K-State Volleyball Opens 2018 with Official Practices

K-State's Reilly Killeen and Kylee Zumach

Aug 08, 2018 | Volleyball

2018 Quick Facts (.PDF)

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State volleyball team, featuring six seniors and five returning starters, officially began its 2018 campaign with the first official team practices Wednesday.

Over the next two weeks, K-State will take part in 12 days of practice before its season-opening trip to Honolulu, Hawaii, for the Texaco Rainbow Wahine Invitational hosted by Hawaii. The Wildcats will face off with UCLA, Gonzaga and the host Rainbow Wahine from August 24-26.

The Cats will host their annual Purple-White Scrimmage on Saturday, August 11 at 7:30 p.m., inside Ahearn Field House. The intrasquad exhibition is free to all fans.

Prior to its season opener, K-State will travel to Omaha for an exhibition match with Creighton on Friday, August 17 at 6:30 p.m.

K-State, led by 18^th-year head coach Suzie Fritz, retains 11 letterwinners from last year's squad, including six seniors and five starters. Among the returning starters are seniors Kylee Zumach (outside hitter), Devan Fairfield (defensive specialist/libero), Macy Flowers (middle blocker), Alyssa Schultejans (outside hitter) in addition to libero Reilly Killeen.

K-State brings back its statistical leader in every major category, including redshirt junior setter Sarah Dixon who led the team in assists. Dixon was one of two Wildcats (Zumach) to play in every set, as she averaged 6.38 assists per set.

Zumach, a redshirt senior from Buffalo, Minnesota, Zumach claimed AVCA All-America Honorable Mention and Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors following her freshman campaign in 2014. In 2017, Zumach finished became the fifth Wildcat to play her entire career in the rally-scoring era to eclipse 1,000 career kills. The 6-foot-4 outside hitter enters her final season sixth in program history with 1,058 kills and is the Big 12's active leader in the category.

Flowers and Schultejans each received Big 12 All-Freshman Team nods in 2015. Middle blockers Peyton Williams (2017) and Elle Sandbothe (2016) also earned the accolade in their respective careers. Williams led the Cats with a .309 hitting percentage, good for seventh-best in the conference.

Killeen earned a spot with USA Volleyball's Collegiate National Team-Detroit this past summer, where she was able to compete with the country's top athletes. She was one of four liberos chosen for the week-long event.

Also returning for K-State are sophomore outside hitter Brynn Carlson, senior middle blocker Zsofia Gyimes and junior defensive specialist Mckenzi Weber.

Joining the 11 returners are five Wildcat newcomers in freshmen Abigail Archibong (outside hitter/middle blocker), Holly Bonde (outside hitter/opposite), Kayley Hollywood (middle blocker), Gloria Mutiri (opposite) and Kenzie Smith (setter). The roster also features three redshirt freshmen: Brooke Heyne (outside hitter), Jacque Smith (defensive specialist/libero) and Megan Vernon (middle blocker).

Mutiri, a native of Sand Springs, Oklahoma, was selected to represent Team USA at USA Volleyball's High Performance Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma, over the summer and helped her squad win gold at the event that featured the country's top incoming collegiate freshmen.

Following the season's first six matches on the road, the Cats open their home slate on Tuesday, September 4 against Missouri State at 6 p.m. The K-State Invitational is set for September 7-8 at Ahearn Field House, as North Texas, Omaha and Oregon State visit Manhattan.

K-State's 2018 home schedule also features matches with Kansas, Texas and the rest of the Big 12. The Cats' will face off with 11 team (15 matches) against teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season, including Marquette, Minnesota and Western Kentucky.

Season tickets for K-State's entire 12-match home schedule are available now and start at $3 per match. Single-match tickets for the 2018 season are also available, with general admission tickets beginning at $5. To purchase, fans can visit www,kstatesports.com/tickets, call 1-800-221-CATS (2287) or stop by the K-State Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum.