Cats, #25 Cyclones Meet at Morgan Family Arena Wednesday

Wednesday, October 11

Manhattan, Kan.

6:30 p.m.

Kansas State University

Iowa State

Buy Tickets

Cats, #25 Cyclones Meet at Morgan Family Arena Wednesday

Oct 10, 2023 | Volleyball

Match Notes ISU Match Notes Watch Live Live Stats

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State returns to Morgan Family Arena for a midweek matchup, as the Wildcats face No. 25 Iowa State with first serve scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The Wildcats (9-6, 3-3 Big 12) recorded their first victory over a ranked opponent in the Mansfield era in week seven action after taking down Baylor in five-sets.

Two Wildcats reached new milestones in the Cats last outing against the Bears as Sydney Bolding reached her 300^th career block and Mackenzie Morris her 1,500^th dig. Morris now ranks fifth overall and fourth in the rally-scoring era with 1,515 digs.

No. 25 Iowa State (13-3, 4-1 Big 12) is coming of a straight-set home victory over Texas Tech, 25-21, 25-23, 25-17. The Cyclones lead the all-time series 59-43, while K-State is 24-22 when playing at home.

At 3-3 in conference action, K-State ties sixth in the Big 12 standings alongside No. 16 KU (12-4, 3-3 Big 12).

The match can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with the broadcast team of Brian Smoller and former Wildcat two-time All-American Liz Wegner-Busch are back to call the action.

Single-match tickets can be purchased at the K-State Athletics ticket office at 1-800-221-CATS and www.kstatesports.com/tickets. Tickets start at just $8 when purchased in advance.

How to follow the Wildcats: Stay up to date on K-State volleyball online at www.kstatesports.com and on the team's social media channels on X (formally Twitter) and Instagram.

K-STATE AT A GLANCE

Kansas State returns to Morgan Family Arena for a midweek matchup as the Wildcats face No. 25 Iowa State with first serve scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The Wildcats (9-6, 3-3 Big 12) recorded their first victory over a ranked opponent in the Mansfield era in week seven action after taking down Baylor in five-sets.
Two Wildcats reached new milestones in the Cats last outing against the Bears as Sydney Bolding reached her 300^th career block and Mackenzie Morris her 1,500^th dig. Morris now ranks fifth overall and fourth in the rally-scoring era with 1,515 digs.
No. 25 Iowa State (13-3, 4-1 Big 12) is coming of a straight-set home victory over Texas Tech, 25-21, 25-23, 25-17.
The Cyclones lead the all-time series 59-43, while K-State is 24-22 when playing at home.
At 3-3 in conference action, K-State ties sixth in the Big 12 standings alongside No. 16 KU (12-4, 3-3 Big 12).
K-State is in its 50^th season of Wildcat Volleyball, posting an overall 902-715-12 record.

SCOUTING #25 IOWA STATE

Iowa State (13-3, 4-1 Big 12) comes to Manhattan ranked 25^th overall in the latest AVCA/GameChanger Top 25 poll
Brooke Stonestreet (Defensive) and Nayeli Gonzalez (Rookie) earned Big 12 volleyball weekly awards for the seventh week of the season.
Christy Johnson-Lynch is in her 19^th season at the helm of the Cyclones volleyball program, guiding the team to an overall 363-194 (.652) record.
Johnson-Lynch is a two-time AVCA Central Region Coach of the Year and was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2009
Redshirt-sophomore Maya Duckworth was named to the All-Big 12 Preseason Team as the Cyclones were picked seventh in the team polls
In 2022, Duckworth became the first ISU freshman to be named an AVCA All-Region First Team selection and totaled 311 kills at 2.70 per set.
The 2023 Cyclone team features 12 returners and three newcomers
Cyclones are hitting .268 while holding oppoentns to a .180 hitting efficiency – good for fifth in the league
Gonzalez leads the offense, averaging 4.20 points per set and 3.47 kills per set while hitting .273.
At 10.07 assists per set, Morgan Brandt paces the 5-1 offense and has served up a team-high 20 aces (0.36 per set)
Stonestreet leads the league in total digs (266) and digs per set (4.67)
Jordan Hopp and Pam McCune combine for 110.0 of the Cyclones 136.0 total blocks with Hopp leading with 0.96 blocks per set.
Cyclones put up a 20-win season in 2022, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the 11^th time in school history.

INSIDE THE SERIES

ISU leads the all-time series, 59-43, while the Cats hold a current three-match win streak.
K-State is 24-22 when playing at home against the Cyclones.
The Cats are 4-6 in the last 10 meetings with all four victories coming in the past three seasons.
K-State's longest winning streak against the Cyclones was 20 between 1996-2005.

THE WEEKEND REVIEW

The Wildcats earned the first victory over a ranked opponent in the Mansfield era, defeating No. 18 Baylor in five
Two Wildcats reached new milestones as Sydney Bolding reached her 300^th career block and Mackenzie Morris her 1,500^th dig.
Morris now ranks fifth overall and fourth in the rally-scoring era with 1,515 digs
K-State and Baylor split the season series, with the Bears taking the four-set finale.
Hinkle (23 assists, 12 digs) and Carter (19 kills, 20 digs) each tallied a double-double Thursday
Carter turned in a season-best 21 kills, becoming the first Cat to reach 20 this season
The senior outside hitter totaled 40 kills (4.44 per set) with 28 digs
Bolding served up a weekend-high three aces with 12 kills, 12 blocks and .400 hitting effeciency
Szulczewski dished out 29 assists followed by Hinkle with 46
Bolding turned in her 11^th match with five or more blocks
The Wildcats move to 3-3 in conference action
K-State moves to 6-2 when playing away and 3-2 in true road games
In seven straight matches, Carter has reached double figures, marking the 11^th time overall this season. Additionally, she generated her 20^th career double-double.

VS. RANKED OPPONENTS

Wednesdays' matchup with No. 25 Iowa State will mark the Wildcats' fourth ranked opponent this season.
A season ago, K-State went 1-3 against teams ranked in the AVCA top-25 poll, including two matches against the nation's top five.
The Cats earned their first victory over a ranked opponent Thursday night against Baylor, who was then ranked fourth
K-State is 1-2 against ranked opponents this season

HOME COOKIN'

K-State began is 3-4 when playing at home in 2023
In seven home matches, the Wildcats are hitting .137 while opponents post a .167 team efficiency.
Carter is averaging a team-high 3.83 kills per set and hitting .145 at home
Brenna Schmidt leads in hitting efficiency at .394 followed by Fernholz at .214
Of Bolding's 81.0 total blocks 34.0 have been at home as she averages 1.42 at Morgan Family Arena
The Cats have served up 35 aces at home, with Szulczewski accounting for nine of them and Gregorski seven.
K-State is 407-212-5 all-time when playing at home.

AROUND THE BIG 12

UCF (5-0) and Texas (6-0) both remain undefeated in Big 12 action.
Texas leads the league overall with an 11-3 record.
Iowa State rounds out the top three with a 4-1 league record.
Six programs from the Big 12 are ranked in the AVCA standings with No. 7 Texas, No. 9 BYU, No. 16 Kansas, No. 20 Baylor, No. 21 Houston, and No. 25 Iowa State while UCF is receiving votes.
Texas' Madisen Skinner (Offensive) along with Iowa State's Brooke Stonestreet (Defensive) and Nayeli Gonzalez (Rookie) earned Big 12 volleyball weekly awards for the seventh week of the season.

IT'S THE BREAKDOWN

The Cats have won the opening set in seven matches this season, going 7-0.
Conversely, K-State is 2-6 when dropping the first set
The Wildcats are 9-1 when leading in attack percentage and 8-0 when producing more kills than their opponents.
Additionally, the Cats are 7-0 when limiting opponents to hitting efficiency under .200. with a 5-0 record when holding teams to under .100
K-State is 8-1 when leading opponents in blocks and 7-2 when leading in digs
The Wildcats are 1-1 in the month of October
Carter totals 193 kills (3.64 per set) this season followed by Clinton at 2.53 kills per set
On defense, Morris is third in the league with 4.63 digs per set
Bolding is second in the conference with 1.53 blocks per set, ranking fourth overall in the nation.
Currently, the Big 12 ranks fourth in RPI (rating percentage index) with an average RPI of .6026 with six programs ranked the top 25 of the national polls.
In the first release of the team RPI standings, K-State comes in 92^nd overall.

IT'S A PARTY

K-State is averaging the league's fourth-best 2.73 blocks per set which ranks 16^th among Division I.
The team's 147.5 total blocks is good for fifth overall in the Big 12.
K-State has reached double-figure blocks in 10 matches this season
The Wildcats collected a season-best 14.0 blocks in a sweep of UT Martin on Sept. 8.
Additionally, K-State is 8-1 when out-blocking opponents

DOUBLE-TROUBLE

Three Wildcats have recorded double-doubles this season led by Szulczewski and Carter with five followed Hinkle with two
Hinkle and Carter each produced a double-double in the Cats upset over #18 Baylor
A native of Beaverton, Ore., Szulczewski generated a team season-best 41 assists in her first double-double with the Wildcats in the season opener
Preseason All-Big 12 honoree Aliyah Carter brought her career total to 20 after with 19 kills and a season-high 20 digs
Carter is 15 double-doubles away from joining the Wildcats' Double-Double Club
Former Wildcat Kim Zschau holds the program's career double-double record with 69 across 457 sets during 1995-98.
Katie Brand (2013-16) holds the record in the rally-scoring era with 68

GRAND HINKLE

Loren Hinkle is shy of 1,000 career digs which would put her in the Cats' Double-Grand Club, becoming just the ninth player in history to reach 1,000 in two categories.
The senior from Shawnee, Kan., reached her 1,000 assists in 2022.
With 1,263 assists, Hinkle is 39 digs away from reaching 1,000.

BEING BOLD

Senior middle blocker Sydney Bolding continues to be a threat at the net for the Wildcats as she ranks second in the league and fourth nationally with 1.53 blocks per set.
The Pickens, S.C., product's 2.86 points per set ranks is second on the team behind team leader Aliyah Carter
She was named to the Lippy Invitational All-Tournament Team, her fourth all-tournament team selection and second of the season as she was also tabbed to the Rose city Showdown all-tournament team.
Bolding earned her 300^th career block at K-State, and is 18 total blocks away from jumping into the Top 10 rally-scoring era leaderboard.
In just three years at K-State, she has compiled over 400 kills, 600 points, and 50 service aces.

KILLER CARTER

Carter eclipsed the 20-kill plateau on Oct. 6, 2023, against Baylor (21 kills).
Aliyah Carter is the fastest player to each 1,000 kills as she became the 19^th player in program history to reach the milestone in the season opener at Portland State on Aug. 25, 2023.
Totaling 1,187 career kills, Carter ranks 13^th overall and sixth in the rally-scoring era
The 2020 Big 12 Freshman of the Year has led the Wildcats offense in 11 matches this season, including a season-high 21 kills against Baylor.
Carter ranks in the top 10 of the Big 12 leaderboards in two offensive categories – kills per set (3.64) and points per set (4.21)
Carter's current career average of 3.69 kills per set ranks third in K-State history during the rally-scoring era and fourth overall.
She earned her 14^th career match with 20 or more kills Saturday, ranking second in program history during the rally-scoring era and sixth overall.
Additionally, she is just the second player in program history to earn back-to-back unanimous first-team accolades, joining Kaitlynn Pelger (2012-13).

MACK ATTACK

Senior libero Mackenzie Morris' is third in Big 12 in digs per set (4.63) which ranks 46^th in NCAA.
The Dallas, Texas product is the fifth player to generate over 1,500 career digs at K-State, ranking fifth in the rally-scoring era at 1,515 and fourth overall.
Morris has produced four 20 or more dig matches this season with a season-best 30 to bring her career total to 24.
Her 30 digs against TCU is the most by any Big 12 player in any match this season, tying West Virginia's Camilla Covas.
Morris' 24 matches with at least 20 digs ranks third in program history.
Morris joined the 1,000-digs club last season versus Kansas on Sept. 24., 2022.
At 4.26 career 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 1,300 career digs, 32^nd overall in Division I.

A NEW HOME

K-State officially unveiled the Morgan Family Arena on Sept. 1, 2023 in the Wildcats defeat over Omaha in front of capacity crowd of 3,044.
The new home of Wildcat volleyball has reached a capacity crowd three times in its first season
Wildcats are 3-4 (.429) when playing at home this season
Morgan Family Arena will host 13 regular season games in its inaugural season.
The arena has reached capacity three times this season
The all-volleyball inclusive arena is the third home of Wildcat volleyball joining the Bramlage Coliseum and Ahearn Field House
K-State is 407-212-5 all-time when playing at home

THE MANSFIELD ERA

Jason Mansfield is in his first season at the helm of the Kansas State volleyball program.
The Sunnyvale, Calif., native is 9-6 (.600) overall and 3-3 (.500) in Big 12 action in his first season as a head coach.
Mansfield became the second coach in K-state history to start his career 4-0, joining Jim Moore in 1994
Mansfield was appointed as the ninth head coach on Dec. 27, 2022.
Compiled over 480 victories as an assistant coach with stints at Stanford, Illinois, and Washington
The 2004 Stanford squad won the national championship, while the Cardinals advanced to the Final Four six times in 14 total NCAA Tournament appearances with Mansfield on staff.

UP NEXT

K-State sets out to the Sunshine State to face UCF (14-2, 5-0) on Oct. 14 at The Venue at UCF in Orlando, Fla.
Saturday's match is the fourth meeting between the two schools, first meeting as Big 12 competitors
UCF is just outside of the AVCA/GameChanger Top 25 polls, receiving 85 votes.
K-State leads the all-time series, 2-1
The match can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.