Cats Face #25 Cyclones in Big 12 Road Match

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State finishes off the week and road spurt, as the Wildcats take on No.25-ranked Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.

K-State (12-11, 3-7 Big 12) have dropped the last three matches, including two against top-25 teams (#14 Baylor and #2 Texas) and falling at Kansas in straight-sets Wednesday night.

Seniors shined for the Wildcats as Haley Warner collected nine kills at a .316 pace while Elena Baka grabbed nine kills and nine digs.

Iowa State (17-7, 8-2 Big 12) have hit a hot streak, winning eight straight matches since its defeating shutout in Manhattan on Oct. 2. The run includes an upset five-set win over #1 Texas (Oct. 19) that helped propel the Cyclones into the top-25 ranks.

The Wildcats trail the all-time series with ISU 57-44, going 15-29 at Hilton Coliseum. Head coach Suzie Fritz is 20-23 in her career against Iowa State.

Friday's match will air on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Fans can also listen to Rob Voelker online at K-StateSports.com/watch and the K-State Sports app.

MATCH #24
K-STATE (12-11, 3-7 BIG 12) at IOWA STATE (17-7, 8-2 BIG 12)
Friday, November 4 // 6:30 p.m. // Hilton Coliseum // Lawrence, Kansas
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // ESPN app
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM) // Rob Voelker
Listen: K-StateSports.com/watch // 1350KMAN.com
Live Stats

K-STATE AT A GLANCE

K-State and Iowa State meet for the second time this season and the first time in Ames.
The Wildcats are coming off three consecutive losses, with two at the hands of top-25 teams (#14 Baylor, #2 Texas).
Kansas State dropped in straight-sets at Kansas Wednesday, with the Jayhawks hitting at .394 hitting percentage, the highest of any Wildcat opponent.
K-State hit .183 as a team with 35 kills, the second lowest output of the season.
Baka and Warner each collected nine kills.
Warner's .316 clip is the fourth highest of the season.
Baka and Hinkle combined for 18 digs.
Hinkle tallied 27 assists while upping her career ace count to 103.
Myers donned six kills at a .250 hitting percentage, adding four digs and an ace.
Morris and Ramsey pocketed seven and five digs apiece.
K-State sits fourth in the Big 12 with a 2.51 per set average in blocks.
The Cats lead the conference with 1.69 average aces.
The team's 13.85 digs per set ranks second in the league.
The eight three-set wins tie the most by the Wildcats since they collected eight during the 2018 season.

SCOUTING IOWA STATE

Iowa State (17-7, 8-2) enters the match sitting in third place of the Big 12 standings, holding an eight-match win streak.
The Cyclones have dethroned two top-25 teams this season (#13 Baylor and #1 Texas).
ISU is 9-1 at home overall and 5-0 in Big 12 play, with the only loss coming at the hands of UNI on Sept. 13.
The Cyclones rank third in the Big 12 in digs per set (13.70) and average blocks (2.53 per set).
Iowa State has held opponents to a .192 hitting percentage and 1.95 blocks per set to rank fourth in the league in both categories.
Senior Eleanor Holthaus leads the Cyclones and sits ninth in the conference with 3.10 kills per set.
Setters Jaden Newsome and Morgan Brandt hold 5.97 and 5.91 average sets (ninth and tenth in the conference rankings).
Middle Blockers Alexis Angelbrecht and Kelsey Perry hold the fourth and fifth spots in the Big 12 ranks with 1.21 and 1.20 average blocks.
Sophomore Brooke Stonestreet leads the league with 398 digs (4.52/set) and was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for the last two weeks.

INSIDE THE SERIES

K-State trails the all-time series with Iowa State 57-44, going back to 1976.
The Cats swept the Cyclones in early October, securing the first straight-set victory since 2015.
The teams have split the season series each of the last two years, as K-State snapped a 12-year road skid in Ames a season ago, picking up its first win at Hilton Coliseum since 2007.
The Cyclones have claimed nine of the last 12 meetings overall, including eight straight from 2016-20.
The Wildcats are 15-29 on the road against ISU while head coach Suzie Fritz is 20-23 in her 22-year career vs. Iowa State.

DIG IT

With her 20 digs against Kansas (Sept. 24), K-State junior libero Mackenzie Morris joined the 1,000-digs club.
She became the seventh Wildcat to play her entire career in the rally-scoring era to reach career dig No. 1,000.
Additionally, Morris is the fastest player in program history (rally-scoring era) to reach the milestone, doing so in just 63 matches.
On Oct. 19, Morris set a career-high with 29 digs at Oklahoma.
29 digs are the fourth-highest single-match dig total in the Big 12 this season.
Earlier this year she produced three straight 20-dig outings - the longest such stretch of her career.
Morris has carded at least 17 digs in ten of her last twelve matches.
The junior was held to her lowest output against the Longhorns with six digs (10/12).
Her 22 digs against Iowa State equaled the highest total in a three-set match in the Big 12 this season (Zoe Fleck, Texas).
The Dallas native now owns 18 career matches with at least 20 digs, as she now has sole possession of third place in program history.
At 4.13 digs per set, she is currently one of just two players in the rally-scoring era to average over 4.00 digs per set (Angie Lastra, 4.37).
Morris is one of just five active players in the Big 12 with at least 1,000 career digs (third among active Big 12 athletes).
She ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 4.44 digs per set for the season.

FEELIN ACE-Y

After recording at least five aces in three of the last five matches, K-State has racked up 147 service aces to rank first in the Big 12.
The team's 1.69 average also leads the conference and 53rd nationally.
Sydney Bolding leads K-State with 32 aces, sitting fourth in the conference and fifth with her average (0.38).
Bolding has eight matches with multiple aces and has equaled her career high of four aces three times this season.
Elena Baka is second on the team and fifth in the league with 26 aces.
Six times the Cats have eclipsed the 10-ace mark, including in back-to-back matches at the UCF Challenge with 11 against Syracuse and a season-high 12 vs. North Florida.
The 12 aces were the most in a three-set match since the 2007 season and were tied for fourth-most in the rally-scoring era.
It was the first time K-State produced back-to-back matches with at least 10 aces since 2007.
Last season, K-State finished with 10 or more aces just twice.
Additionally, the six matches with 10 or more aces are the most since a rally-scoring-record seven matches in 2007.

BAKA FLAKA

Senior transfer Elena Baka has had an immediate impact through 22 matches with the Wildcats.
Playing six rotations, Baka leads the team in total kills with 236, eclipsing the 200 mark on Oct. 19 (at Oklahoma).
She pairs this with 26 aces.
The Saint Mary's transfer set a career-high with 19 kills against UCF on the way to her second straight all-tournament team selection.
She beat this last week against Baylor, racking up 20 kills (.298).
Baka has led K-State in kills nine times this season and finished as the team leader in digs three times.
She has a team-leading seven double-doubles on the season, with the latest coming against the Bears (20 kills, 13 digs).
Her 26 aces are fifth-most in the Big 12, as she has served up multiple aces eight times - including in each of K-State's first five contests.

GOING BOLDING

Senior middle blocker Sydney Bolding is off to a fast start for K-State in 2022, averaging 1.87 kills per set with 1.26 blocks per set and 32 aces.
The senior's hitting .312 hitting percentage tops the Wildcats for the season.
Bolding three times has produced four aces this season, including in K-State's conference match against Iowa State and four coming in the first set alone against St. Thomas.
The four aces matched a career-high, as she has seven matches with multiple aces this season (two such matches last season).
Her 32 aces eclipse the most by a Wildcat middle blocker since 2018 (Zsofia Gyimes' 31).
The record for a K-State middle blocker in the rally-scoring era is 37 aces, done by Lauren Goehring (2001) and Kaitlynn Pelger (2013).
She was named to the Rambler Challenge All-Tournament Team, her second all-tournament team selection after also being voted to the K-State Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Bolding turned in a season-high nine blocks versus Baylor (one solo, eight assists).
The Pickens, South Carolina, product has eclipsed double-figure kills six times this season.
Bolding has hit .350 or better 11 times, including a career-best .588 at Rice.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

K-State has won the opening set in 16 of 23 outings to begin the campaign, going 10-6 in those matches.
The Wildcats are 9-1 when hitting at a higher hitting percentage and when producing more kills than their opponents.
Additionally, the Cats are 10-0 when they have limited their opponents to a hitting efficiency under .200.
The Wildcats' 3-0 over Kansas City (Sept. 14) marked the 200th sweep under head coach Suzie Fritz.
Fritz collected her 200th career home win against Missouri on Sept. 7 and is 10 away from her 400th career win at the helm of the Wildcats.

Kansas State University Athletics

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