't close it out. They executed a couple really nice plays at the end. Adjustments are going to be important for tomorrow. Their outside hitters played really well tonight, and we need to do a better job slowing them down."

Here's K-State's match recap. Let's get those Okies tomorrow night!

Aliyah Carter led all players with 22 kills, had solid .348 hitting, and 23 points. Shaylee Myers had 10 kills, and Aniya Clinton had 8, with impressive .357 hitting. Izzi Szulczewski had 19 assists, and Loren Hinkle had 18.

A case could be made that the match was lost on service errors, as the team had 18 total.

Coach Jason Mansfield said,

"Congratulations to UCF on a hard-fought match. The atmosphere was great, and they just played a little better in more key moments than we did, but I'm proud of how we fought in set two, three and four. We had a lot of adversity, that I thought we handled really well tonight as a team. Aliyah was really disciplined tonight, especially offensively. Her and Shaylee were in a lot of tough situations that I thought they handled courageously. Lots of positives to take from this match. We know where we need to improve, and we will get back into the gym and walk towards those things."

Kansas State Volleyball (10-6, 4-3) is now in 6^th place in the 13-team Big 12 race. Central Florida and Texas are both at 6-0.

Speaking of attendance... tonight's official attendance of 2,578 is higher than the average of any season in the past 24 years. (I've kept track of it on this page.) The highest average attendance in that span of two dozen years was 2,366, in Ahearn Field House in 2014, when the Volleycats went 22-9. Katie Brand, Kylee Zumach and Kersten Kober were on that team. (link)

It seemed like a bit of a slow start in set one. ISU had their best hitting (.152) in that set, but the Cats did have their best hitting (.276). There was no doubt in the next two sets. Everything was clicking, vs. our 25th-ranked friends from the north. Partway into set two, fans knew we were going to win the match, and the set two score was 25-16.

For the full match, on offense, Kadye Fernholz led with spectacular .571 hitting, but she only got 7 attempts. Sydney Bolding had excellent .538 hitting, and 8.5 kills. Aniya Clinton led with 12 kills, and she had impressive .348 hitting. Izzi Szulczewski had 18 assists, and Loren Hinkle had 11.

On defense, Mackenzie Morris led all players with 21 digs. Blocks were a bit lower than usual (8 total), but the Cats were playing a ranked team.

Here's the official recap.

Coach Jason Mansfield's comments:

"Last week marked a big step forward for our team, both in training and with the impressive victory against Baylor on the road. This win boosted our confidence, confirming that we can stand strong against great teams. Although we played really well in the first two sets, they came out ready to play in the third, but we found a way to win the final set. I believe the expectations have risen. Even against Iowa State, a consistently strong team, we scouted thoroughly, and proved that we can compete with anyone, when we play our game. Achieving this at home - and maintaining such consistency - was pretty special."

"For a while, there were talks about improving our performance in the first set. Instead of just talking about it, we shifted our focus to doing it. The goal is to consistently perform well from the beginning. We aim to avoid going down 0-1, and strive to play at our best. It's an impressive stat, and motivates us. We're committed to keep it going."

"We've seen a glimpse of what we can be offensively. Certainly in the Baylor match, but TCU and West Virginia as well. When we're running the 6-2 with three attackers in the front row, we effectively control the ball, making us a tough offense to stop. I thought we had really good performances from all of our attackers tonight, and both setters played a crucial role in setting them up."

"I've said it before, I believe Steve Astor, our associate head coach, is the best defensive coach in the country. He puts us in great positions to be successful. Our players are really good at following game plans, understanding the tendencies of the other team, and what we need to do to try to slow them down. It's about making plays, and tonight, the players executed not only the game plan but also adapted to unexpected situations."

Baylor had 57 kills, to the Cats' 52. Hitting was very close: Baylor .236, KSU .224. Baylor had 4 more aces, but 2 more errors. The Cats had 1 more block, and 1 more dig. Baylor had 3 more points. K-State was strong in winning set three (25-16), hitting .276 to Baylor's .054. To be fair, Baylor hit .313 in set four, vs. the Cats' .108.

Middle blocker Sydney Bolding is the lead story in the official match recap, as she recorded her 300^th block. Kadye Fernholz also reached 300 career blocks this season.

Aliyah Carter had 21 kills and .255 hitting. Aniya Clinton was solid, with 9 kills and .250 hitting, and Shaylee Myers also had 9 kills. Back to Sydney Bolding... she had 6 kills, and excellent .357 hitting.

Our setters split the duties, with Izzi Szulczewski recording 25 assists, and Loren Hinkle with 23.

Mackenzie Morris led all players with 17 digs, Liz Gregorski had 10, and Loren Hinkle had 9.

Coach Jason Mansfield's post-match comments:

"Both Loren and Izzi ran a really good offense in both matches, and Aliyah took a lot of good swings against a good defensive team, getting a lot of kills in a variety of ways."

"Our defense continues to keep us in matches. I thought Mackenzie was really spectacular again, in the back row. Sydney getting her 300^th block is special. She continues to change the game. Opposing offenses have to adjust, and try to attack away from her."

"I'm really proud of how we came to play in the first set. These back-to-back matches are both physically and mentally tough, but I thought we showed up tonight after last night's battle. Baylor tried some different serves and tactics on offense that we struggled to adjust to in the first two sets. The third set was more in line with how we know how to play, and we had our chances in the fourth. I truly believe we grew a lot as a team this week, and I'm excited to get back in the gym and keep trying to find ways to be better."

Looking at the box score, the Cats surpassed Baylor in kills, hitting % (.214 to .096), assists, aces, blocks, digs and points! The Cats also prevailed in service errors, 15 - 8, and that was part of the reason for five sets.

Ironically, several of the Cats with the highest hitting percentage produced single-digit kills. Sydney Bolding hit a spectacular .455, and had 6 kills. Kadye Fernholz hit .286, and had 5 kills. On the other hand, Shaylee Myers hit a solid .297, and had 14 kills. Aliyah Carter led all players with 19 kills, while hitting a modest .105. Izzi Szulczewski had 29 assists, and Loren Hinkle had 23.

On defense, Aliyah Carter led with 20 digs, libero Mackenzie Morris had 18, Loren Hinkle had 12 and Liz Gregorski had 11.

It's going to be fun and interesting to see what happens in the return match on Friday night!

Coach Jason Mansfield told the media,

"The biggest challenge was going into a hostile environment, knowing that the other team was going to be really good, and they were. We had a productive week of practice, and knew this weekend was going to be challenging, so I was really proud of the way that we played the first few sets. I think that was the most consistent volleyball we've played all season, especially to start the match, but we did it in two sets. So that was pretty incredible. While they're a very strong team that makes impressive plays, I thought we stayed consistent and played well, even after they stepped up in the third and fourth sets. For us to win in five, similar to how we beat TCU a couple weeks ago, is awesome. To know that we can achieve this, especially on the road against a great team, makes us really proud of the girls."

"(Aliyah Carter) keeps battling. What impresses me most about Aliyah is her fearless approach. She doesn't fixate on the last play, whether good or bad. Tonight was a testament to that. She played aggressively on offense and excelled in the back row. Playing at a high level is crucial for us to beat great teams, and her 19 kills and 20 digs tonight were pretty spectacular."

"Credit to my associate head coach, Steve Astor. I believe he's the best defensive coach in the country. He consistently prepares us for every match, and our defensive strategy slowed down a highly efficient offensive team. Holding them to a .096 hit percentage speaks volumes about our defense. Twelve blocks and 81 digs are impressive, but we need to replicate this performance tomorrow night. They'll make adjustments for tomorrow, but defensively, we need to our hang our hat on who we are as a defensive team."

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."

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)

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."

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!

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."

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.

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.

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.

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."

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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!