K-State Meets No. 24 Creighton on Senior Night

MANHATTAN, Kan. – After a sweep of Saint Louis last Sunday, K-State will meet 24^th-ranked Creighton Saturday at 6 p.m. at Bramlage Coliseum on Senior Night.

Following the match with the Bluejays (8-2, 5-1 BIG EAST), the Wildcats (11-7, 10-6 Big 12) will honor a pair of graduating student-athletes in Abigail Archibong and Megan Vernon.

In Sunday's sweep of the Billikens, freshman Aliyah Carter turned in the first double-double of her career with 13 kills and 10 digs, earning her third Big 12 Rookie of the Week honor of the season. Saturdays' match will mark K-State's third in the spring portion of its season.

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.

Saturday's match will be free for fans to attend, with a capacity limitation of 15 percent at Bramlage Coliseum. Fans can also listen free, live audio as Rob Voelker will call the match at K-StateSports.com/watch.

MATCH #19
K-STATE (11-7, 10-6 BIG 12) vs. No. 24 CREIGHTON (8-2, 5-1 BIG EAST)
Saturday, March 20 // 6 p.m. // Bramlage Coliseum // Manhattan, Kan.
Watch: N/A
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 third match of the spring portion of its schedule Saturday, hosting No. 24 Creighton at Bramlage Coliseum.
The Wildcats rebounded from a five-set defeat to Texas State by sweeping Saint Louis Sunday.
The Cats were paced by Aliyah Carter's 13 kills, as Carter recorded the first double-double of her career with 10 digs.
Wednesday, Carter was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors the third time this season.
Jayden Nembhard added a dozen kill, hitting .286, while Kayley Hollywood hit a team-best .364 in her first start of the year at middle blocker.
The Cats limited SLU to a .118 hitting efficiency in its first straight-set win since sweeping TCU on Nov. 13.
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 CREIGHTON

Creighton (8-2, 5-1 BIG EAST) enters Saturday's match on a season-long four-match winning streak, sweeping BIG EAST series with DePaul and Butler.
The Bluejays, ranked 24th in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll, are 3-0 on the road this season.
Jaela Zimmerman is the team leader in kills per set at 3.66, while hitting .266 and averaging 2.68 digs per set.
Keeley Davis is turning in 3.21 kills a set to go with 2.68 digs a set.
As a team, Creighton is allowing its opponents to hit just .133 while averaging 2.64 blocks per set.
Kiara Reinhardt is the Bluejays' leader in aces (11) and second in blocks per set (1.16).
CU is 5-1 in three-set matches and 3-1 in five-setters.

INSIDE THE SERIES

K-State leads the all-time series with Creighton, 7-4, going back to 1975.
The Wildcats and Bluejays last met during the 2016 season, as the Cats won in four sets at Ahearn Field House.
K-State is 6-1 at home against Creighton, winning the last six matchups in Manhattan.
Head coach Suzie Fritz is 4-1 against the Bluejays in her 20-year career.
Fritz is 5-2 vs. teams from the BIG EAST while K-State is 12-6 vs. current BIG EAST teams.

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).

VS. RANKED OPPONENTS

Creighton marks the third ranked opponent K-State has faced this season, as the Wildcats dropped four total matches to No. 1 Texas and No. 3 Baylor during the fall campaign.
In 2019, K-State went 0-4 vs. ranked teams - all ranked in the nation's top five.
The last eight ranked opponents the Cats have faced have been in the nation's top five (0-8).
K-State has lost its last nine matches vs. ranked teams, last defeating No. 24 Baylor in 2018.
The Wildcats' last home victory over a top-25 team was a four-set win over No. 22 Kansas on Oct. 17, 2018.
Since 2014, K-State is 3-32 (.086) against teams ranked in the AVCA Top 25.

GOING THE DISTANCE

In 2020-21, K-State has played 75 of a possible 90 sets, going the full five sets in nine of 18 matches.
The Cats are 6-3 in five-set matches after a five-set loss to Texas State on March 4.
The Wildcats are 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.

KILLER CARTER

True freshman Aliyah Carter continues her breakout freshman campaign, notching 27 kills in the spring opener against Texas State on March 4.
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 and picked up her third after her first career double-double against Saint Louis.
Carter has led K-State in kills in 11 of 18 matches, including four straight from Oct. 22-30.
Carter now has four matches with 20 or more kills.
At 3.88 kills per set, Carter ranks fourth overall in the Big 12 and second among league freshmen.

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Players Mentioned

Abigail Archibong

Aliyah Carter

Kayley Hollywood

Jayden Nembhard

Megan Vernon

Kansas State University Athletics