Wildcats Return to Ahearn Saturday, Host TCU

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State returns to Ahearn Field House as it will play host to TCU Saturday evening, with first serve set for 7 p.m.

On Wednesday at Kansas, redshirt junior Kylee Zumach became just the fifth Wildcat to play her entire career in the rally-scoring era to join the 1,000-kill club. The Buffalo, Minnesota, product led the Cats with 15 kills in the match – a four-set defeat to the 11^th-ranked Jayhawks.

K-State (9-16, 2-10 Big 12) and TCU (10-14, 2-10 Big 12) sit tied for eighth in the Big 12 standings, with the Horned Frogs claiming the season's first meeting in four sets in Fort Worth. The Cats are 5-0 all-time vs. the Frogs in Manhattan.

The matchup is part of a Wildcat Weekend, as fans can purchase tickets for as little as $3 by visiting k-statesports.com/tickets, calling 1.800.221. CATS or stopping by the K-State Athletics Ticket Office inside Bramlage Coliseum.

Saturday's match will stream live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. Fans can also listen to Rob Voelker call the action on KMAN 1350 AM, 93.3 FM and at k-statesports.com.

AT A GLANCE

In its last time out, K-State (9-16, 2-10 Big 12) dropped a four-set decision to in-state rival Kansas in the Dillons Sunflower Showdown.
Redshirt junior Kylee Zumach paced the Wildcat offense with 15 kills, helping her eclipse 1,000 career kills.
Zumach is just the fifth Wildcat to join the 1,000-kill club to play her entire career in the rally-scoring era (since 2001).
Zumach was the only Cat in double-figure kills, as five players recorded at least five kills in the match.
Libero Reilly Killeen and opposite Bryna Vogel led the defense with 20 and 18 digs, respectively.
It was Killeen's fifth match this season with at least 20 digs.
K-State matched a season high with eight service aces, including the first two in the career of Brynn Carlson.
Carlson, along with Macy Flowers and Peyton Williams, led the block with three stuffs each.
The Jayhawks have won the last seven meetings in series.
K-State extended its season-long losing streak to seven matches, tying the third-longest such streak under head coach Suzie Fritz.

SCOUTING THE HORNED FROGS

TCU (10-14, 2-10 Big 12) and K-State are in a tie for eighth in the Big 12 standings.
The Horned Frogs have dropped their last three matches - all to ranked teams - and have lost eight of their last nine overall.
TCU is 1-8 in true road matches this season and 0-6 in conference play.
The Frogs rank eighth in the league in team hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage and digs per set.
Offensively, junior middle blocker Anna Walsh leads her with a .307 hitting percentage.
Freshman outside hitter Allye Beth Deaton is the team leader with 3.00 kills/set in overall matches and 3.42 kills/set in conference matches.

INSIDE THE SERIES

K-State leads the all-time series, 7-4, dating back to 2012 when TCU joined the Big 12.
K-State is 5-0 all-time in Manhattan against TCU.
The Frogs have won the last two meetings, including a four-set match in Fort Worth on Oct. 4.
TCU's two-match winning streak is its longest in the series' history.

MS. 1,000

Kylee Zumach became just the fifth Wildcat to play her entire career in the rally-scoring era (since 2001) to join the 1,000-kill club.
She is the 18th player in program history to reach the plateau and her total places her seventh in program history during the rally-scoring era.
A redshirt junior, Zumach reached the 1,000-kill milestone in just three seasons.
She joins former outside hitter Brooke Sassin (2014-16) as the only Wildcats to reach 1,000 kills in three seasons in the rally-scoring era.

NICE DIGS

K-State has propelled itself near the top of the Big 12 ranks in digs per set, averaging 15.82 in conference matches to rank second in the league.
Over the last nine matches, the Cats have put up 17.42 digs/set.
Through the first three Big 12 matches, K-State was averaging just 11.15 digs/set and ranked last in the category.
Libero Reilly Killeen is averaging 4.32 digs/set over the last nine while Bryna Vogel is second at 3.76.
Killeen's five 20-dig matches surpasses Kersten Kober's and Vogel's four-match total from last season.

ACES IN SPADES

In conference-only matches, K-State is best in the Big 12 with 59 service aces and 1.16 aces/set.
K-State last led the Big 12 in aces/set in league-only matches in 2012 with 1.42.
Wednesday at KU, the Cats matched their season high with eight aces.
In conference matches, Zumach (0.33) ranks second and setter Sarah Dixon is 10th (0.22) in aces per set.
Fellow setter Brooke Smith and Zumach are tied for third at 0.27 aces/set in overall matches.
This season, Zumach has more than doubled her career total with 27 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 13 of 25 matches.

GOING THE DISTANCE

K-State's nine five-set matches this season equals its most such matches in a season in program history (1986, 2011).
The Wildcats are 3-6 in five-setters, as their last three victories have all come in five sets.
The six losses are the most in a season since 2006 (0-7).

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 has 10 matches 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.
Williams has collected Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors in both volleyball and basketball - the first player in K-State history to claim both.

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Players Mentioned

Brynn Carlson

Sarah Dixon

Macy Flowers

Reilly Killeen

Brooke Smith

Bryna Vogel

Peyton Williams

Kylee Zumach

Kansas State University Athletics