K-State Heads to Lubbock for Showdown with Red Raiders

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State volleyball team seeks a season sweep of Texas Tech Saturday at United Supermarkets Arena, with first serve slated for 1 p.m.

K-State (9-13, 2-7 Big 12) defeated Texas Tech (13-9, 2-7 Big 12) in five sets on October 7 at Ahearn Field House. The Wildcats have taken the last seven meetings in their series with the Red Raiders and look to sweep the season series for the fourth consecutive year.

K-State and Texas Tech, along with Oklahoma and TCU, sit in a four-way tie in sixth in the Big 12 standings after K-State's Wednesday night loss to No. 22 Iowa State.

Saturday's match will stream live and free at TexasTech.TV while fans can also listen to Rob Voelker call the action at k-statesports.com.

AT A GLANCE

K-State (9-13, 2-7 Big 12) was swept by No. 22 Iowa State Wednesday night at Ahearn Field House on ESPNU.
The victory was the Cyclones' first since in Manhattan, and ISU's first series sweep, since 2011.
The loss was K-State's fourth straight with three of those losses coming to ranked opponents.
The Wildcats have dropped seven of their last eight overall, as five of those losses at the hands of a top-25 team.
K-State is 0-7 this season against ranked teams and the Cats' four-match losing skid equals their longest of the season.
Kylee Zumach was the only Wildcat to reach double-figure kills, as she paced the offense with 10 kills.
Middle blocker Peyton Williams was the squad's efficiency leader, hitting .400 (4k-0e-10ta) - her 10th match this season hitting .400 or better.
The Cats out-dug Iowa State, who leads the Big 12 in digs per set, 56-50. It marked the first time this season K-State lost when recording more digs than its opponent (4-1).

SCOUTING THE RED RAIDERS

Texas Tech (13-9, 2-7 Big 12) sit in a sixth-place tie in the Big 12 standings along with K-State and Oklahoma.
TTU has been swept in its last three outings, all against top-25 teams.
Overall, the Red Raiders have dropped six of their last seven matches, including a five-set decision in Manhattan on Oct. 7.
Sophomore outside hitter Emily Hill leads TTU and ranks seventh in the Big 12 with 3.34 kills/set.
As a team, Texas Tech ranks ninth in blocks per set at 1.88 in overall matches.
Setter Missy Owens is third in the conference at 11.25 assists/set while middle blocker Katy Keenan ranks fifth in efficiency at .360.

INSIDE THE SERIES

K-State leads the all-time series with Texas Tech, 37-10, after a five-set victory at Ahearn Field House earlier this season.
The Wildcats have won the last seven meetings with the Red Raiders, last losing in 2013.
The seven-match winning streak is K-State's longest active streak against a Big 12 opponent.
2013 was the last K-State loss in Lubbock (4 sets) as the Cats are 14-7 all-time on the road in the series.
Head coach Suzie Fritz is 29-4 against TTU in her career.
Fritz is 13-3 in Lubbock against the Red Raiders.
K-State is 8-2 in the last 10 matches in the series.

PEY DAY

Redshirt freshman Peyton Williams, who is also a member of the K-State women's basketball team, is shining in her first season on the volleyball court for the Cats.
Williams posted her 10th match this season hitting .400 or better (min. 10 attempts), the most such matches by a Wildcat in a single season since 2009 when Kelsey Chipman did so 13 times.
Senior Bryna Vogel is second on the team with four .400+ matches this season.
The middle blocker continues to lead the team in efficiency at .369 - ranking sixth in the Big 12.
Her .369 hitting percentage would be the highest efficiency turned in by a Wildcat since Megan Farr's .390 in 2007.
The Topeka native has seven matches this season reaching double-digit kills - all in her last 12 matches played.
In her Wildcat debut at the Beaver State Classic, she was named Big 12 Freshman of the Week in the season's opening week after hitting .727 with 16 kills on 22 swings without an error.
Williams was twice named Freshman of the Week by the Big 12 during the 2016-17 basketball season - making her the first player in K-State history to earn freshman-of-the-week accolades in the two sports.

BATTLE OF THE BLOCK

After not recording a single team block at Texas on Sept. 30, K-State has picked up 62 total blocks in the six matches since.
In that six-match span, the Wildcats have twice reached 18 blocks - a season high.
Following the Sept. 30 match with the Longhorns, K-State was averaging just 1.79 blocks per set as a team.
In the six matches since, the Cats are putting up 2.58 blocks per set and have been led by three different players averaging better than a block per set (Peyton Williams, Elle Sandbothe, Macy Flowers).
Williams and Flowers each recorded new career highs in blocks against WVU with nine and eight, respectively. Sandbothe added a season-high seven on Saturday.

ACES IN SPADES

In conference-only matches, K-State is best in the Big 12 with 42 service aces and rank second with 1.14 aces/set.
Setter Sarah Dixon has reached new career highs in the category in back-to-back matches, recording four aces at WVU after three against Baylor.
Dixon's four aces against the Mountaineers all came in a 12-0 Wildcat run in the first set of the match.
In conference matches, Dixon along with Kylee Zumach rank in the league's top six.
Fellow setter Brooke Smith and Zumach are tied for the team lead with 22 aces on the season.
This season, Zumach has more than doubled her career total with 22 aces behind six matches with multiple aces.
Zumach had 20 career aces entering the 2017 season.
As a team, the Cats have at least five aces in 11 of 22 matches.

K-State Heads to Lubbock for Showdown with Red Raiders

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sarah Dixon

Macy Flowers

Elle Sandbothe

Brooke Smith

Bryna Vogel

Peyton Williams

Kylee Zumach

Kansas State University Athletics

K-State Heads to Lubbock for Showdown with Red Raiders

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sarah Dixon

Macy Flowers

Elle Sandbothe

Brooke Smith

Bryna Vogel

Peyton Williams

Kylee Zumach

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