Carter Enjoys the View from Above the Net
May 20, 2022 | Volleyball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Aliyah Carter, the first Kansas State player in the history of Kansas State women's volleyball to earn unanimous first team all-conference honors as both a freshman and a sophomore, tries to describe her craft.
The 5-foot-9 Carter ranked second in the Big 12 in averaging 4.06 kills per set and third with 4.47 points per set during the 2021 season.
Quite frankly, she is deadly. And she has a 35-inch vertical jump. And she'll be a junior with unlimited potential next season.
"I've always had a killer instinct," she begins. "There's just something about being in the air. Right when I'm in the air and see an open spot or can create something — I think it's always come naturally to me. I don't know if it's because I jump high enough to see the court and am able to hit it down.
"It's just crazy once you're up in the air and can see people on the court and figure out different spots. It's just crazy when you're up in the air."
Carter, the first K-State player to be named All-Big 12 first team in consecutive seasons since Katie Brand in 2014-16, figures to be in rarified air again in the 2022 season.
Playing six rotations last season, Carter had 431 kills and set career highs with 269 digs, 19 aces and 48 blocks. She had a team-high 13 double-doubles and had a career-high 20 digs against Fresno State.
Her average of 4.06 kills per set ranks first in K-State history during the rally-scoring era dating to 2001 and is second all-time behind only Liz Wegner's 4.48 kills per set from 1998-2001.
"I just want to get as many kills for my team as I can this next season," she says. "I don't really care about Player of the Year or anything like that. I just know if I can get as many kills as I possibly can, dig up balls in the back row, and get the ball off the ground that our team is going to be great."
Greatness came early for Carter, a native of Dubuque, Iowa. In the eighth grade, she received her first volleyball scholarship offer from Iowa. She dreamed of playing soccer for Team USA. She was a two-sport star, capturing state titles in the long jump and placing in the high jump. She was one of three finalists for the 2019 All-Female Iowa Athlete of the Year Award by the Des Moines Register, honoring the top multi-sport female athletes in the state.
She led Wahlert Catholic to two straight 4A state titles and was voted 2019 MVC Valley Division Player of the Year.
"I've always been in love with sports," she says. "I decided volleyball was probably the best fit for me. When I received my first scholarship offer from the University of Iowa, I was like, 'Oh yeah, this is it. I can really do this thing for a long time.'"
Her path to K-State came with an interesting twist.
"K-State was one of my very last visits," she says. "I thought I had my mind made up and was like, 'I know exactly where I'm going.' It was between Long Beach State, Pepperdine, and some schools closer to home. I know I didn't want to stay in Iowa, but I wanted to be closer to home. K-State reached out to me. I thought there was no reason I couldn't visit.
"As soon as I got to campus, I thought, 'I love it here.'"
She phoned K-State head coach Suzie Fritz on her way home to share the good news.
"I called Suzie and said, 'Hey, I'm coming,'" Carter says. "She was so excited. I really wasn't expecting to end up at K-State, but once I stepped foot on campus, I was like, 'Oh yeah, for sure.'"
Her decision has worked out pretty well.
This past season, she helped K-State to the NCAA Tournament — a true nail-biter.
"It was crazy being the last team into the tournament," she says. "We all watched the selection show together and were like, 'What's going to happen?' When our name came across the TV screen, everybody was silent for about five minutes. Unfortunately, we lost in the first round, but experiencing the NCAA Tournament was amazing just to be better for this upcoming season."
Just as building a winning team remains an ongoing process, construction, too, remains ongoing on K-State volleyball's new home, the Morgan Family Arena, which will be open in time for the 2023 season.
The new volleyball facility has already created quite a buzz.
"I'm so excited for it," Carter says. "I can't wait to play in there. It's been a long time coming. I know that was a part of my recruiting talk with Suzie. She said, 'We're trying to get a new facility and we'd love for you to play in it.'"
Carter, behind her incredible penchant for kills, would love nothing more than to hang a banner inside of it.
"When you talk about Big 12 volleyball, everybody thinks of Texas or Baylor or big teams that make it to the tournament every year. When us and Kansas both made the tournament, it put the state of Kansas on the map. They know we're not here to play around. My first season we finished third in the conference behind Texas and Baylor.
"If next season we knock off at least one of them, we're really going to be up there in the standings. I think people will talk about us a lot."
Next season, Carter might have everyone in the nation talking.
Aliyah Carter, the first Kansas State player in the history of Kansas State women's volleyball to earn unanimous first team all-conference honors as both a freshman and a sophomore, tries to describe her craft.
The 5-foot-9 Carter ranked second in the Big 12 in averaging 4.06 kills per set and third with 4.47 points per set during the 2021 season.
Quite frankly, she is deadly. And she has a 35-inch vertical jump. And she'll be a junior with unlimited potential next season.
"I've always had a killer instinct," she begins. "There's just something about being in the air. Right when I'm in the air and see an open spot or can create something — I think it's always come naturally to me. I don't know if it's because I jump high enough to see the court and am able to hit it down.
"It's just crazy once you're up in the air and can see people on the court and figure out different spots. It's just crazy when you're up in the air."
Carter, the first K-State player to be named All-Big 12 first team in consecutive seasons since Katie Brand in 2014-16, figures to be in rarified air again in the 2022 season.
Playing six rotations last season, Carter had 431 kills and set career highs with 269 digs, 19 aces and 48 blocks. She had a team-high 13 double-doubles and had a career-high 20 digs against Fresno State.
Her average of 4.06 kills per set ranks first in K-State history during the rally-scoring era dating to 2001 and is second all-time behind only Liz Wegner's 4.48 kills per set from 1998-2001.
"I just want to get as many kills for my team as I can this next season," she says. "I don't really care about Player of the Year or anything like that. I just know if I can get as many kills as I possibly can, dig up balls in the back row, and get the ball off the ground that our team is going to be great."
Greatness came early for Carter, a native of Dubuque, Iowa. In the eighth grade, she received her first volleyball scholarship offer from Iowa. She dreamed of playing soccer for Team USA. She was a two-sport star, capturing state titles in the long jump and placing in the high jump. She was one of three finalists for the 2019 All-Female Iowa Athlete of the Year Award by the Des Moines Register, honoring the top multi-sport female athletes in the state.
She led Wahlert Catholic to two straight 4A state titles and was voted 2019 MVC Valley Division Player of the Year.
"I've always been in love with sports," she says. "I decided volleyball was probably the best fit for me. When I received my first scholarship offer from the University of Iowa, I was like, 'Oh yeah, this is it. I can really do this thing for a long time.'"
Her path to K-State came with an interesting twist.
"K-State was one of my very last visits," she says. "I thought I had my mind made up and was like, 'I know exactly where I'm going.' It was between Long Beach State, Pepperdine, and some schools closer to home. I know I didn't want to stay in Iowa, but I wanted to be closer to home. K-State reached out to me. I thought there was no reason I couldn't visit.
"As soon as I got to campus, I thought, 'I love it here.'"
She phoned K-State head coach Suzie Fritz on her way home to share the good news.
"I called Suzie and said, 'Hey, I'm coming,'" Carter says. "She was so excited. I really wasn't expecting to end up at K-State, but once I stepped foot on campus, I was like, 'Oh yeah, for sure.'"
Her decision has worked out pretty well.
This past season, she helped K-State to the NCAA Tournament — a true nail-biter.
"It was crazy being the last team into the tournament," she says. "We all watched the selection show together and were like, 'What's going to happen?' When our name came across the TV screen, everybody was silent for about five minutes. Unfortunately, we lost in the first round, but experiencing the NCAA Tournament was amazing just to be better for this upcoming season."
Just as building a winning team remains an ongoing process, construction, too, remains ongoing on K-State volleyball's new home, the Morgan Family Arena, which will be open in time for the 2023 season.
The new volleyball facility has already created quite a buzz.
"I'm so excited for it," Carter says. "I can't wait to play in there. It's been a long time coming. I know that was a part of my recruiting talk with Suzie. She said, 'We're trying to get a new facility and we'd love for you to play in it.'"
Carter, behind her incredible penchant for kills, would love nothing more than to hang a banner inside of it.
"When you talk about Big 12 volleyball, everybody thinks of Texas or Baylor or big teams that make it to the tournament every year. When us and Kansas both made the tournament, it put the state of Kansas on the map. They know we're not here to play around. My first season we finished third in the conference behind Texas and Baylor.
"If next season we knock off at least one of them, we're really going to be up there in the standings. I think people will talk about us a lot."
Next season, Carter might have everyone in the nation talking.
Players Mentioned
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