Kansas State University Athletics
SE: Meet the Liberos, the “Heartbeat” of No. 13 K-State Volleyball
Oct 27, 2020 | Volleyball, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
"It's literally the vibes."
Jacque Smith has spent four years in Manhattan, long enough to grind through a Big 12 season and to know when something about a team, even when it's hard to define, is just different.
"I know that sounds so weird, but we really have a good energy. Everyone is just really close-knit, and we trust each other on and off the court to make good decisions," Smith said. "It's just good vibes all day."
K-State is at the halfway point of a season when they were picked to finish next to last in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll. It was the team's lowest preseason projection in almost a decade.
And yet here are the Wildcats, a third-place team in the Big 12 and ranked No. 13 in the entire country.
It's the kind of turnaround that would have been remarkable in any season.
That K-State has done it following a summer scattered across the country and without a non-conference schedule is almost beyond belief. Back in September, Suzie Fritz said this team had the talent to make the NCAA Tournament.
But K-State's head coach didn't just make a prediction. She called her shot.
"I think our libero core is as far along as we've ever had. We have four liberos in Loren Hinkle who played some for us last year, Dru Kuck is a returner, Jacque Smith is a returner and newcomer Mackenzie Morris," Fritz said. "What they're doing defensively and their ability to stabilize us a little bit with our ball control has been really ahead of schedule."
At the halfway point of the 2020 season, the Wildcats rank 12th in the nation in team digs, a stat that speaks volumes about the defensive standouts on the Wildcats.
Morris has taken on the libero role for K-State, with Hinkle, Kuck and Smith rotating in every night as defensive specialists.
That group, which also ranks third in the conference in team digs and digs per set, has kept the Wildcats in matches this season.
K-State has already played five matches this season that have gone to five sets, winning matches late and refusing to lose early.
"We've been working a lot on our transitions," Hinkle said. "That's helped a lot. We're getting a lot better at putting plays together, a dig to a set and a set to a kill. Also, those block touches are helping a lot. That takes some speed off the ball and makes it a lot easier to dig."
As the Wildcats look to compete in one of the country's strongest volleyball conferences, the team has placed an emphasis on defense in a pair of consensus top-25 recruiting classes.
Hinkle and Kuck joined the liberos in 2019, with Morris rounding out this year's freshman class. Smith is the veteran among the defensive specialists and is still only a redshirt junior.
It's a talented core with room to grow. That was obvious in a weekend sweep of Oklahoma, with K-State taking care of business despite hitting just .159 in a five-set win on Friday night.
There was Morris diving on the floor with pancake saves to keep the Wildcats in points and Smith coming up with 13 digs as part of the team's defensive specialist rotation.
"They feel like your heartbeat," Fritz said.
In 2019, Kuck and Hinkle became the first freshman teammates in program history to eclipse 300 digs in a season. The duo is on pace to reach that milestone again in 2020, without playing a single set at libero.
That's where Morris has become not just one of the best freshmen on the Wildcats, but one of the top freshman volleyball players in the whole country.
Morris ranks third in the nation in total digs by a freshman – providing the Wildcats with a consistence presence despite jumping right into Big 12 play to begin her K-State career.
"We just keep talking about how we need to be better for longer periods of time because that will give us the edge we need," Morris said. "Finding that energy when we're all feeling dead and tired, just get out of it and show out."
In a normal year, when the Wildcats might play around 30 matches, Morris would have a legitimate shot to break the school record for digs by a freshman.
Even in a COVID-19 adjusted season, Morris is averaging 3.8 digs per set.
That would put her not just among the best freshmen in school history but give Morris one of the top-10 single-season dig averages in the history of K-State Volleyball.
For her head coach, that consistency is all you can ask for, from both a freshman phenom and a talented group of liberos who have helped the Wildcats defy expectations in 2020.
It's not about being great for one moment. It's about being able to be good over the course of time," Fritz said. "I think our liberos are doing a tremendous job – Kuck, Hinkle, Morris and Smith - of keeping us in rallies and I think the efforts that they're making is giving us a lot of chances. I think there's a lot of positive things we can grow from."
"It's literally the vibes."
Jacque Smith has spent four years in Manhattan, long enough to grind through a Big 12 season and to know when something about a team, even when it's hard to define, is just different.
"I know that sounds so weird, but we really have a good energy. Everyone is just really close-knit, and we trust each other on and off the court to make good decisions," Smith said. "It's just good vibes all day."
K-State is at the halfway point of a season when they were picked to finish next to last in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll. It was the team's lowest preseason projection in almost a decade.
And yet here are the Wildcats, a third-place team in the Big 12 and ranked No. 13 in the entire country.
We just getting started.#KStateVB x Built Different pic.twitter.com/UomzcWtQaK
— K-State Volleyball (@KStateVB) October 25, 2020
It's the kind of turnaround that would have been remarkable in any season.
That K-State has done it following a summer scattered across the country and without a non-conference schedule is almost beyond belief. Back in September, Suzie Fritz said this team had the talent to make the NCAA Tournament.
But K-State's head coach didn't just make a prediction. She called her shot.
"I think our libero core is as far along as we've ever had. We have four liberos in Loren Hinkle who played some for us last year, Dru Kuck is a returner, Jacque Smith is a returner and newcomer Mackenzie Morris," Fritz said. "What they're doing defensively and their ability to stabilize us a little bit with our ball control has been really ahead of schedule."
At the halfway point of the 2020 season, the Wildcats rank 12th in the nation in team digs, a stat that speaks volumes about the defensive standouts on the Wildcats.
Morris has taken on the libero role for K-State, with Hinkle, Kuck and Smith rotating in every night as defensive specialists.
That group, which also ranks third in the conference in team digs and digs per set, has kept the Wildcats in matches this season.
K-State has already played five matches this season that have gone to five sets, winning matches late and refusing to lose early.
"We've been working a lot on our transitions," Hinkle said. "That's helped a lot. We're getting a lot better at putting plays together, a dig to a set and a set to a kill. Also, those block touches are helping a lot. That takes some speed off the ball and makes it a lot easier to dig."
As the Wildcats look to compete in one of the country's strongest volleyball conferences, the team has placed an emphasis on defense in a pair of consensus top-25 recruiting classes.
Hinkle and Kuck joined the liberos in 2019, with Morris rounding out this year's freshman class. Smith is the veteran among the defensive specialists and is still only a redshirt junior.
It's a talented core with room to grow. That was obvious in a weekend sweep of Oklahoma, with K-State taking care of business despite hitting just .159 in a five-set win on Friday night.
There was Morris diving on the floor with pancake saves to keep the Wildcats in points and Smith coming up with 13 digs as part of the team's defensive specialist rotation.
"They feel like your heartbeat," Fritz said.
In 2019, Kuck and Hinkle became the first freshman teammates in program history to eclipse 300 digs in a season. The duo is on pace to reach that milestone again in 2020, without playing a single set at libero.
That's where Morris has become not just one of the best freshmen on the Wildcats, but one of the top freshman volleyball players in the whole country.
Morris ranks third in the nation in total digs by a freshman – providing the Wildcats with a consistence presence despite jumping right into Big 12 play to begin her K-State career.
"We just keep talking about how we need to be better for longer periods of time because that will give us the edge we need," Morris said. "Finding that energy when we're all feeling dead and tired, just get out of it and show out."
1️⃣7️⃣ kills from Aliyah Carter and 4️⃣ service aces from Mackenzie Morris fuels the 'Cats to 3-0 win over Oklahoma. #KStateVB x Match Highlights ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/VKuieUoxlJ
— K-State Volleyball (@KStateVB) October 23, 2020
In a normal year, when the Wildcats might play around 30 matches, Morris would have a legitimate shot to break the school record for digs by a freshman.
Even in a COVID-19 adjusted season, Morris is averaging 3.8 digs per set.
That would put her not just among the best freshmen in school history but give Morris one of the top-10 single-season dig averages in the history of K-State Volleyball.
For her head coach, that consistency is all you can ask for, from both a freshman phenom and a talented group of liberos who have helped the Wildcats defy expectations in 2020.
It's not about being great for one moment. It's about being able to be good over the course of time," Fritz said. "I think our liberos are doing a tremendous job – Kuck, Hinkle, Morris and Smith - of keeping us in rallies and I think the efforts that they're making is giving us a lot of chances. I think there's a lot of positive things we can grow from."
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