K-State Begins Big 12 Play vs. No. 5 Texas Wednesday Night

MANHATTAN, Kan. – After winning the last eight matches of its non-conference schedule, K-State opens Big 12 play as No. 5 Texas visits Ahearn Field House for a nationally televised match on ESPNU at 6 p.m.

The Wildcats (10-1), who are receiving votes in the latest AVCA Top 25, won a pair of matches away from home last week as they swept UMKC in Kansas City before a four-set victory over Green Bay at the Gopher Fall Classic in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Cats' 10-1 start to a season is their best start to a season since beginning 13-1 in 2014.

Redshirt senior Kylee Zumach was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week on Monday while freshman opposite Gloria Mutiri was tabbed Rookie of the Week by the conference.

The match between K-State and Texas will also stream on WatchESPN and the ESPN app. Fans can listen to Rob Voelker on the call on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with free, live audio available at K-StateSports.com/watch.

MATCH #12
K-STATE (10-1, 0-0 Big 12) vs. #5 TEXAS (5-3, 0-0 Big 12)
Wednesday, September 19, 2018 // 6 p.m. CT // Ahearn Field House (5,000) // Manhattan, Kan.
Watch: ESPNU // WatchESPN // Tyler Denning (pxp) and Kevin Barnett (analyst)
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Rob Voelker
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch | Live Stats
Promotion: Wildcat 4-Pack | Buy Tickets

AT A GLANCE

K-State (10-1) extended its season-long winning streak to eight matches after a four-set win over Green Bay at the Gopher Fall Classic in Minneapolis, Minnesota Friday night.
The Wildcats sit just outside the latest AVCA Top 25, receiving 46 points for the 27th-highest point total.
The Cats were originally scheduled to also play at No. 7 Minnesota Saturday, but Minnesota officials determined the conditions to be unplayable due to excessive heat and humidity inside Maturi Pavilion.
Kylee Zumach registered a season-high 20 kills against the Phoenix, setting a new career high with a .513 hitting percentage (20 kills, 0 errors, 39 total attacks).
The match marked Zumach's seventh career 20-kill performance and first since the 2016 season.
Zumach also had 10 digs for her team-leading fifth double-double.
The Wildcat defense limited Green Bay to a .047 hitting percentage behind 13.0 team blocks.
Macy Flowers matched her season high with eight blocks while Zumach and freshman Gloria Mutiri each added four.
Mutiri posted a career-high 14 digs vs. Green Bay to go with nine kills (.269)
Zumach earned her second Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week of the season while Mutiri collected the first weekly honor of her career as she was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week.

SCOUTING TEXAS

Texas (5-3) enters its Big 12 opener after back-to-back losses against No. 2 Stanford last week.
The Longhorns played a home-and-home series last week with the Cardinal, falling in straight sets in Palo Alto before a four-set decision in Austin.
All three UT losses this season have been to a top-10 team (No. 8 Wisconsin).
Texas has been ranked as high as No. 2 in the country and enter Wednesday as the fifth-ranked team in the latest AVCA poll.
As a team, the Longhorns are tops in the Big 12 with a .287 hitting percentage while K-State is second at .277.
UT ranks ninth in digs/set (12.53) and opponent hitting percentage (.224).
Freshman Brionne Butler is the league leader with a .451 hitting efficiency and junior Micaya White is sixth at 3.47 kills/set.
The Longhorn defense has two players in the Big 12's top 10 in blocks/set: Katarina Luketic at 1.25 (5th) and Morgan Johnson at 1.20 (8th).

INSIDE THE SERIES

The Cats trail the all-time series with Texas, 7-39, dating back to 1981.
Texas has won the last 29 meetings in the series, going back to 2003.
K-State last defeated the Longhorns on Oct. 15, 2003 (3-2) in Manhattan.
At home, K-State is 4-18 against the Longhorns.
The Wildcats' losing skid vs. UT is K-State's longest active streak against a single opponent.
Head coach Suzie Fritz is 3-31 in her career against Texas.
Texas has been ranked in the AVCA Top 25 in each of the last 28 meetings, dating back to 2004, including being ranked in the nation's top 10 in the last 15 matchups.

GOING STREAKING

K-State is currently riding a season-long eight-match winning streak in which it has dropped just four sets.
The streak is the Wildcats' longest since winning 10 in a row during the 2016 season and is the longest by any Big 12 team this season.
The Cats' 10-1 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 4-0 in true road matches for the first time since 2014.

VS RANKED OPPONENTS

Wednesday's match vs. No. 7 Texas will mark K-State's first match this season against a team from the top 25.
Dating back to 2016, the Cats have lost their last 15 matches to ranked opponents, with the last win coming at No. 6 Hawaii on Aug. 27, 2016.
K-State has had two matches against top-25 opponents cancelled: vs. No. 11 UCLA due to Hurricane Lane and at No. 7 Minnesota due to heat and humidity inside Maturi Pavilion.

MILESTONE WATCH

With 336 career victories, head coach Suzie Fritz matched Nebraska's John Cook for the third-most wins in league history while a member of the Big 12.
Following her 20-kill performance Friday, Kylee Zumach now sits at 1,210 career kills which puts her in a tie for third with Rita Liliom in K-State history in the rally-scoring era.
Zumach is just three kills shy of passing Lauren Goehring for sole possession of second place on the Cats' all-time charts.
She entered the 2018 season sixth on K-State's all-time kills list.

K-State Begins Big 12 Play vs. No. 5 Texas Wednesday Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Macy Flowers

Gloria Mutiri

Kylee Zumach

Kansas State University Athletics

K-State Begins Big 12 Play vs. No. 5 Texas Wednesday Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Macy Flowers

Gloria Mutiri

Kylee Zumach

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