SE: Bonde Brings Straightforward Approach to K-State Volleyball

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Holly Bonde has some southside swag to her. The 6-foot-2 outside and opposite hitter from the Chicago metropolitan area brings an intentional and at times intense personality to Kansas State volleyball. They are traits that she attributes to growing up in a strong family, and characteristics that she has further enhanced through her love for the game and her teammates.

"I'm a very straightforward person," Bonde says. "That's how I was raised. That's my family. We're going to tell you how it is. In sports, that's important. There doesn't need to be much mushy stuff in sports. You say what you mean and do what you have to do. That's my philosophy.

"When people first meet me, it takes them a little while to get used to me. I can come off aggressive and strong, but I make important individual connections, so people are comfortable around me. I take pride in that."

Bonde's no-nonsense approach paid off handsomely the last time the Wildcats were on the court, and her ability to connect with the ball resulted in the best match of her career.

Behind a career-high 20 kills at a .372 efficiency, Bonde led K-State to a 3-1 victory at Oklahoma on October 2. Bonde, who committed just four errors on 43 swings and added four blocks, helped the Wildcats rebound from a 19-25 loss in the first set to take over in the next three at 25-22, 25-19 and 25-16. The win gave the Wildcats, 10-5 overall and 1-3 in the Big 12 Conference, a series split against the Sooners, 7-8 and 1-3.

Bonde's performance arrived after she noticed a few tendencies by the Sooners during a 3-1 loss on Friday.

"I just took everything I saw from Friday night and everything that we needed to do as a team to be successful and took that into Saturday," says Bonde, who had nine kills on a .088 percentage with one block and one dig in Friday's match. "I went in confident and gave it everything I had. Oklahoma is a great defensive team, so I knew I had to mix up my shots and hits to create a higher kill percentage for the team.

"I was able to hit with a lot of range and hit a lot of different areas on the court."

That's precisely what K-State head volleyball coach Suzie Fritz and her coaching staff spotted in Bonde a few years ago when the all-state selection out of Minooka Community (Ill.) High School played for the Joliet-based Uno Volleyball Club, which produced 2016 Olympic Bronze Medalist opposite hitter Kelly Murphy.

"Holly was an outside hitter who seemed to be able to do a lot," Fritz says. "She could hit at different tempos, hit different gaps, and hit on the left side or the right, and she played for a very successful, high-level team. We really liked her versatility."

And now?

"Holly wears a lot of hats," Fritz says. "Her leadership has really evolved. Her confidence has really grown as a leader. She's one of our most consistent players in how she shows up to work every day."

It's been a gradual, roll-up-your-sleeves, lunch-pail process toward attacking the ball. As a redshirt freshman, Bonde recorded 120 kills (1.62 per set), 65 digs (0.88 per set) and a hitting percentage of .174. Last season, she had 143 kills (1.68 per set), 55 digs (0.65 per set) and a .177 hitting percentage.

Currently, she has 120 kills (2.79 per set), 18 digs (0.42 per set) and a .225 hitting percentage.

After recording two 10-kill performances and hitting better than .300 four times as a redshirt freshman, and five 10-kill performances and hitting better than .300 six times last season, she has five 10-kill performances and has hit better than .300 three times — with at least 12 matches still remaining in the season.

"My range is what makes me so successful," Bonde says. "I might not always be the heavy hitter, but I'm able to hit on many different places on the court, and I'm able to see where the defense isn't at, and mix it up. That's where I generate my most kills. I play tough."

Which apparently also seeps into her personality.

"She's kind of southside, no-nonsense, and there's not a lot of fluff," Fritz says. "She's going to say what she thinks and mean what she says, and we really like that about her. She's incredibly lovable. She has a hard shell but once you get to know her, she's mushy like an M&M. She has a lot of sides to her and is highly respected by her teammates.

"You know what you're going to get from Holly every day. She's going to come onto the court and give it everything she has."

Bonde will be one to watch as K-State meets West Virginia at 6:30 p.m. Thursday and 7 p.m. Friday at Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcats are 11-7 all-time against the Mountaineers, including 5-3 at home, and they swept the season series in 2020.

Last season, K-State finished third in the Big 12 with a 13-8 overall record, including a 10-6 record in league play, during an abbreviated season due to the pandemic. The pandemic prompted the NCAA to shave its women's volleyball tournament from 64 teams to 48. The Wildcats were on the fringe of being selected as one of the 48 participants but ultimately were left out.

Now the NCAA Tournament is expected to return to its regular format — a fact that isn't lost on the Wildcats.

"That's very motivating knowing that it'll be a regular season and we'll get a fair chance at the end of it," Bonde says. "Honestly, we haven't even talked about that, because our focus in the Big 12 is just winning as many matches as we can. We should be a big contender. We're a very versatile team and have a lot of depth.

"I definitely think we're one of the best teams in the Big 12."

She means what she says.

Kansas State University Athletics

SE: Bonde Brings Straightforward Approach to K-State Volleyball

Players Mentioned

Holly Bonde

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