K-State Completes First Half of Big 12 Slate Saturday

MANHATTAN, Kan. –K-State concludes the first half of its Big 12 schedule against the 24^th-ranked Baylor Bears Saturday at 2 p.m., at the Ferrell Center.

K-State (11-7, 1-6 Big 12) seeks to upend its second straight ranked opponent after picking up a four-set victory over in-state rival KU Wednesday night. Baylor (12-6, 4-3 Big 12) has won three of its last four matches overall and four of the last five in the series. The Wildcats lead the all-time series with the Bears, 28-17.

Fans can watch Saturday's match on FOX Sports Southwest Plus and on the FOX Sports Go app. Rob Voelker will be on the call on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with free, live audio available at K-StateSports.com/watch.

MATCH #19
K-STATE (11-7, 1-6 Big 12) at #24 Baylor (12-6, 4-3 Big 12)
Saturday, October 20, 2018 // 2 p.m. // The Ferrell Center (6,000) // Waco, Texas
TV: FOX Sports Southwest Plus // John Morris (pxp) and Katie Staiger (analyst)
Watch Online: FOX Sports Go
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Rob Voelker
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch | Live Stats

K-STATE AT A GLANCE

K-State (11-7, 1-6 Big 12) knocked off in-state rival No. 22 Kansas Wednesday night in four sets at Ahearn Field House.
The victory snapped KU's nine-match winning streak and marked K-State's first Big 12 win of the year.
The Cats' victory was the first over the Jayhawks since 2014 and was their first home win in the Sunflower Showdown since 2011.
K-State picked up its first win over a ranked opponent since 2016 (No. 6 Hawai'i) and first home ranked win since 2013 (No. 25 Iowa State).
Five Wildcats reached double-figure kills against the Jayhawks, paced by freshman Gloria Mutiri and redshirt senior Kylee Zumach with 13 apiece.
Junior Elle Sandbothe and redshirt freshman Brooke Heyne each set career highs with a dozen kills.
Zumach added her team-best eighth double-double with 16 digs while libero Devan Fairfield had a match-high 21 digs.
The Cats offense produced a 61-48 edge in total kills.

SCOUTING BAYLOR

Baylor (12-6, 4-3 Big 12) enters Saturday as the 24th-ranked team in the country while coming off a midweek bye.
The Bears have won their last two matches and three of their last four overall.
BU is 8-2 at the Ferrell Center this season and 2-1 at home during Big 12 play.
The Bear offense is the league's best in terms of kill per set (13.84) and assists per set (13.11).
Sophomore Yossiana Pressley is the Big 12's leader with 5.06 kills/set while middle blocker Shelly Fanning is tops in the conference with a .387 hitting percentage.
Pressley, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2017, is fourth in the country in kills per set and ranks seventh in points per set at 5.46.
Baylor has reached a ranking as high as No. 12 this season.

INSIDE THE SERIES

K-State leads the all-time series, 28-17, dating back to 1993.
Baylor swept the season series a year ago and has won four of the last five matchups overall.
Over the last 10 in the series, K-State is 4-6.
The Wildcats are 11-11 all-time in Waco and last won in 2015.
Since 2009, K-State is 2-7 on the road in the series and head coach Suzie Fritz is 7-10 in her career at Baylor.
Fritz is 21-13 in her career vs. the Bears.

ACES IN SPADES

K-State tallied a season-high 10 service aces in its four-set win over KU Wednesday.
It was the first 10-ace match since a five-set win over West Virginia on Oct. 22, 2016.
The match also marked the first match with 10 or more aces in a four-set match since posting 12 in a four-set win over Saint Louis on Sept. 21, 2013.
The Wildcats are second in the Big 12, averaging 1.31 aces per set.
A pair of Cats have at least 20 aces on the season: Zsofia Gyimes (21) and Alyssa Schultejans (20).
Ten of Gyimes' aces have come in seven Big 12 matches (team high).

THE GLO SHOW

Through the first seven matches of Big 12 play, K-State freshman Gloria Mutiri leads the Cats with 85 kills and 3.04 kills per set in conference-only matches while ranking second on the team with a .273 hitting percentage.
The Sand Springs, Oklahoma, product has reached double-digit kills in six of seven conference matches this year and has led the team in kills in four of seven league matches.

NICE DIGS

In her first season as the full-time libero, redshirt senior libero Devan Fairfield has put up career-best numbers.
In just 65 sets, she has already eclipsed a career single-season high with 250 digs.
She has posted three 20-dig matches, the first such matches of her career.
Fairfield has 25 career matches with 10 or more digs, with 14 of them coming in 2018.

VS RANKED OPPONENTS

Saturday's match at No. 24 Baylor will be K-State's second straight match against a team from the AVCA Top 25 and third this season (1-1).
Wednesday night's victory over No. 22 Kansas marked the Wildcats' first win over a ranked opponent since a four-set win at No. 6 Hawaii on Aug. 27, 2016.
Baylor was ranked in the top 25 in both meetings last season.
The Cats last won consecutive matches against ranked opponents in 2012, winning three straight vs. No. 10 Minnesota, No. 20 Dayton and No. 22 Iowa State.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Devan Fairfield

Zsofia Gyimes

Brooke Heyne

Gloria Mutiri

Elle Sandbothe

Alyssa Schultejans

Kylee Zumach

Kansas State University Athletics