SE: K-State Volleyball Looking to Meet Objectives Entering Big 12 Play
Sep 22, 2021 | Volleyball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Kansas State volleyball finished the non-conference season at 9-2, and its eight-game winning streak is the program's longest since 2018. In fact, head coach Suzie Fritz believes her squad could easily be undefeated, as the Wildcats head into the Big 12 Conference season. As for momentum? A narrowed focus permeates the team ahead of Saturday's contest against No. 10 Baylor at Bramlage Coliseum.
Fritz's message: "Win the next one."
"I haven't put a lot of thought into things from a momentum perspective," Fritz said. "We've put ourselves into a good place going into conference play. We won all of the matches we were supposed to win, and had opportunities to win all of our matches, so from that perspective we'd consider it a pretty successful segment. We've put ourselves into a good place going into conference play."
K-State was picked to finish third in the preseason Big 12 volleyball poll with 48 points, its highest projection since it was also picked third in 2012. The Wildcats trailed Texas (64 points) and Baylor (57) in the preseason poll. Texas earned eight first-place votes; Baylor one.
Texas currently ranks No. 1 nationally with an 8-0 record. Baylor ranks 10th with a 5-3 mark.
K-State's only defeats in the non-conference were at No. 5 Nebraska (1-3) and against No. 21 Pepperdine (0-3) in the Gaucho Invitational in Santa Barbara, Calif. During its last three matches, K-State has combined to win nine sets and lose just two with wins at Missouri (3-0), against Weber State (3-1) and finally at Omaha (3-1) last Saturday.
"As long as we keep our connection and trust each other it's going to be a really good season and we're going to do really, really good," senior opposite hitter Haley Warner said. "I'm super excited to play with these girls. They're amazing people and players. Communication, patience and trust is everything. As long as we're all on the same page with that aspect, we're going to do really, really good this season, and I'm sticking to it."
Preseason All-Big 12 sophomore outside hitter Aliyah Carter ranks third in the league in kills per set (3.98) and fourth in points per set (4.41) after her 4.11 kills per set and 4.47 points per set shattered the program's freshman records last season. Junior setter Teana Adams-Kaonohi leads the Big 12 in assists per set (10.57), sophomore libero Mackenzie Morris ranks fifth in digs per set (3.86), and junior defensive specialist Loren Hinkle ranks sixth in service aces per set (0.41).
"Teana has done a really nice job," Fritz said. "Setters are likened to quarterbacks — they touch it a lot and have a lot of influence over what happens. She's really competitive and works really hard. She's really developed into a good leader for us. We have a lot of key pieces. Teana, Aliyah and Mackenzie, our libero, are on the floor all of the time. If those three core players can play with consistency and at a high level, then the other pieces can come in and be that stabilizing unit. When they can do that, we can be pretty good."
Seven of 15 players on roster are either seniors or juniors, making this a more matured group from a year ago.
"A lot of our players are a year older and experience matters," Fritz said. "They have a better understanding of the expectations and their job, so there's a natural maturation of the team. They're extremely competitive."
After opening the Big 12 season with two matches against No. 10 Baylor on Saturday and Sunday, the Wildcats travel to face Oklahoma (picked ninth in the Big 12 preseason poll) on Oct. 1 and 2, then return home to meet West Virginia (picked sixth) on Oct. 14 and 15.
"A good league start is always important, but we're not looking too far past Baylor," Fritz said. "Over the course of the last four weeks, we've played 12 matches and have practiced 10 times. The last four weeks have been pretty labor intensive. You learn a lot about your team and don't really have an opportunity to improve those things or attack those areas of needed improvement. Things slow down and ramp up at the same time, meaning we go to just two matches a week and don't have much mid-week, so we can actually get some work done during the week. As a coach, I'm looking forward to a really good week of practice to affect some change in areas where we can become better.
"We're not looking too far past Baylor. The league doesn't afford you to do that. Baylor is a legitimate top-10 team in the nation and has impactful players back. They'll be a significant test for us. We feel like we're ready for it."
Fritz asserted that the team's goals take on a methodical statistical approach toward measuring individual and team improvement.
"When we win, we're meeting objectives," she said. "From a program perspective most of the time we want to be one of the top teams in the Big 12, which puts us in striking distance of being one of the top teams in the country."
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. It was painful for the Wildcats.
K-State's absence in the 2020 NCAA Tournament, due in part to the pandemic, is not lost on Fritz or her squad in 2021.
"This should've been a NCAA Tournament team last year," Fritz said. "They cut the field from 64 to 48, and we were one of the first teams out. With COVID, we were fortunate to play and have a season, but we certainly would've liked to have been in the NCAA Tournament a year ago. We're better this year, so no question we want to do what we need to do in league play.
"If we can do that, we'll have an opportunity and could thrive in the NCAA Tournament."
Kansas State volleyball finished the non-conference season at 9-2, and its eight-game winning streak is the program's longest since 2018. In fact, head coach Suzie Fritz believes her squad could easily be undefeated, as the Wildcats head into the Big 12 Conference season. As for momentum? A narrowed focus permeates the team ahead of Saturday's contest against No. 10 Baylor at Bramlage Coliseum.
Fritz's message: "Win the next one."
"I haven't put a lot of thought into things from a momentum perspective," Fritz said. "We've put ourselves into a good place going into conference play. We won all of the matches we were supposed to win, and had opportunities to win all of our matches, so from that perspective we'd consider it a pretty successful segment. We've put ourselves into a good place going into conference play."
K-State was picked to finish third in the preseason Big 12 volleyball poll with 48 points, its highest projection since it was also picked third in 2012. The Wildcats trailed Texas (64 points) and Baylor (57) in the preseason poll. Texas earned eight first-place votes; Baylor one.
Texas currently ranks No. 1 nationally with an 8-0 record. Baylor ranks 10th with a 5-3 mark.
K-State's only defeats in the non-conference were at No. 5 Nebraska (1-3) and against No. 21 Pepperdine (0-3) in the Gaucho Invitational in Santa Barbara, Calif. During its last three matches, K-State has combined to win nine sets and lose just two with wins at Missouri (3-0), against Weber State (3-1) and finally at Omaha (3-1) last Saturday.
"As long as we keep our connection and trust each other it's going to be a really good season and we're going to do really, really good," senior opposite hitter Haley Warner said. "I'm super excited to play with these girls. They're amazing people and players. Communication, patience and trust is everything. As long as we're all on the same page with that aspect, we're going to do really, really good this season, and I'm sticking to it."
Preseason All-Big 12 sophomore outside hitter Aliyah Carter ranks third in the league in kills per set (3.98) and fourth in points per set (4.41) after her 4.11 kills per set and 4.47 points per set shattered the program's freshman records last season. Junior setter Teana Adams-Kaonohi leads the Big 12 in assists per set (10.57), sophomore libero Mackenzie Morris ranks fifth in digs per set (3.86), and junior defensive specialist Loren Hinkle ranks sixth in service aces per set (0.41).
"Teana has done a really nice job," Fritz said. "Setters are likened to quarterbacks — they touch it a lot and have a lot of influence over what happens. She's really competitive and works really hard. She's really developed into a good leader for us. We have a lot of key pieces. Teana, Aliyah and Mackenzie, our libero, are on the floor all of the time. If those three core players can play with consistency and at a high level, then the other pieces can come in and be that stabilizing unit. When they can do that, we can be pretty good."
Seven of 15 players on roster are either seniors or juniors, making this a more matured group from a year ago.
"A lot of our players are a year older and experience matters," Fritz said. "They have a better understanding of the expectations and their job, so there's a natural maturation of the team. They're extremely competitive."
After opening the Big 12 season with two matches against No. 10 Baylor on Saturday and Sunday, the Wildcats travel to face Oklahoma (picked ninth in the Big 12 preseason poll) on Oct. 1 and 2, then return home to meet West Virginia (picked sixth) on Oct. 14 and 15.
"A good league start is always important, but we're not looking too far past Baylor," Fritz said. "Over the course of the last four weeks, we've played 12 matches and have practiced 10 times. The last four weeks have been pretty labor intensive. You learn a lot about your team and don't really have an opportunity to improve those things or attack those areas of needed improvement. Things slow down and ramp up at the same time, meaning we go to just two matches a week and don't have much mid-week, so we can actually get some work done during the week. As a coach, I'm looking forward to a really good week of practice to affect some change in areas where we can become better.
"We're not looking too far past Baylor. The league doesn't afford you to do that. Baylor is a legitimate top-10 team in the nation and has impactful players back. They'll be a significant test for us. We feel like we're ready for it."
Fritz asserted that the team's goals take on a methodical statistical approach toward measuring individual and team improvement.
"When we win, we're meeting objectives," she said. "From a program perspective most of the time we want to be one of the top teams in the Big 12, which puts us in striking distance of being one of the top teams in the country."
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. It was painful for the Wildcats.
K-State's absence in the 2020 NCAA Tournament, due in part to the pandemic, is not lost on Fritz or her squad in 2021.
"This should've been a NCAA Tournament team last year," Fritz said. "They cut the field from 64 to 48, and we were one of the first teams out. With COVID, we were fortunate to play and have a season, but we certainly would've liked to have been in the NCAA Tournament a year ago. We're better this year, so no question we want to do what we need to do in league play.
"If we can do that, we'll have an opportunity and could thrive in the NCAA Tournament."
Players Mentioned
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