Wildcats Head to UMKC For Tuesday Night Tilt

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Riding a season-long six-match winning streak after a perfect weekend at the K-State Invitational, K-State visits UMKC Tuesday night for a 6 p.m., start at the Swinney Recreation Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

K-State (8-1) opened its home slate with a 4-0 week at Ahearn Field House, including wins over North Texas, Oregon State and Omaha during the two-day K-State Invitational. Setter Sarah Dixon was named the event's most valuable player and was joined on the all-tournament team by Peyton Williams.

UMKC (7-3) enter the match having won its last four matches after sweeping its Kangaroo Classic over the weekend. The Wildcats own a 31-3 record all-time in the series and have won the last 29 matches overall, dating back to 1977. The Cats claimed a four-set decision in Manhattan over the Roos last season.

Fans can listen to Rob Voelker call the match on New Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with free, live audio available at K-StateSports.com/watch.

K-State will head to Minneapolis to face Green Bay Friday and Minnesota on Saturday in its final non-conference weekend before opening Big 12 play vs. Texas on Wednesday, September 19 at Ahearn Field House.

MATCH #10
K-STATE (8-1, 0-0 Big 12) at UMKC (7-3, 0-0 WAC)
Tuesday, September 11, 2018 // 6 p.m. CT // Swinney Recreation Center (750) // Kansas City, Mo.
Watch: WAC Digital Network
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Rob Voelker
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch
Live Stats

AT A GLANCE

K-State (8-1) finds itself at the top of the Big 12 standings after going 3-0 at its annual K-State Invitational over the weekend at Ahearn Field House.
In the latest AVCA Top 25 poll, the Wildcats are on the cusp of breaking into the ranks as they are receiving votes for the first time since the initial poll in 2017.
The Wildcats extended their season-long winning streak to six matches after victories over North Texas (3-0), Oregon State (3-1) and Omaha (3-0).
Setter Sarah Dixon was named the event's most valuable player while middle blocker Peyton Williams was also selected to the all-tournament team.
Dixon set a career high with 48 assists against the Beavers Friday night and turned in her second double-double of the season against UNO Saturday.
Williams led the Cats in offensive efficiency, hitting at a .485 clip over the course of the three matches.
Over the weekend, freshman Gloria Mutiri set highs in kills (16), hitting percentage (.467), digs (11), blocks (5) and points (18.5).
K-State capped a perfect 4-0 home week after a straight-set victory over Missouri State Tuesday night.

SCOUTING UMKC

K-State travels to the Swinney Recreation Center for a Tuesday night matchup with UMKC (7-3).
The Kangaroos went 4-0 at the Kangaroo Classic over the weekend, defeating Arkansas State, SIUE, Southeast Missouri State and Providence.
The Roos boast a 6-1 home record and are led by Tyrecia Lukes and her 3.55 kills per set and .458 hitting percentage.
Lukes was named Kangaroo Classic MVP while Alicia Harrington and Brooke Jacobs joined her on the all-tournament team.
As a team, the Roos lead the WAC in assists per set, hitting percentage, kills per set, and total kills while ranking second in blocks per set and total blocks.
Opponents are limited to a .179 efficiency vs. UMKC, third-lowest percentage in the WAC.

INSIDE THE SERIES

The Cats and Roos will face off for the 35th time in their history, dating back to 1974.
K-State leads the all-time series with UMKC 31-3 and is looking for their 30th consecutive win over the Kangaroos, going back to 1977.
The Wildcats are 8-0 all-time at UMKC while head coach Suzie Fritz is 5-0 in her career vs. UMKC.
The meeting marks the third straight season the teams have met, as K-State took a four-set decision at Ahearn Field House on Sept. 12, 2017 in the last match.
The 29-match winning streak is the longest such streak in program history against a single opponent.

GOING STREAKING

K-State is currently riding a season-long six-match winning streak after a perfect 4-0 record to open its home slate.
The streak is the Wildcats' longest since winning 10 in a row during the 2016 season.
The Cats' 8-1 start is their best start to a season since beginning the 2014 season 13-1.
K-State won its first four home matches and begin 3-0 in true road matches for the first time since 2014.

ACES IN SPADES

K-State leads the Big 12 with 1.47 service aces per set this season.
Alyssa Schultejans (2nd) and Zsofia Gyimes (8th) each rank in the conference's top 10 in aces/set.
Schultejans' 14 aces are tops on the team and are the most she has posted in a single season since her freshman campaign in 2015 (25).
The senior outside hitter matched her career high with four aces against Omaha and has four matches this season with two or more aces after having no such matches last year (most since 2015).
Gyimes has already posted a career-high 10 aces this year, with four coming vs. Missouri State.
The Cats have at least five aces in five of nine matches this year.

BATTLE OF THE BLOCK

Senior middle blocker Macy Flowers, playing in just 20 of 30 sets this season, has a team-best 31.0 total blocks and leads the Big 12 at 1.55/set.
As a team, K-State has not been out-blocked in each of its last eight matches.

MILESTONE WATCH

With 334 career victories, head coach Suzie Fritz is two wins away from equaling Nebraska's John Cook for third in league history for career wins while in the Big 12.
With 1,176 career kills, Kylee Zumach is 14 kills away from being alone in fourth place on K-State's career kills list (rally scoring).

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Players Mentioned

Sarah Dixon

Macy Flowers

Zsofia Gyimes

Gloria Mutiri

Alyssa Schultejans

Peyton Williams

Kylee Zumach

Kansas State University Athletics