Wildcats, Longhorns to Tussle Wednesday Night

Wednesday, October 9

Manhattan

7 p.m.

Kansas State University

Texas

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Oct 08, 2019 | Volleyball

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MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State faces its second consecutive top-five opponent Wednesday night, as fourth-ranked Texas visits Ahearn Field House for a 7 p.m. first serve.

The Wildcats (6-9, 1-2 Big 12) fell in straight sets at No. 1 Baylor last Saturday, in which they held the Bears to a season low in hitting percentage. The Cats tallied 11 total team blocks, led by Megan Vernon who matched her career high with eight blocks.

Texas (9-2, 3-0 Big 12) has won its last four matches, including three straight conference matches, and six of its last seven overall. The Wildcats and Longhorns have gone to five sets in each of the last three meetings at Ahearn Field House.

Wednesday's match marks K-State's annual Cats for the Cure night, as fans wearing pink can purchase general admission tickets for just $3. Fans can also purchase a Wednesday Wildcat 4-Pack, which includes four general admission tickets and a $10 concessions voucher for just $38. Tickets can be purchased at K-StateSports.com/tickets.

The match will be broadcast nationally on FSN and streaming at FOXSportsGo.com and the FOX Sports app. Fans can listen to Rob Voelker call the action on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with free, live audio available at K-StateSports.com/watch.

MATCH #16
K-STATE (6-9, 1-2 BIG 12) vs. #4 TEXAS (9-2, 3-0 BIG 12)
Wednesday, October 9 // 7 p.m. // Ahearn Field House (5,000) // Manhattan, Kan.
TV: FSN // Bob Brainerd, Jill Hall
Online: FOXSportsGo.com // FOX Sports app
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Rob Voelker
Listen: K-StateSports.com/watch
Promotion: Cats for the Cure // Wednesday Wildcat 4-Pack | Buy Tickets
Live Stats

K-STATE AT A GLANCE

K-State enters Wednesday night on a two-match skid following a straight-set loss at No. 1 Baylor Saturday.
The Wildcats limited the Bears to a season-low .240 hitting percentage, but were unable to hand BU its first loss of the season.
K-State tallied 11 team blocks against Baylor, as Megan Vernon matched her career high with eight block assists.
Freshman Anna Dixon led the Cats with 10 kills while Brynn Carlson added seven and Gloria Mutiri six.
K-State was held to season lows in both kills (33) and hitting percentage (.154).
The Cats forced Yossiana Pressley, the nation's kills leader, into 11 attacking errors - her highest total in a three-set match this season.
The third set saw 16 tie scores and five lead changes as it went to extra points before BU claimed a 29-27 victory.
Baylor extended its program-record streak to 22 consecutive sets won.
The loss marked the second consecutive three-set match the Cats have played, the first such matches of the season.

SCOUTING TEXAS

Texas (9-2, 3-0 Big 12) has won its last four matching, including three straight Big 12 outings, after a three-set win at TCU last Wednesday.
The Longhorns lead the Big 12 with a .336 hitting percentage and rank second with 14.34 kills per set and 13.49 assists per set.
Micaya White (4.22) and Logan Eggleston (3.98) rank third and fourth, respectively, in the league in kills per set.
Eggleston also paces the Big 12 in aces per set (0.46) and is fourth at 4.60 points per set.
Big 12 Preseason Co-Freshman of the Year Skylar Fields is third in the conference with her .355 hitting efficiency.
Texas' top seven players in terms of kills are all hitting over .300.
UT has picked up two victories over top-25 teams with a four-set won over then-14th-ranked USC and a sweep of No. 8 Minnesota.
The Longhorns are 2-2 this season in true road matches.
Texas was the preseason favorite in the Big 12 preseason coaches' poll while Fields was voted Big 12 Co-Freshman of the year and White was tabbed Preseason Player of the Year.

INSIDE THE SERIES

In a series that dates back to 1981, K-State is 7-41 all-time against Texas.
The Longhorns have claimed the last 31 meetings, going back to 2003.
The 31-match streak is the Wildcats' longest active skid against a single opponent.
The last three meetings in the series in Ahearn Field House have gone the full five sets.
The Cats are 4-19 at home against Texas, last winning on Oct. 15, 2003 in five sets.
Fritz is 3-33 in her career against the Longhorns with a 2-16 record at home.
Texas has been ranked in the AVCA Top 25 in each of the last 30 meetings, including being in the top 10 in each of the last 17 matchups.

VS. RANKED OPPONENTS

Texas marks the second consecutive ranked opponent K-State will face after it met No. 1 Baylor last Saturday.
Last season, the Bears were ranked 24th in the AVCA Top 25 poll in the teams' meeting at Ferrell Center, with K-State winning 3-0.
The Wildcats went 2-2 against ranked teams a season ago, picking up wins over then-ranked No. 24 Baylor and No. 22 Kansas in consecutive matches.
Against top-five foes, K-State is a combined 2-70 (.028) in its history.
K-State is 7-116 (.057) against teams ranked in the nation's top 10.
The Wildcats last defeated a top-five team in 2011, when they ousted No. 2 Nebraska in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Lincoln.
K-State last defeated a top-10 team on Aug. 27, 2016 when it defeated No. 6 Hawaii in four sets.
The last time the Cats upended a top-10 team at home was Nov. 15, 2003, when they defeated No. 10 Nebraska in four sets.
Since 2014, K-State is 3-26 against teams ranked in the AVCA Top 25.

GOING THE DISTANCE

Through 15 matches in 2019, K-State has gone the full five sets seven times - three shy of matching the single-season record of 10 such matches (2017).
The Wildcats played their first three-set match against Texas Tech last Wednesday, breaking the program-long streak to begin a season.
The Cats have also played six four-set matches (3-3) in addition to seven five-setters.
The Cats played just three five-set matches a season ago - equaling the lowest such matches in a single season.
The Cats have claimed the opening set of a match seven times in 15 matches and have split the first two sets of a match in 11 of 15 outings this season.

BATTLE OF THE BLOCK

In its first three conference matches, K-State leads the Big 12 with 36 total blocks and 3.60 blocks per set.
K-State's 18 total blocks at TCU Saturday marked the third-highest total in program history in a four-set match (rally-scoring era).
The Cats' block total marked a single-match high for any team in the Big 12 this season.
Peyton Williams (9), Megan Vernon (8) and Sarah Dixon (7) all set career highs in the four-set win over the Horned Frogs.
K-State tallied 11 total blocks in three sets at Baylor last Saturday, as Vernon equaled her career-high output.
Vernon leads the league with 2.10 blocks per set in conference-only matches while Williams is second at 1.40 blocks/set.
In 12 non-conference matches, the Cats averaged just 1.65 blocks per set and reached double-digit blocks just twice.
K-State has eclipsed 10 or more blocks in two of its three conference matches.

THREE-HEADED MONSTER

The Wildcat trio of Brynn Carlson, Gloria Mutiri and Peyton Williams have each eclipsed the 150-kill and 190-point marks this season.
Carlson has a team-high 203 kills (3.22 per set) while Mutiri has recorded 178 and Williams 156.
Carlson leads the trio with 205.0 total points while Mutiri is second with 194.0 points while Williams has a team-high 53 total blocks.
Carlson, Mutiri and Williams have accounted for 65.2 percent of K-State's total kill production (537 of 824).
One of the three have led or tied for the team lead in kills in 14 of 15 matches this season.
All three have set single-match career highs this in kills: Carlson (21) vs. New Mexico, Mutiri (18) at Missouri State and Williams (17) vs. Central Arkansas.
Mutiri has also set career highs in hitting percentage (.480 vs. Austin Peay) and digs (18 vs. Dayton).
Carlson has led or tied for the team lead in eight of 15 matches and has reached 15 or more kills eight times.

MILESTONE WATCH

Head coach Suzie Fritz is three wins away from notching career victory No. 350 as coach of the Wildcats.
Fritz would become just the third head coach in the history of the Big 12 to reach the landmark.
Fritz's career winning percentage of .614 is third among active Big 12 coaches.

SMOTHERING DEFENSE

K-State has held its opponents below a .200 hitting percentage six times this season, going 5-1 in those matches.
On the season, K-State is holding opponents to a .214 hitting efficiency as Wildcat opponents have only reached .300 or better only once (Ohio, .304).
In league play, K-State is limiting opponents to a .189 clip - good for the third-best mark in the Big 12.
The Cats limited No. 1 Baylor to a season-low .240 hitting percentage on Saturday.

HOME SWEET HOME

Wednesday's match will be the Cats' second match in Ahearn Field House this season, as the K-State Invitational was held in Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State dropped its Big 12 home opener to Texas Tech on Oct. 2 in straight sets.
The Wildcats opened their home schedule a perfect 3-0 after their home-opening tournament, defeating Clemson, Omaha and Central Arkansas.
Head coach Suzie Fritz is 180-76 (.703) at home in her 19-year K-State career.
Fritz is 101-64 (.612) at home in Big 12 play.
K-State owns a 62-34 (.646) home record since 2011.