Kansas State University Athletics
SE: Consistent, Ready and Reliable – Jayden Nembhard Shines for K-State Volleyball
Oct 08, 2020 | Volleyball, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
The nerves peaked for Jayden Nembhard on Wednesday, when she stepped onto a chartered flight with her K-State Volleyball teammates and headed to West Virginia.
By the time she was warming up, music blasting through the empty arena, the butterflies in her stomach were mostly gone.
And when Nembhard got the first point of her college career with a block in the first set, she was totally, all-the-way locked in.
"It was like, 'Hey, I'm here.' I think that's what honestly got me into the match," Nembhard said. "Now, you just go out there and play volleyball."
She ended up doing a little more than that.
Nembhard put down 43 kills in a pair of back-and-forth matches against West Virginia, and the Wildcats needed every single one.
In a five-set win over the Mountaineers on Thursday night, Nembhard led K-State with 24 kills. That's more than anyone else in the Big 12 has racked up in a single match this season.
There's no stat in volleyball more glamorous than a kill, but K-State head coach Suzie Fritz saw something even more impressive in Nembhard's game.
"Attacking range," Fritz said. "The most difficult thing about being an outside hitter isn't what you do in the good situations. It's what you do in the bad ones. We use a lot of different terms for it like, 'When to live' and 'When to kill.' I thought that's where Jayden was really impressive."
K-State lost the first set on Friday night and were down 12-4 in the second set before storming all the way back to win another five-set thriller. Once again, it was Nembhard with a match-high 19 kills to power the Wildcats.
On Tuesday, the freshman outside hitter was named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week.
"It felt pretty big, especially only playing in two games this season," Nembhard said. "My teammates supported me and got me ready for the West Virginia game, so just to be able to perform, do well and be rewarded for it with this honor means a lot to me."
There was nobody more excited for Nembhard than her brother – RJ Nembhard is a junior on the men's basketball team at TCU.
He was busy blowing up his sister's phone on Thursday night after the big win over West Virginia.
"My first phone call was to my brother. He's literally my loudest and biggest supporter," Nembhard said. "I got the most messages from him. He's crazy."
Forty-eight hours earlier, Nembhard wasn't even sure if she would play against the Mountaineers.
In K-State's first series of the season, Nembhard made a brief appearance in one set against Iowa State. She didn't record a point.
"On my club team, I've been in that role of not really playing much and trying to make a difference," Nembhard said. "Coming off the bench when you're cold, it can be hard to provide good things for the team."
Right before the Wildcats were preparing to leave for West Virginia, Nembhard and the Wildcats found out that outside hitter Brynn Carlson wouldn't be able to make the trip.
For a team with 12 underclassmen, getting on the plane without their captain was always going to be a challenge. It was also clear that Nembhard's role was about to change.
"The element of time has helped a lot of our young players, Jayden included," Fritz said. "What she did really well was that when her opportunity came, Jayden took advantage of it. She felt consistent, she felt ready and she felt reliable."
On her first college road trip, Nembhard went on walks with her teammates around Morgantown and enjoyed the crisp October weather at a fire pit next to the team hotel.
Once she stepped inside WVU Coliseum on Thursday night, Nembhard was all business.
She didn't panic when the Wildcats fell behind early.
"One play at a time. The more you stress about it the more the gap keeps growing," Nembhard said. "We took it slow, got a good set, a good pass and then a good hit."
After the West Virginia series, Nembhard ranks third in the Big 12 in both kills per set (3.91) and points per set (4.27). On Wednesday, K-State made its debut in the coaches poll at No. 15.
And thanks to Nembhard, two wins and a national ranking aren't the only thing the Wildcats brought home to Manhattan.
"There's no better teacher than experience," Fritz said. "You get better at something the longer you do it, whether it's volleyball, life, golf or whatever. This has given our young players an opportunity to grow up. They've been in some impactful, high-intensity matches."
The nerves peaked for Jayden Nembhard on Wednesday, when she stepped onto a chartered flight with her K-State Volleyball teammates and headed to West Virginia.
By the time she was warming up, music blasting through the empty arena, the butterflies in her stomach were mostly gone.
And when Nembhard got the first point of her college career with a block in the first set, she was totally, all-the-way locked in.
"It was like, 'Hey, I'm here.' I think that's what honestly got me into the match," Nembhard said. "Now, you just go out there and play volleyball."
She ended up doing a little more than that.
Nembhard put down 43 kills in a pair of back-and-forth matches against West Virginia, and the Wildcats needed every single one.
In a five-set win over the Mountaineers on Thursday night, Nembhard led K-State with 24 kills. That's more than anyone else in the Big 12 has racked up in a single match this season.
There's no stat in volleyball more glamorous than a kill, but K-State head coach Suzie Fritz saw something even more impressive in Nembhard's game.
"Attacking range," Fritz said. "The most difficult thing about being an outside hitter isn't what you do in the good situations. It's what you do in the bad ones. We use a lot of different terms for it like, 'When to live' and 'When to kill.' I thought that's where Jayden was really impressive."
K-State lost the first set on Friday night and were down 12-4 in the second set before storming all the way back to win another five-set thriller. Once again, it was Nembhard with a match-high 19 kills to power the Wildcats.
On Tuesday, the freshman outside hitter was named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week.
"It felt pretty big, especially only playing in two games this season," Nembhard said. "My teammates supported me and got me ready for the West Virginia game, so just to be able to perform, do well and be rewarded for it with this honor means a lot to me."
There was nobody more excited for Nembhard than her brother – RJ Nembhard is a junior on the men's basketball team at TCU.
He was busy blowing up his sister's phone on Thursday night after the big win over West Virginia.
"My first phone call was to my brother. He's literally my loudest and biggest supporter," Nembhard said. "I got the most messages from him. He's crazy."
Forty-eight hours earlier, Nembhard wasn't even sure if she would play against the Mountaineers.
In K-State's first series of the season, Nembhard made a brief appearance in one set against Iowa State. She didn't record a point.
"On my club team, I've been in that role of not really playing much and trying to make a difference," Nembhard said. "Coming off the bench when you're cold, it can be hard to provide good things for the team."
Right before the Wildcats were preparing to leave for West Virginia, Nembhard and the Wildcats found out that outside hitter Brynn Carlson wouldn't be able to make the trip.
For a team with 12 underclassmen, getting on the plane without their captain was always going to be a challenge. It was also clear that Nembhard's role was about to change.
"The element of time has helped a lot of our young players, Jayden included," Fritz said. "What she did really well was that when her opportunity came, Jayden took advantage of it. She felt consistent, she felt ready and she felt reliable."
On her first college road trip, Nembhard went on walks with her teammates around Morgantown and enjoyed the crisp October weather at a fire pit next to the team hotel.
Once she stepped inside WVU Coliseum on Thursday night, Nembhard was all business.
She didn't panic when the Wildcats fell behind early.
"One play at a time. The more you stress about it the more the gap keeps growing," Nembhard said. "We took it slow, got a good set, a good pass and then a good hit."
After the West Virginia series, Nembhard ranks third in the Big 12 in both kills per set (3.91) and points per set (4.27). On Wednesday, K-State made its debut in the coaches poll at No. 15.
And thanks to Nembhard, two wins and a national ranking aren't the only thing the Wildcats brought home to Manhattan.
"There's no better teacher than experience," Fritz said. "You get better at something the longer you do it, whether it's volleyball, life, golf or whatever. This has given our young players an opportunity to grow up. They've been in some impactful, high-intensity matches."
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ VolleyballK-State Football | Chris Klieman Press Conference - Sept. 8, 2025
Monday, September 08
K-State Football | Pregame Hype vs Army
Friday, September 05
K-State Men's Basketball | Hang With Tang On The Go (Season 4, Episode 1)
Friday, September 05
K-State Football | Matt Wells Press Conference Sept. 4, 2025
Thursday, September 04