Notes: K-State Faces Off against Oklahoma on Friday
Oct 15, 2015 | Volleyball
MATCH PREVIEW
OCT 16, 6 PM
McCasland Field House
Norman, OK
NR
K-STATE
WILDCATS
10-7 (2-3 Big 12)
NR
OKLAHOMA
SOONERS
7-10 (1-4 Big 12)
AT A GLANCE
• Following a sweep of West Virginia on October 10 at home, K-State returns to the road for the 10th time over its last 12 matches as it will take on Oklahoma at McCasland Field House on Friday, October 16 at 6 p.m.
• K-State, which has a first half of the Big 12 schedule that features five road matches, beat the Mountaineers in straight sets after dropping two straight road matches.
• Oklahoma, which has played five of its last eight matches at home entering Friday, has lost back-to-back matches, with the most recent defeat coming at the hands of No. 2 Texas in four sets in Austin this past Sunday.
• K-State is 0-3 in Big 12 road matches this season while Oklahoma is 1-1 at home.
• The Wildcats have not won at Oklahoma since 2008, losing six straight, but they have beaten the Sooners in two of the last three overall meetings.
SWEPT AWAY
• K-State’s last four wins have all been sweeps, including two in conference play.
• After their fewest three-set matches (5) in non-conference action since 2009 (1), K-State has played a three-set match in three of its last four contests.
• This is the first time since 2008 that K-State’s first two wins of the conference schedule were in straight sets.
• Last year, the Wildcats played in seven three-set matches during their Big 12 schedule (4-3).
LETHAL WEAPON
• Freshman Alyssa Schultejans paced the Wildcats in kills with 12 last Saturday vs. West Virginia, which was the fourth time she has led K-State in kills in a match and ninth time she reached double-digits in that category.
• The outside hitter also hit .308, her sixth match of an attack percentage of .300 or higher.
• It was also her best efficiency in a Big 12 match so far this year.
• She is third on K-State in kills (166).
IMPACT FRESHMAN
• Macy Flowers, who hit .360 at TCU on October 3 and .636 vs. West Virginia on October 10, is the first Wildcat to hit .360 or higher in two of her first three career matches since 2006.
• That season, Ginta Gabruseva and Tiffany Johnson achieved the feat.
• Since October 3, Flowers is third on the team with 26 kills (2.36/set) while her hitting percentage of .302 trails Katie Brand for the team lead.
3,000 CLUB
• After recording 65 assists over last week’s two matches (10.83/set), Katie Brand became the seventh player in school history to have 3,000 career assists.
• The redshirt junior is the fifth-fastest Wildcat to reach the milestone, needing 282 sets.
• Brand enters Friday with 3,051 career assists in 286 sets (10.67/set).
• Brand is second among active Big 12 players in career assists, with OU’s Julia Doyle (3,919) leading the way.
• Brand trails Renee Whitney (1983-86) by 103 assists for sixth on K-State’s all-time career list.
• This season, Brand is second in the Big 12 and 29th in Division I with 11.09 assists/set.
MORE THAN SETTING
• Katie Brand has provided K-State with plenty beyond the assists.
• She had eight kills last Saturday vs. West Virginia, which were her most in a Big 12 match in her career and one shy of tying her overall personal-best.
• The eight kills were also the most by any Big 12 setter this season.
• Over the last four matches, Brand is averaging 1.71 kills/set on a .444 attack percentage (4 errors, 45 attempts).
• Brand has five or more kills in nine matches this season, the most by a K-State setter since 2007 (Stacey Spiegelberg, 12).
• For the season, Brand leads all Big 12 setters in kills, digs, blocks and points.
BELOW THE MENDOZA LINE
• K-State has held its opponent to a hitting percentage below .200 in the last two matches for a combined clip of .185 (79k-34e-243att).
• It is the first time since a three-match stretch from October 4-15, 2014 that the Wildcats have limited Big 12 teams to an attack percentage of less than .200 in consecutive matches.
• The Wildcats have held their opponents to a sub-.200 hitting percentage five times this season.
• K-State held Oklahoma to a hitting percentage below .200 in both matches last year.
FROM THE BACK ROW
• Helping the K-State defense this season is its ability to dig balls as the Wildcats are first in the Big 12 in digs/set in overall matches (16.75) and second in conference-only (17.22).
• K-State’s 16.75 digs/set in overall matches is also the 23rd-best average in the nation.
• Last year, K-State averaged 14.84 digs.
• The Wildcats are averaging 18.0 digs/set over their last two matches.
• K-State is the only team in the Big 12 with three players ranked in the conference’s top-10 for digs/set in overall matches: Kersten Kober (4th, 4.37), Bryna Vogel (9th, 3.02), Katie Brand (10th, 3.00).
OUTSIDE DIGS
• Vogel, who is also seventh in Big 12-only matches with 3.28 digs/set, has paired up with fellow outside hitter Brooke Sassin to provide K-State with a pair of all-around hitters.
• Sassin, who is fourth in the Big 12 with 3.54 kills and 3.97 points per set, has a career-high 183 digs this year (2.82/set).
• Vogel, meanwhile, has 196 digs - the third most on K-State.
• Sassin and Vogel are looking to become the first pair of Wildcat outside hitters since 2010 to have 200 digs in a campaign.
• In 2010, JuliAnne Chisholm (233) and Kathleen Ludwig (205) made up of the pair of K-State outsides with 200+ digs.
DEALING ACES
• K-State had six aces last Saturday against West Virginia, its ninth match this season with five or more aces.
• K-State is 7-2 this season when it has five or more aces.
• The Wildcats are fifth in the Big 12 with 1.12 aces/set.
• Alyssa Schultejans, who has a team-best 16 aces this year, is the lone Wildcat ranked in the Big 12’s top-10 for aces/set as she is eighth (0.26).
• On the other side, K-State has only been aced 38 times, with the 0.58 aces against/set being the second best average among conference teams.
RPI RANKINGS
• In the season’s second RPI rankings released by the NCAA on Monday, K-State was ranked No. 58 (Last week: No. 51).
• The Wildcats have played seven opponents ranked in this week’s top-50, including four from out of the Big 12: KU (No. 9), Wisconsin (13), Creighton (23), Iowa State (26), Baylor (30), Arkansas (35), and Miami (43).
• K-State is 1-6 against the RPI’s top-50.
• Against the top-100, the Wildcats are 2-7 (L, TCU - 52; W, Illinois State - 80)
• Oklahoma is one spot behind K-State, ranked No. 59.
OKLAHOMA SERIES
• K-State trails in the all-time series against Oklahoma, 28-53-1.
• However, the Wildcats have won two of the last three meetings, a stretch that began on November 3, 2013 in Manhattan (3-0).
• The two sides have split the season series over the last two years, with each team winning its respective home match.
• K-State has lost six straight at Oklahoma, with five of the contests being decided in four sets.
• The Wildcats’ last win in Norman was on October 11, 2008 (3-2), or 2,561 days ago.
• K-State is 11-25 all-time at Oklahoma.
• Over the last 16 meetings, only four matches have been decided in straight sets while the last five-set match was on November 9, 2011 in Manhattan.
