Cats to Open Season Saturday Night at Hawaii

HONOLULU – After Hurricane Lane altered the season's opening weekend, K-State and Hawaii officials announced Saturday that the teams will play Saturday night at midnight CT (7 p.m. HT) and again on Sunday at 7 p.m. CT (2 p.m. HT) at the Stan Sheriff Center.

After the impact of Hurricane Lane was assessed, K-State and Hawaii officials made the decision to play both Saturday and Sunday. Due to public safety concerns, Saturday's match will be closed to the public while Sunday's match will be open to fans.

The Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic was originally scheduled to begin on Friday, but the threat of Hurricane Lane kept Gonzaga and UCLA from being able to make the trip to Honolulu.

Fans can listen to Rob Voelker on the call for both matches on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Free, live audio can also be found at K-StateSports.com/watch. Both matches will stream free at BigWest.TV.

Following the Wildcats' weekend in Honolulu, K-State will head to St. Louis for the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic hosted by Saint Louis. The Cats will square off with Marquette, Saint Louis and Western Kentucky beginning Friday, August 31.

MATCH #1
K-STATE (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) at RV HAWAII (0-0, 0-0 Big West)
Saturday, August 25, 2018 // Midnight CT (7 p.m. HT) // Stan Sheriff Center (10,300) // Honolulu, Hawaii
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Rob Voelker
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch
Live Stats

MATCH #2
K-STATE (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) at RV HAWAII (0-0, 0-0 Big West)
Sunday, August 26, 2018 // 7 p.m. CT (2 p.m. HT) // Stan Sheriff Center (10,300) // Honolulu, Hawaii
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Rob Voelker
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch
Live Stats

AT A GLANCE

K-State enters its 45th season of volleyball in 2018 while head coach Suzie Fritz begins her 18th season at the helm of the Wildcats.
K-State returns the majority of its production from a season ago, graduating just one starter in opposite Bryna Vogel.
The Wildcats retain their statistical leader in every major category, bringing back over 80% of the team's kills, points and sets played.
In total, the Cats return 11 letterwinners from 2017 and welcome five freshmen to pair with three redshirt freshmen.
The Cats were projected fifth in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches' Poll while redshirt senior Kylee Zumach was named to the Big 12 Preseason Team.
The Wildcats finished 2017 with a 10-19 overall record while going 3-13 in Big 12 play (9th).
The 10 victories and three league wins were all lows in the Fritz era.
K-State set a program record with 10 five-set matches in 2017 (3-7).

SCOUTING HAWAII

Hawaii finished second in the Big West a season ago, going 14-2 in conference and 20-8 overall, falling in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Cats and Hawaii last met in 2016, when K-State upset the No. 6 Wahine, 3-1, on their home floor.
K-State is 1-5 all-time vs. the Rainbow Wahine, with all six matches being played in Honolulu.

MS. 1,000

Redshirt senior Kylee Zumach begins her final season as the Big 12's active leader with 1,058 kills.
On Nov. 8, 2017 at Kansas, 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 sixth in program history during the rally-scoring era.
Zumach was the lone Wildcat to earn a spot on the All-Big 12 Preseason Team.

PEY DAY

Redshirt sophomore Peyton Williams, who is also a member of the K-State women's basketball team, had a breakout season in her first year on the volleyball court for the Cats.
Williams had 10 matches last season hitting .400 or better (min. 10 attempts), the most such matches by a Wildcat in a single season since 2009 (Kelsey Chipman, 13).
Her .309 hitting efficiency last year led the team and was seventh-best in the Big 12, becoming the first Wildcat freshman to crack the conference's top 10 in the Fritz era.
Williams collected Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors in both volleyball and basketball - the first player in K-State history to claim both.

FLOWER POWER

Senior middle blocker Macy Flowers was a force at the net during her junior campaign, leading the team in total blocks and blocks/set.
Flowers set career highs in block assists (85), total blocks (89), blocks/set (1.22), kills (119) and points (172.5).
She led or tied for the team lead in blocks in each of the seasons' final seven matches, the longest streak of her career.
She tallied a career-high 13 blocks on Oct. 28 last season at Texas Tech.

MILESTONE WATCH

With 326 career victories, head coach Suzie Fritz is just five wins shy of moving into fourth on the Big 12's career wins list.
Fritz is 11 away from becoming the league's third-winningest head coach.

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Players Mentioned

Macy Flowers

Bryna Vogel

Peyton Williams

Kylee Zumach

Kansas State University Athletics