Wildcats Look to Extend Winning Streak at MSU Fall Invitational

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State looks to extend its three-match winning streak as it kicks off a seven-match road swing against Missouri State Thursday at the MSU Fall Invitational at Hammons Student Center.

The Wildcats (4-2) and Bears (2-5) will meet Thursday at 6 p.m. before a Friday doubleheader with Weber State (4-2) at noon and Dayton (3-4) at 7 p.m. K-State is coming off a 3-0 weekend at the K-State Invitational where redshirt junior Peyton Williams was named tournament MVP. Williams was joined on the all-tournament team by setter Sarah Dixon.

Thursday's match against Missouri State will air on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Fans can listen to Mason Voth all weekend on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with free, live audio available at K-StateSports.com/watch.

MATCH #7
K-STATE (4-2) at MISSOURI STATE (2-5)
Thursday, September 12 // 6 p.m. // Hammons Student Center (8,846) // Springfield, Mo.
Watch: ESPN+
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Mason Voth
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch | Live Stats

MATCH #8
K-STATE (4-2) vs. WEBER STATE (4-2)
Friday, September 13 // 12 p.m. // Hammons Student Center (8,846) // Springfield, Mo.
Watch: N/A
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Mason Voth
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch | Live Stats

MATCH #9
K-STATE (4-2) vs. (RV) DAYTON (3-4)
Friday, September 13 // 7 p.m. // Hammons Student Center (8,846) // Springfield, Mo.
Watch: N/A
Radio: N/A
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch | Live Stats

K-STATE AT A GLANCE

K-State went 3-0 at its home-opening tournament, picking up five-set victories over Clemson and Omaha before finishing the undefeated weekend with a four-set win over Central Arkansas.
Peyton Williams was named K-State Invitational MVP while Sarah Dixon joined her on the all-tournament team.
Williams paced the Wildcats with her .347 hitting percentage while averaging 3.14 kills per set.
Williams turned in a career-high 17 kills against Central Arkansas while hitting at a .400 clip (3 errors, 35 attacks).
Dixon produced a pair of double-doubles over the weekend, pushing her season total to four through six matches.
Dixon handed out 9.71 assists per set while averaging 2.64 digs a set.
Libero Dru Kuck tallied 71 digs over three matches - tops in the Big 12 last week - as she averaged 5.07 digs per set.
Kuck put together back-to-back 25-plus dig matches with 29 against Omaha before turning in 28 vs. UCA.
The Wildcat defense limited opponents to a .154 hitting percentage during the K-State Invitational, the lowest opponent efficiency in the league last week.
Megan Vernon led the Cats with 13 total blocks, good for 1.00 block per set.
K-State opened its home schedule 3-0 for the second straight season the eighth time in the last 10 seasons.

SCOUTING MISSOURI STATE

Missouri State (2-5) enters the weekend having gone 0-3 at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Volleyball Classic in New Orleans.
The Bears dropped all three matches in straight sets and have lost four consecutive matches overall.
MSU is 2-1 at home after hosting the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational to open the 2019 season.
The Bears, who were picked in a tie for third in the Missouri Valley's preseason coaches' poll, are led by Amelia Flynn and her 86 total kills and 3.58 kills per set.
Flynn has 35 more kills than MSU's next-highest total of 51 by Laynie Dake (1.89 per set).
Dake leads Missouri State with 23 total blocks while Azyah Green has registered 22 blocks, as MSU averaged 1.80 blocks per set as a team.

SCOUTING WEBER STATE

Weber State (4-2) went 2-1 last weekend at BYU Doterra Invitational in Provo, Utah, suffering its only defeat at the hands of the 13th-ranked Cougars.
The Wildcats swept both Sam Houston State and LUI Brooklyn to open the weekend before falling to in-state rival BYU in straight sets.
WSU has four players who have recorded 40 or more kills this season, paced by Megan Gneiting with 52 (2.60 per set).
Weber State averages 2.85 blocks per set this season, with 28 turned in by Hanna DeYoung.
The Wildcats were picked to finish second in the Big Sky preseason coaches' poll after a third-place finish a season ago.

SCOUTING DAYTON

Dayton (3-4) took two of three matches at its home invitational over the weekend, including a five-set victory over No. 14 Michigan on Saturday.
The Flyers have already played four matches against teams ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 poll (1-3).
Dayton, who is receiving votes in the latest poll, pushed then-No. 10 Florida to five sets in the season's opening weekend.
The Flyers are K-State's first opponent that reached the NCAA Tournament a year ago, as Dayton fell in straight sets to Louisville in 2018.
Sophomore Jamie Peterson leads the Flyers with 121 kills and 4.32 per set and was named Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.
Peterson ranks second on the Flyers with 59 digs (2.11 per set) and third with 15 blocks.
Dayton entered 2019 as the preseason favorite in the A10 after claiming the conference tournament title in 2018.

INSIDE THE SERIES

K-State trails the all-time series with Missouri State, 14-9, but has claimed the last eight meetings, including a straight-set victory last season in Manhattan.
The Cats are 2-0 against Weber State all-time, last meeting in 2009 when the Wildcats swept WSU.
Dayton and K-State have split their previous two meetings, with the last matchup coming in 2012 in which the Cats won in straight sets.
Head coach Suzie Fritz is a combined 8-0 against the field at the MSU Fall Invitational, including a 6-0 mark vs. host Missouri State.

NON-CON SUCCESS

Since 2001, K-State is 170-57 (.749) in non-conference matches, including a 10-1 mark a season ago.
The Wildcats own a 37-6 (.860) home record against non-conference opponents at home since 2010, including the postseason.
From 2010-15, the Cats went 28-1 against non-conference foes at home.

RETURN TO FORM

Redshirt sophomore Brynn Carlson has led K-State in kills in each of the first two weekends of the season and has accumulated a team-best 97 through six matches.
Carlson, who was named to the Wolfpack Invitational all-tournament team, has led or tied for the team lead in five of six matches this season.
The redshirt sophomore produced a career-high 18 kills in the season opener at NC State on Aug. 30 and has reached double-figure kills in each match this year.
Carlson, who received a medical redshirt in 2018, totaled just 18 kills in eight matches (13 sets) last season.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Seven players made their Wildcat debut in the first two weeks of the season in Teana Adams-Kaonohi, Abigail Archibong, Holly Bonde, Anna Dixon, Loren Hinkle, Dru Kuck and Kenzie Smith.
Adams-Kaonohi, Dixon, Hinkle and Kuck are all true freshmen, as Kuck played every set at the Wolfpack Invitational as the K-State libero.
Kuck is the team leader with 108 digs (4.00 per set) while Hinkle has tallied 47 digs.
Dixon registered 16 kills, a career high, in a five-set win over Omaha Friday in her first career start.
K-State has the most underclassmen on its roster since 2014 and the third-most in the Fritz era.

KUCK CAN DIG IT

K-State freshman Dru Kuck has played every set as the Wildcats' libero, totaling a team-high 108 digs in 27 sets (4.00 per set).
The Sheboygan, Wisconsin, product registered 71 digs in three matches at the K-State Invitational (5.07 per set), including 29 against Omaha Friday and 28 vs. Central Arkansas Saturday.
The back-to-back 20-dig performances marked the first by a Wildcat since Kersten Kober reached the plateau in three straight matches in 2016.
It was the first time a Wildcat produced consecutive 25 or more digs in consecutive matches since Lauren Mathewson in 2009.
Kuck's 71 digs marked the most in the Big 12 last week while her 5.07 per set average was third best.
Kuck's season average of 4.00 digs per set ranks fourth while her 108 total digs are tied for the conference lead.

STIFLING DEFENSE

The Wildcat defense limited its opponents at the K-State Invitational to a .154 hitting percentage, best in the Big 12 last week.
K-State held all three of its opponents under the .200 threshold, including Omaha to a .148 efficiency over five sets.
The Cats are 4-0 this season when holding their opponent below a .200 attacking percentage and have not allowed anyone to hit over .275 this season.
K-State's season opponent hitting percentage of .188 ranks fourth best in the Big 12.
The Cats' defense averaged 16.00 digs per set at the K-State Invitational and produced a season-high 10 team blocks in a four-set win over Central Arkansas.

YOUTH MOVEMENT

K-State's 2019 roster features a total of 13 freshmen and sophomores (including redshirts) - its highest total since 2014 and third-most in the Fritz era (since 2001).
The combined 666 career sets played among returners are the Cats' fewest since 2009 (537).
The nine freshmen (four redshirts) match the highest number in the Fritz era.
Five incoming true freshmen help comprise the nation's 20th-best recruiting class.
So far in 2019, underclassmen have accounted for 75 percent of K-State's total kills (250 by freshmen and sophomores).
Five of the top six kill producers for K-State are freshmen or sophomores.

Wildcats Look to Extend Winning Streak at MSU Fall Invitational

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Teana Adams-Kaonohi

Abigail Archibong

Holly Bonde

Brynn Carlson

Anna Dixon

Sarah Dixon

Loren Hinkle

Dru Kuck

Kenzie Smith

Megan Vernon

Peyton Williams

Kansas State University Athletics

Wildcats Look to Extend Winning Streak at MSU Fall Invitational

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Teana Adams-Kaonohi

Abigail Archibong

Holly Bonde

Brynn Carlson

Anna Dixon

Sarah Dixon

Loren Hinkle

Dru Kuck

Kenzie Smith

Megan Vernon

Peyton Williams

Related Videos