Wildcats Open Home Slate with Missouri State Tuesday

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State volleyball is set to begin its 2018 home schedule as the Wildcats welcome the Missouri State Bears to Ahearn Field House for a 6 p.m. start Tuesday night.

K-State (4-1), who won two of three matches at the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic in St. Louis over the weekend, has won the last seven meetings in the series with Missouri State (3-3) and eight of the last 10 matchups overall. MSU has won three straight matches after beginning the season 0-3.

The match with the Bears will air worldwide on K-StateHD.TV and FOX College Sports Pacific with Brian Smoller and former Wildcat Liz Wegner-Busch on the call. Fans can also listen to Rob Voelker call the action on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with live, free audio available at K-StateSports.com/watch. The match is also available on the K-State Sports Roku app and Apple TV.

The Wildcats will remain at home with the K-State Invitational scheduled to begin Friday, September 7 at Ahearn Field House. The Cats will meet North Texas (12 p.m.) and Oregon State (7:30 p.m.) Friday before finishing the weekend with Omaha on Saturday at 6 p.m.

MATCH #6
K-STATE (4-1, 0-0 Big 12) vs. MISSOURI STATE (3-3, 0-0 Missouri Valley)
Tuesday, September 4, 2018 // 6 p.m. CT // Ahearn Field House (5,000) // Manhattan, Kan.
Watch: K-StateHD.TV // Brian Smoller (play-by-play), Liz Wegner-Busch (analyst)
TV: FOX College Sports Pacific
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Rob Voelker
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch | Live Stats
Tickets

AT A GLANCE

K-State completed its second weekend of the regular season by going 2-1 at the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic hosted by Saint Louis.
The Wildcats rebounded from their first loss of the season vs. Marquette by sweeping a Saturday doubleheader with SLU and Western Kentucky.
Junior middle blocker Elle Sandbothe and redshirt senior Kylee Zumach were named to the all-tournament team for their performances.
Sandbothe hit over .300 in all three matches and led the Cats with a .418 hitting percentage (2.45 kills/set) while also averaging 1.18 blocks/set.
Zumach paced the Wildcat offense with 35 kills in 10 sets (3.50 kills/set) while hitting .286 and averaging 3.10 digs/set.
Zumach had a career-high 14 digs in a double-double effort vs. SLU.
Setter Sarah Dixon was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week after reaching the 40-assist mark in all three matches including a career-high 46 in the four-set win over the Billikens.
Dixon led the Big 12 with 11.55 assists/set over the week and is tops for the year with 11.88, which ranks seventh in the country.
As a team, K-State led the Big 12 with a .284 hitting percentage and has hit over .250 in all five matches this season.
K-State has won its first three true road matches for the first time since 2014.

SCOUTING MISSOURI STATE

K-State opens its home schedule as Missouri State (3-3) visits Ahearn Field House Tuesday night.
The Bears won all three matches at its home tournament over the weekend against Oral Roberts, Grambling State and Ball State.
Missouri State dropped all three matches in its season-opening weekend at College of Charleston, falling to Charleston, Alabama and Western Kentucky.
Amelia Flynn leads the Bears with 2.95 kills per set, 2.73 digs per set and 18 total blocks.
MSU was picked second in the Missouri Valley Conference's preseason coaches' poll after winning the MVC regular season and conference tournament in 2017.
Missouri State has posted 19 consecutive winning seasons and qualified for the last three NCAA Tournaments.

INSIDE THE SERIES

Missouri State owns a 14-8 edge in the all-time series, but K-State has won the last seven meetings dating back to 1996.
Overall, the Wildcats have taken eight of the last 10 matchups and are 3-0 all-time at home in the series.
The last time the two teams met, K-State won a five-set decision on Sept. 8, 2014 in Manhattan.
Head coach Suzie Fritz is 5-0 all-time against the Bears and is 21-2 in her career against teams from the Missouri Valley Conference.

CONSISTENTLY EFFICIENT

As a team, K-State has posted hit better than .250 in all five matches this season, including a season-high .318 efficiency in its four-set win over Saint Louis Saturday.
The Wildcat offense has hit .350 or better in a single set five separate times, with season-best of .619 in the fourth set vs. the Billikens.
K-State currently leads the Big 12 and ranks 25th in the nation with a team hitting percentage of .276 (hit .212 in 2017).

GLO FLO

Freshman Gloria Mutiri has burst onto the scene, as the lefty opposite ranks second on the team in kills/set (2.94) and total kills (50) while also averaging 1.65 digs/set.
Mutiri has reached double figures in kills in three of her first five matches and hit .400 or better twice.

DISHING DIXON

Redshirt junior setter Sarah Dixon took home Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career after leading the league in assists/set (11.55).
Dixon set a career high with 46 assists while the K-State offense paced the league in hitting percentage over the weekend.
Dixon, along with Kylee Zumach, have claimed the first two Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors of the season.

KILLER KYLEE

Redshirt senior Kylee Zumach is the Big 12's active career kills leader with 1,130.
Over the weekend, she passed Sammy Werner for fifth all-time on K-State's kills list (rally scoring).
Playing all six rotations for the first time in her career, the 6-4 outside hitter set a career high with 14 digs at Saint Louis Saturday for her second double-double of the season and seventh of her career.

MILESTONE WATCH

With 330 career victories, head coach Suzie Fritz equaled Texas A&M's Laure Corbelli for fourth on the Big 12's career wins list while a member of the Big 12.
Fritz is six wins away from moving into a tie for third on the conference's career wins list.

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Players Mentioned

Sarah Dixon

Gloria Mutiri

Elle Sandbothe

Kylee Zumach

Kansas State University Athletics