K-State Looks to Knock Off Fifth-Ranked Longhorns

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Following a home sweep of West Virginia, Kansas State faces a Wednesday night road test against No. 5 Texas at Gregory Gymnasium, with first serve set for 7 p.m.

K-State (13-9, 3-8 Big 12) eyes a season split with Texas (15-4, 10-1 Big 12) after UT scraped by with a five-set decision in Ahearn Field House on September 19 to open league play. The Longhorns have won the last 30 in the series, the Wildcats' longest active skid against a single opponent.

In the straight-set victory over the Mountaineers, redshirt freshman Brooke Heyne was the team leader in kills (11), hitting percentage (.450) and digs (10) on her way to being named Big 12 Rookie of the Week for the second time in three weeks. Heyne's 10 digs marked a career-best output in collecting the first double-double of her career.

Wednesday's match will air on the Longhorn Network and stream live on the ESPN 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 #23
K-STATE (13-9, 3-8 Big 12) at #5 TEXAS (15-4, 10-1 Big 12)
Wednesday, Nov. 7 // 7 p.m. // Gregory Gymnasium (4,000) // Austin, Texas
TV: Longhorn Network
Watch Online: WatchESPN // ESPN app
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Rob Voelker
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch | Live Stats

K-STATE AT A GLANCE

K-State (13-9, 3-8 Big 12) snapped its two-match skid with a straight-set victory over West Virginia Saturday night at Ahearn Field House.
With the win, the Wildcats broke a three-match losing streak to the Mountaineers while eclipsing 2017's win total.
Redshirt freshman Brooke Heyne collected her first career double-double, leading the Cats in both kills (11) and digs (10).
With only seven attacking errors, the Wildcat offense hit .393, their second-highest efficiency of the season and best mark in a conference match.
The seven total errors were the lowest by a K-State team since a four-set win over Mississippi State on Sept. 9, 2017.
Conversely, the K-State defense stifled the Mountaineer offense, as it forced WVU into 20 attacking errors with just 36 total kills for a .154 hitting percentage.
Senior Alyssa Schultejans finished second on the team with 10 kills.
Four Wildcats recorded at least five kills while hitting .300 or better.
The Cats picked up nine service aces vs. WVU - their fifth match this season with at least eight aces.

SCOUTING TEXAS

Texas (15-4, 10-1 Big 12) sits atop the Big 12 standings and enter Wednesday's match on a five-match winning streak.
The Longhorns' five-match streak equals their longest of the season while they have also won their last five at home (7-1 at home overall).
UT leads the Big 12 in hitting percentage (.293) and ranks third in both kills per set (13.59) and blocks per set (2.57).
Three Longhorns rank in the league's top 10 in hitting efficiency, led by Brionne Butler's .368 mark (2nd).
Micaya White is the team leader at 3.79 kills per set, good for fourth in the Big 12.
In conference-only matches, Texas is tops in hitting percentage and second in opponent hitting percentage, limiting foes to a .188 clip.
Four Longhorns occupy the conference's top 10 in league-only match in hitting percentage.

INSIDE THE SERIES

Texas leads the all-time series, 40-7, going back to 1981.
After its five-set victory in Manhattan on Sept. 19, UT extended its current winning streak over K-State to 30 matches (longest in the series history).
The Cats are 3-20 on the road in the series, last winning in 2001 - head coach Suzie Fritz's first season.
The Wildcats last defeated the Longhorns on Oct. 15, 2003 (3-2).
Head coach Suzie Fritz is 3-32 in her career against Texas and is 1-17 on the road.
Texas has been ranked in the AVCA Top 25 in each of the last 29 meetings, including being ranked in the nation's top 10 in each of the last 16 matchups.

VS. RANKED OPPONENTS

Wednesday's match at No. 5 Texas will mark K-State's fourth match against a ranked team this season (2-1).
The Cats' ranked loss was at the hands of the Longhorns on Sept. 17, a five-set defeat at Ahearn Field House.
K-State defeated back-to-back ranked Big 12 teams earlier this season: No. 22 Kansas (3-1) and at No. 24 Baylor (3-0).
It was the first time the Wildcats upended consecutive ranked teams since 2012.

SAY HEY KID

Redshirt freshman outside hitter Brooke Heyne has started the last five matches for K-State - the first starts of her career - reaching double-digit kills in four times.
Heyne led the Cats in both kills (11) and digs (10) for the first double-double of her career Saturday vs. WVU, earning her second Big 12 Rookie of the Week Award in a three-week span.
The Omaha product has been the Wildcats' leader in kills in three of the last four matches.
Heyne produced a career-best 15 kills while hitting .467 at No. 24 Baylor on Oct. 20 on her way to being tabbed Big 12 Rookie of the Week.
Over the last five matches (all starts), she has a team-high 54 kills, 3.60 kills per set while hitting .267 with 30 digs and four blocks.

BY THE NUMBERS

K-State is 13-0 this season when hitting at a higher efficiency than its opponent and are 10-0 when producing more kills.
When holding its opponent to a .200 hitting percentage or lower, K-State is 9-0.
Conversely, the Wildcats are 0-9 when trailing in attack percentage and 1-4 when being held under .200 as a team.
The Cats have picked up five or more service aces 11 times this season and are 8-3 in those matches.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Brooke Heyne

Alyssa Schultejans

Kansas State University Athletics