Kansas State University Athletics
SE: Carter’s Record-Breaking Night Keeps Spotlight on K-State Volleyball's Freshman Class
Oct 20, 2020 | Volleyball, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
There's nothing like the Aliyah Carter finger guns.
When the freshman outside hitter smashes a kill for K-State Volleyball, chances are she's about to fire up what's quickly become the signature celebration for a K-State athlete in 2020.
Call it a tie between that or the little skip that Deuce Vaughn does after scoring a touchdown.
Coming into this weekend's series with Texas, nobody would have been surprised if Carter didn't play her best match of the season against the No. 1 team in the country. But just four games into her college career, Carter brought the guns out against the Longhorns.
She broke the school record for kills in a single match by a freshman with 26 against top-ranked Texas on Friday.
"I think it's just realizing what I can do and not setting a limit on myself," Carter said. "With a team like Texas, you have nothing to lose."
Coming into Friday night's match at Bramlage Coliseum, the undefeated Longhorns had lost just one set all season, going 18-1 in their first six matches.
For a K-State team with 12 underclassmen, it was a step up in competition and a chance for the team's youngest players to introduce themselves to a national TV audience on ESPN2.
Carter didn't waste the opportunity.
Her eight kills in the third set helped the Wildcats take the lead against Texas. On the night, Carter hit a team-high .293 as K-State went the distance with the Longhorns in a five-set loss.
It was a breakthrough performance for Carter, but it shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone who's been paying attention.
Playing opposite Brynn Carlson in K-State's first series of the season against Iowa State, Carter came up with 15 kills to match Carlson and help deliver the team's first win of the season.
After she stuffed the game-winning block against Iowa State, Carter had arrived as a college volleyball player. On Friday, the rest of the country finally got a chance to enjoy the show.
"I think she's fearless," added head coach Suzie Fritz. "I think that's maybe the thing I like about her the most. She's done a nice job of competing. She doesn't back down from a challenge, she's fearless in that way. I think a lot of those freshmen have shown that."
"Fearless" is a word that Fritz has gone back to more than once when talking about her freshman class in 2020.
The group arrived in Manhattan as the country's No. 23-ranked recruiting class according to PrepVolleyball.com, but had to adjust to Big 12 competition without a traditional offseason.
A conference-only schedule in 2020 also posed challenges. No other freshman class at K-State has faced the No. 1 team in the country on back-to-back-nights this early in their careers.
Against the Longhorns this weekend, Carter wasn't the only freshman to step up.
Fritz said that Jayden Nembhard gave the Wildcats a spark in the second game of the series, coming off the bench to lead K-State in kills against the Longhorns.
"Depending on the match, we've gotten tremendous things out of all three of our left-side hitters," Fritz said. "Nembhard gave us a great showing at West Virginia last weekend [and] Carter, just from a pure power perspective can provide us with some really terrific things."
Kadye Fernholz continued to impress as a middle blocker against Texas, finishing second on the team in kills on Saturday.
And Mackenzie Morris gave the Wildcats the consistency that she's brought all year as the team's libero, leading the Wildcats in digs for the sixth straight game to begin the 2020 season.
Carter's performance against the Longhorns just happened to include breaking the K-State single-match record for kills by a freshman, previously held by All-American Kylee Zumach.
"Oh, Kylee Zumach?" Carter said after the match. "I hope she retweets me on Twitter."
While the wins weren't there against the Longhorns this weekend, playing the best team in the country in the fifth and sixth games of their college careers was about growth for the talented members of this K-State freshman class.
"It's just keeping in mind that I can compete at any level. This team can compete at any level," Carter said. "We really showed people in our conference that we're not here to play around."
There's nothing like the Aliyah Carter finger guns.
When the freshman outside hitter smashes a kill for K-State Volleyball, chances are she's about to fire up what's quickly become the signature celebration for a K-State athlete in 2020.
Call it a tie between that or the little skip that Deuce Vaughn does after scoring a touchdown.
Coming into this weekend's series with Texas, nobody would have been surprised if Carter didn't play her best match of the season against the No. 1 team in the country. But just four games into her college career, Carter brought the guns out against the Longhorns.
She broke the school record for kills in a single match by a freshman with 26 against top-ranked Texas on Friday.
"I think it's just realizing what I can do and not setting a limit on myself," Carter said. "With a team like Texas, you have nothing to lose."
Coming into Friday night's match at Bramlage Coliseum, the undefeated Longhorns had lost just one set all season, going 18-1 in their first six matches.
For a K-State team with 12 underclassmen, it was a step up in competition and a chance for the team's youngest players to introduce themselves to a national TV audience on ESPN2.
Carter didn't waste the opportunity.
A primetime debut worthy of the record books! 🤩 @aliyah_carter22 set a @KStateVB freshman record with 2️⃣6️⃣ kills against the No. 1 ranked team on Friday night. #NCAAVB pic.twitter.com/Mb7RJrtvXy
— NCAA Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) October 17, 2020
Her eight kills in the third set helped the Wildcats take the lead against Texas. On the night, Carter hit a team-high .293 as K-State went the distance with the Longhorns in a five-set loss.
It was a breakthrough performance for Carter, but it shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone who's been paying attention.
Playing opposite Brynn Carlson in K-State's first series of the season against Iowa State, Carter came up with 15 kills to match Carlson and help deliver the team's first win of the season.
After she stuffed the game-winning block against Iowa State, Carter had arrived as a college volleyball player. On Friday, the rest of the country finally got a chance to enjoy the show.
"I think she's fearless," added head coach Suzie Fritz. "I think that's maybe the thing I like about her the most. She's done a nice job of competing. She doesn't back down from a challenge, she's fearless in that way. I think a lot of those freshmen have shown that."
"Fearless" is a word that Fritz has gone back to more than once when talking about her freshman class in 2020.
The group arrived in Manhattan as the country's No. 23-ranked recruiting class according to PrepVolleyball.com, but had to adjust to Big 12 competition without a traditional offseason.
A conference-only schedule in 2020 also posed challenges. No other freshman class at K-State has faced the No. 1 team in the country on back-to-back-nights this early in their careers.
Against the Longhorns this weekend, Carter wasn't the only freshman to step up.
Fight on, Cats#KStateVB pic.twitter.com/4lvZ37r1VL
— K-State Volleyball (@KStateVB) October 17, 2020
Fritz said that Jayden Nembhard gave the Wildcats a spark in the second game of the series, coming off the bench to lead K-State in kills against the Longhorns.
"Depending on the match, we've gotten tremendous things out of all three of our left-side hitters," Fritz said. "Nembhard gave us a great showing at West Virginia last weekend [and] Carter, just from a pure power perspective can provide us with some really terrific things."
Kadye Fernholz continued to impress as a middle blocker against Texas, finishing second on the team in kills on Saturday.
And Mackenzie Morris gave the Wildcats the consistency that she's brought all year as the team's libero, leading the Wildcats in digs for the sixth straight game to begin the 2020 season.
Carter's performance against the Longhorns just happened to include breaking the K-State single-match record for kills by a freshman, previously held by All-American Kylee Zumach.
How bout it, @aliyah_carter22
— K-State Volleyball (@KStateVB) October 17, 2020
A #KStateVB freshman record 26 kills while hitting .293 against the No. 1 team in the country. pic.twitter.com/jPZTGaSatG
"Oh, Kylee Zumach?" Carter said after the match. "I hope she retweets me on Twitter."
While the wins weren't there against the Longhorns this weekend, playing the best team in the country in the fifth and sixth games of their college careers was about growth for the talented members of this K-State freshman class.
"It's just keeping in mind that I can compete at any level. This team can compete at any level," Carter said. "We really showed people in our conference that we're not here to play around."
Players Mentioned
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