SE: Alyssa Schultejans Approaches Final Sunflower Showdown, Senior Day with Humor and Perspective

By Corbin McGuire

One of the first things Alyssa Schultejans remembers doing at K-State is recording her newcomer video. Now, as a senior for K-State volleyball, she still laughs at some of the things she said on it.

"I remember I said something stupid about Beans from Even Stevens," Schultejans recalled after practice on Monday.

She did reference the character from an old Disney Channel show. The backstory: When Kylee Zumach, also now a redshirt senior, asked Schultejans who she would want to play her in a movie about her life, Schultejans answered, "Hands down, Beans from Even Stevens."

Then Zumach, on cue, pulled out a picture of the actor, Steven Anthony Lawrence, and put it next to Schultejans' face. "He looks just like you," Zumach said. "I get that a lot, honestly," Schultejans responded. (For the record, they do not look alike.)

"When I watch that video, honestly I just kind of shake my head at some of the stuff that I say. But does it surprise me? No," Schultejans said, laughing. "I try to make things light and take things with a little bit of a sense of humor. I think that is very much who I still am."

While Schultejans' personality has not changed much, if at all, since that video was shot, she believes it has helped her team when it has hit some rough patches through the years.

"Having those moments where you can just kind of make it light and not think about everything that's been going wrong, focusing on something else, I think that kind of helps just keep everyone's minds off of it," she said. "One thing we've talked about is when you're thinking (too much), that's when things kind of go south. Having that sense of humor and those stupid things that we all say, I think kind of helps us keep connected."

To be clear, Schultejans knows how to get serious, too. This became evident when this week is brought up. For her and K-State's other five seniors, this week includes their last battle against in-state rival Kansas on Wednesday in Lawrence and their last home match on Saturday against Texas Tech.

"I think whenever we get to play KU, it's always a fun week. We kind of hype it up, but I think the way we've kind of come into it is just looking at it as another game and just focusing on what's on our side," she said. "It helps to think about it one point at a time. That's the kind of mentality we're trying to take, being in the moment, taking each moment and cherishing it while we can."

This mindset, more than her comedic relief, is what Schultejans wants the younger Wildcats to take from her. Be in each moment, make of the most it, and do it for more than yourself. The last point, she said, has been one of her biggest areas of growth as a Wildcat.

When the Silver Lake native came to play at K-State, after making the short drive to attend head coach Suzie Fritz's summer camps since eighth grade, she was one of the most accomplished high school volleyball players ever from the state of Kansas.

She still holds the state kills record for all levels, with 1,985. She broke Kendra Wecker's single-season kills record as a senior. She was the 3A Player of the Year twice, an all-league selection four times and an Under Armour All-American in 2014.

Then the adjustment period came. Schultejans became surrounded with accomplished players like herself at K-State.

Still, she was named to the Big 12's All-Freshman Team in 2015 and now has more than 700 kills, 200 digs and 100 blocks in her K-State career. She said her improvement hinged on focusing on what she could do for her teammates, rather than getting caught up in statistics or playing time.

"It's easy to get involved with yourself and think about what I'm doing, what I need to do better, where I need to be and stuff like that. I think it's an adjustment that everyone kind of transitions into, trying to make it into less of a me thing and more of a we thing," Schultejans said. "Just thinking more about others and how can I make other people better, instead of just focusing on yourself."

Kansas State University Athletics

SE: Alyssa Schultejans Approaches Final Sunflower Showdown, Senior Day with Humor and Perspective

Players Mentioned

Alyssa Schultejans

Kylee Zumach

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