K-State Returns Home to Host Mountaineers

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Following its first bye week of the season, K-State returns home to host West Virginia in a two-game series Thursday and Friday at Bramlage Coliseum.

K-State (10-5, 1-3 Big 12) is coming off a road series split at Oklahoma, as the Wildcats claimed a four-set victory in their last outing on October 2. Holly Bonde recorded a career-high 20 kills in the win while Aliyah Carter turned in her eighth double-double of the season (15 kills, 17 digs).

West Virginia (12-3, 2-2 Big 12) was also off last week after being swept in two matches by Texas in its last time on the court. The Mountaineers began the season on a 10-match winning streak and lead the Big 12 in opponent hitting percentage.
Last season, the Cats picked up a pair of five-set victories in Morgantown. K-State leads the all-time series with WVU, 11-7.

Fans can purchase $3 tickets for Thursday's contest with their football ticket vs. WVU as part of the Wildcat Weekend promotion. Also available is the Wildcat 4-Pack, featuring four general admission tickets and four $10 food vouchers for only $38.

Tickets can be purchased for just $1 in advance for Friday's match as part of Dollar Night. Select concessions will also be available for only $1. Tickets can be purchased online at K-StateSports.com/Tickets or by phone at (800) 221-CATS.

Thursday's match will air on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app with radio coverage available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM. Friday's tilt match is set to start at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU. Both matches will have live, streaming audio available at K-StateSports.com/Watch.

MATCH #16
K-STATE (10-5, 1-3 BIG 12) vs. WEST VIRGINIA (12-3, 2-2 BIG 12)
Thursday, October 14 // 6:30 p.m. // Bramlage Coliseum // Manhattan, Kan.
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // Brian Smoller, Liz Wegner-Busch
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Rob Voelker
Listen: K-StateSports.com/watch
Live Stats | Tickets

MATCH #17
K-STATE (10-5, 1-3 BIG 12) vs. WEST VIRGINIA (12-3, 2-2 BIG 12)
Friday, October 15 // 7 p.m. // Bramlage Coliseum // Manhattan, Kan.
Watch: ESPNU // Paul Sunderland, Missy Whittemore
Listen: K-StateSports.com/watch // Rob Voelker
Live Stats | Tickets

K-STATE AT A GLANCE

Following its first bye week of the season, K-State returns home to host the West Virginia Mountaineers for a two-match series at Bramlage Coliseum.
The Wildcats split two matches at Oklahoma in their last time out on the court, claiming a four-set victory on Saturday, October 2.
In the win, Holly Bonde tallied a career-high 20 kills while hitting .372 as she helped the Cats recover from a four-set setback the day before.
Aliyah Carter, who had a match-best 16 kills Friday, turned in her eighth double-double of the year with 15 kills and 17 digs in Saturday's win.
Setter Teana Adams-Kaonohi dished out 49 assists in each contest, as she continues to lead the Big 12 in assists per set at 10.86.
Sydney Bolding produced a season-high six blocks last Saturday, as K-State reached 10 team blocks for the eighth time this season.
Kadye Fernholz set a career high with four aces during the Wildcats' four-set win, which was K-State's first in Norman since the 2017 season.
The Cats' victory snapped a season-long three-match losing streak while also marking their first Big 12 win of the season.

SCOUTING WEST VIRGINIA

West Virginia (12-3, 2-2 Big 12) is also coming off a bye weekend and last played at top-ranked Texas Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.
The Mountaineers have dropped three of their last five matches after beginning the season on a 10-match winning streak.
During its season-opening winning streak, WVU dropped just three sets and picked up seven straight-set victories.
Briana Lynch, a fifth-year senior, leads the Mountaineers with 3.22 kills per set while also hitting .396.
Lynch also leads the team with 1.18 blocks a set while Madison Page is second at 1.17 per set.
Adrian Ell, a fifth-year senior transfer from Florida State, averages 3.08 kills a set and hits .224.
WVU has six players registering over 2.00 kills per set.
The Mountaineer defense owns the Big 12's best opponent hitting percentage, as they allow teams to hit just .158 on the season.
West Virginia ranks second in the conference in kills per set, digs per set and aces per set.

INSIDE THE SERIES

K-State leads the all-time series with West Virginia, 11-7, which began when WVU joined the Big 12 Conference in 2012.
The Wildcats swept the season series a year ago, picking up a pair of five-set victories at WVU Coliseum.
The teams have split the last 10 meetings in the series.
The Cats have swept the season series with the Mountaineers four times in nine seasons.
K-State is 5-3 at home against the Mountaineers but dropped the last matchup in Manhattan, a four-set decision in 2019.
Head coach Suzie Fritz is 11-7 against West Virginia in her 21-year career and 5-3 at home.

IT'S A PARTY

K-State has reached double-digit blocks in eight of 15 matches to begin the year, including 10 blocks in its last match at Oklahoma on Saturday, Oct. 2.
Additionally, the Cats have out-blocked their opponents in 12 of 15 matches this season.
K-State had finished the first 11 matches of the season with more blocks than its opponent until the Baylor series Sept. 25-26.
Against Omaha on Sept. 18, Kayley Hollywood turned in a career-high 10 blocks to become the first Wildcat this season to reach double figures.
Kadye Fernholz has a team-high 54 total blocks and 1.05 blocks per set.
Fernholz has registered at least three blocks in 10 of 13 matches in which she has appeared, with a career-high eight coming against Loyola.
A Wildcat has reached at least five blocks in a match 19 times this season, led by Fernholz's six five-block outings.
Four players have 40 or more blocks and average better than 0.50 a set on the season (Adams-Kaonohi, Fernholz, Hollywood, Warner).

BONDE, HOLLY BONDE

Redshirt junior Holly Bonde pumped out a career-high 20 kills in her last outing at Oklahoma on Oct. 2.
Her 20-kill outing broke her previous career-best match of 18, which she set earlier this season against Loyola Chicago on Sept. 10.
Entering this season, her career-high kill total was 13, set against Iowa State in the 2020 season opener on Sept. 25.
Her five matches with 10 or more kills equals her career-best output in a single season, matching her five from last season.
This season, Bonde has played both pin hitter positions and his hitting a career-high .225.

RECORD PACE

In just 32 career matches, Aliyah Carter notched career kill No. 500 and equaled the program record as the fastest Wildcat to 500 career kills in the rally-scoring era (since 2001).
Carter matched the record previously held by Natalya Korbkova, a junior transfer who played during the 2007-08 seasons.
Carter also tied Korbkova as the fastest Wildcats to 400 career kills, needing just 26 matches to reach the plateau.
Carter is the fastest to reach the milestone beginning as a true freshman, as she was seven matches faster Kylee Zumach's 39 contests.
Carter's nine matches with at least 20 kills are tied for fourth-most during the rally-scoring era, as she is more than halfway to Kaitlynn Pelger's record of 15 20-kill performances.

KILLER CARTER

Aliyah Carter has picked up right where she left off after her 2020 freshman-of-the-year campaign.
She is one of two players in the Big 12 averaging over 4.00 kills a set at 4.10, trailing only Baylor's Yossiana Pressley (4.39).
Three times Carter has eclipsed the 20-kill plateau, with a season-high 22 coming against Weber State on Sept. 17.
Carter has hit over .320 in each of her 20-kill outings, including a .422 mark against WSU.
She now has nine career matches with 20 or more kills, tying her for fourth in program history during the rally-scoring era.
Entering the season with one double-double, Carter has produced eight double-doubles in 15 matches to begin the season - with a career-high 20 digs coming against Fresno State (Sept. 11).

MACK ATTACK

Mackenzie Morris, who has played every set in her career as the Wildcat libero, is sixth in the Big 12 with her 3.90 digs per set and tied for ninth at 0.31 aces a set.
Morris picked up career dig No. 500 against Omaha on September 18, the same match Carter logged her 500th kill.
Her career average of 3.97 digs per set is only behind all-time leader Angie Lastra's 4.37 (rally scoring).
Morris served up four aces in back-to-back contests against UCSB and San Diego State, equaling her career high.
At Oklahoma on Oct. 1, Morris carded 21 digs for her third 20-dig performance of the year and ninth career outing with 20 or more digs.
Her nine 20-dig performances are tied for fourth-most in program history during the rally-scoring era.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

The Wildcats are 6-1 this season when winning the first set and 5-0 when leading 2-0.
Head coach Suzie Fritz is 297-59 (.837) in her career when leading a match 1-0.
K-State has hit over .300 in a match twice this season, with both being five-set contests.
It marks the first time in program history (rally-scoring era) that the Cats have two five-set matches with better than a .300 efficiency in the same season.
The last time K-State hit .300 or better in a five-set match was the 2017 season.
The Cats' .321 clip in their five-set win at UCSB marked the second-best percentage in five sets in the rally-scoring era and highest since 2008.
In her career, Fritz is 135-3 when her team hits north of .300 while she is 71-0 when holding opponents under .100.

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Players Mentioned

Teana Adams-Kaonohi

Sydney Bolding

Holly Bonde

Aliyah Carter

Kadye Fernholz

Kayley Hollywood

Mackenzie Morris

Kansas State University Athletics