K-State, Saint Louis Clash Sunday at Bramlage Coliseum

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State continues its spring volleyball campaign Sunday, as the Wildcats play host to the Saint Louis Billikens for a 2 p.m. start at Bramlage Coliseum.

K-State (10-7, 10-6 Big 12), who finished third in the Big 12 standings during the traditional fall season, suffered a five-set setback in its spring opener to Texas State last Thursday. Freshman Aliyah Carter broke her own K-State freshman record in the match, as she recorded 27 kills to equal the program's third-highest single-match kill total in the rally-scoring era (since 2001).

Saint Louis (7-6, 6-1 Atlantic 10) sits in first place in the West Division of the Atlantic 10 standings after winning five of its last seven contests. The Cats are 8-0 all-time against the Billikens, last meeting in 2018.

The Wildcats reached a ranking as high as No. 10 during the fall portion of the schedule and look to boost their postseason resume ahead of the 48-team tournament field to be announced April 4. The entire NCAA Volleyball Championship will be held at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska, from April 13-24.

Sunday's match will be free for fans to attend, with a capacity limitation of 15 percent at Bramlage Coliseum.

The match will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Fans can also listen to Rob Voelker on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Free, live audio is available at K-StateSports.com/watch.

MATCH #18
K-STATE (10-7, 10-6 BIG 12) vs. SAINT LOUIS (7-6, 6-1 ATLANTIC 10)
Sunday, March 14 // 2 p.m. // Bramlage Coliseum // Manhattan, Kan.
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // ESPN app
Radio: 1350 KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // 1350kman.com
Listen: K-StateSports.com/watch
Live Stats

K-STATE AT A GLANCE

K-State heads into its second match of the spring the 2021 Sunday against Saint Louis at Bramlage Coliseum.
The Wildcats dropped their spring opener to Sun Belt champion Texas State last Thursday in five sets.
The Cats jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the Bobcats rallied to take the next three frames.
The match marked K-State's ninth five-set match of the season (6-3), one away from tying the program's single-season record.
Aliyah Carter put down a season-high 27 kills, breaking her own K-State freshman record.
Playing six rotations for the first time, Carter also added four service aces.
Kadye Fernholz turned in a career-best 13 kills.
K-State produced 18 more kills than Texas State, 68-50, and hit .207 to TSU' s .177.
In the fall, the Wildcats earned a third-place finish in the Big 12 after going 10-6 during league play.
K-State reached a national ranking as high as No. 10 and was ranked for seven straight weeks to end the fall.
The Cats will play four more non-conference matches in the spring with hopes of qualifying for the 48-team NCAA Tournament.
K-State's 10 conference wins were most since the 2008 season (14) while earning its first top-three league finish since 2008.

SCOUTING SAINT LOUIS

Saint Louis (7-6, 6-1 A-10) has won two straight matches and five of its last seven after defeating Duquesne in a home-and-home Atlantic 10 series.
All 13 of SLU's matches have comes since January 31, as Saint Louis sits in first place in the West Division of the Atlantic 10.
The Billikens are led by Maya Taylor and her 173 kills (3.86 per set) and 194 total points.
Jillian Mattingly has 100 kills on the year (2.13 per set) while hitting .353 with a team-high 27 blocks.
Saint Louis has served up 99 aces in just 47 sets (2.11 per set), paced by Kennedy Cordia's and Emily Henken's 18 aces.

INSIDE THE SERIES

K-State has won all eight meetings in the series with Saint Louis, dating back to 1977.
The Wildcats on the only meeting in Manhattan in straight sets in 1992.
The teams last met on September 1, 2018 in St. Louis, with the Cats winning in four sets.
K-State has dropped just two sets in eight matches against the Billikens.
Head coach Suzie Fritz is 3-0 against Saint Louis in her career.
Fritz is 6-1 against the Atlantic 10 while the Wildcats are 13-3 all-time against teams from the A-10.

POSTSEASON HOPES

With a third-place finish in the competitive Big 12, K-State seeks a big into the 2020-21 NCAA Tournament.
The 48-team field, which is reduced from the traditional 64 teams, will include 30 automatic qualifiers and 18 at-large berths.
The field will be announced April 4 and will be played April 13-24 at Chi Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
K-State eyes its first postseason bid since the 2016, when the Cats hosted the first two rounds and reached the Round of 32.
Fritz has qualified for 12 NCAA Tournaments in her 20-year career (10-12 record).

GOING THE DISTANCE

In 2020-21, K-State has played 72 of a possible 85 sets, going the full five sets in nine of 17 matches.
The Cats are 6-3 in five-set matches after a five-set loss to Texas State last Thursday.
The Wildcats went 4-0 in five-setters on the road and twice came back from 1-2 deficits.
The Cats have won four of their last five five-setters and played the full five sets at least once in all but two of the fall's two-match series.
K-State's six five-set wins are the highest single-season total since the 2014 season (6).
The Wildcats' record for five-set wins in a season is eight (2011).
Since 2017, K-State has played 32 five-set matches, going 15-16.

HOT FINISH

K-State won seven of its last 10 matches to end the fall campaign.
The Wildcats put together a season-best five-match winning streak before dropped two matches at No. 3 Baylor.
The five-match streak was the Cats' longest conference winning streak since 2015 when they won six straight.
Over the last eight matches, K-State is limiting its opponents to a .167 hitting percentage while the offense is hitting .251 with 12.52 kills per set.
Opponents have hit north of .200 just twice over the stretch while the Cats have held opponents under .175 six times.
K-State owns a 413-345 edge in total kills over the last eight matches.
Carter paces the Wildcat offense with 4.07 kills per set over the last eight matches while Kadye Fernholz is hitting a team-best .328.
Morris has served up 15 aces and racked up 126 digs (3.82 per set) over the last eight matches.

DEFENSIVE CATS

As a team, K-State ranks second in the Big 12 in digs per set (14.57) and fourth in opponent hitting percentage (.206)
K-State has held its opponents under a .201 hitting efficiency in eight of the last 11 matches.
The Cats held TCU under .185 in both matchups, including .088 in a straight-set win in the series opener.
K-State limited Texas State to a .177 efficiency Thursday.
The Wildcats held opponents under .230 in 12 of 16 outings during the fall.
During its five-match winning streak (Oct. 30-Nov. 14), opponents hit just .165 vs. K-State.
Abigail Archibong ranks fifth in the league with 1.09 blocks per set while Mackenzie Morris' 3.89 digs per set also ranks fifth.

MACK ATTACK

Freshman Mackenzie Morris has played every set as the K-State libero this season.
Morris, a Dallas, Texas, native, has a team-high 280 total digs (3.89 per set) and ranks fifth in the Big 12 in digs/set.
She has led the Wildcats in digs in all 17 matches, including five matches with at least 20 digs.
She tied her career high with 24 digs against Texas State Thursday.
Morris also leads the team with 24 service aces, including 12 coming in a four-match stretch from Oct. 22-30.
She ended the fall season ranked fourth nationally in aces tallied multiple aces eight times.

KILLER CARTER

True freshman Aliyah Carter continued her breakout freshman campaign, notching 27 kills in the spring opener against Texas State.
Her 27 kills broke her own K-State freshman record, which she set against Texas on October 16 (26).
Carter's 27 kills are tied for third-most in the rally-scoring era in program history.
Carter earned back-to-back Big 12 Rookie of the Week awards (Oct. 37 and Nov. 3) during the fall season.
Carter has led K-State in kills in nine of 16 matches, including four straight from Oct. 22-30.
Carter now has four matches with 20 or more kills.
At 3.86 kills per set, Carter ranks fourth overall in the Big 12 and second among league freshmen.

K-State, Saint Louis Clash Sunday at Bramlage Coliseum

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Players Mentioned

Abigail Archibong

Aliyah Carter

Kadye Fernholz

Mackenzie Morris

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K-State, Saint Louis Clash Sunday at Bramlage Coliseum

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Players Mentioned

Abigail Archibong

Aliyah Carter

Kadye Fernholz

Mackenzie Morris

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