Tough Competition Awaits K-State in Sunshine State

MANHATTAN, Kan. Coming of its second victory against a Top 25 team, K-State sets out to the Sunshine State to go head-to-head with Big 12 newcomer UCF at the Venue Saturday. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET in Orlando, Fla.

The Wildcats (10-6, 4-3 Big 12) swept past No. 25 Iowa State Wednesday to move to sixth in the league standings.

UCF is receiving votes in the latest AVCA/GameChanger Top 25 polls with an overall 15-2 record. The Knights are one of just two undefeated programs in the Big 12 with a perfect 6-0 conference record alongside No. 7 Texas.

Saturday's match marks the fourth meeting between the Cats and Knights with K-State leading the series 2-1, while it is the first Big 12 match between the two schools. UCF won a five-setter in 2022 at the UCF Challenge to grab its first victory.

The match can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

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

Coming of its second victory over a Top 25 team, K-State sets out to the Sunshine State to go head-to-head with Big 12 newcomer UCF at the Venue Saturday.
First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET in Orlando, Fla.
The Wildcats (10-6, 4-3 Big 12) swept past No. 25 Iowa State Wednesday to move to sixth in the league standings.
UCF is receiving votes in the latest AVCA/GameChanger Top 25 polls with an overall 15-2 record.
The Knights are one of just two undefeated programs in the Big 12 with a perfect 6-0 record alongside No. 7 Texas.
Saturday's match marks the fourth meeting between the Cats and Knights with K-State leading the series 2-1, while it is the first Big 12 match.
UCF won a five-setter in 2022 at the UCF Challenge to grab its first victory.
The match can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
K-State is in its 50^th season of Wildcat Volleyball, posting an overall 903-715-12 record.

SCOUTING UCF

UCF is receiving votes in the latest AVCA/GameChanger Top 25 polls, totaling 85 points to sit three spots out of the standings.
The Knights have suffered just two losses in 2023 for an overall 15-2 record with a current seven-match winning streak.
In its first season in the Big 12, UCF leads the league with a perfect 6-0 record.
Jenny Maurer took the reins of the Knights' volleyball program o May 18, 2023, after serving as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for seven years.
Mauer brought nine years of head coaching experience with stops at Bradley and Lehigh.
Middle blocker Abby Hansen was named to the All-Big 12 Preseason Team
Hansen spent three seasons at Oregon before transferring to UCF in 2022.
UCF leads the nation in aces per set (2.49) and ranks fifth in total team service aces (152) with the help of Big 12 leader Emily Wilson with 36
Wilson, an 6-foot-3 outside hitter, paces the offense with 3.28 kills per set and 4.14 points per set while hitting .220
As a team, the Knights are producing an attack percentage of .298 to lead the Big 12 and rank seventh in the nation.
Setter Abby Schomers runs the 5-1 offense, averaging 10.72 assists per set
In the back row, senior libero Chloe Scheer averages 3.07 digs a set while Hansen leads with 54.0 total blocks (0.89).
Last season, the Knights nearly turned in a 30-win season, finishing with a 28-2 overall record and 19-1 league record to clinch the AAC championship in their final season in the AAC.
UCF advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament after cruising past Yale before falling in four sets to Penn State.

INSIDE THE SERIES

The match is just the fourth meeting between the Cats and Knights since the series start in 1981
K-State leading the series 2-1, while it is the first Big 12 match.
UCF won a five-setter in 2022 at the UCF Challenge into grab its first victory.

LAST TIME OUT

Wildcats defeated Iowa State in straight sets, 25-20, 25-16, 25-18
K-State beat their second ranked opponent in a week.
Wednesday's match saw 15 tie scores and just seven lead changes.
Cats hit .248 (37 kills, 12 errors)
Clinton turned in a match-high 12 kills (.348)
Gregorski and Carter had two service aces.
Szulczewski (18) and Hinkle (11) combined for 29 of the Cats 32 assists.
Morris collected a match-high 21 digs (7.0 per set)
Myers turned in four blocks followed by Bolding and Clinton each with three.
The Wildcats are 4-3 in league play and 2-2 vs. ranked foes.
At home, K-State moved to 4-4
K-State is 7-3 in three-set matches this season.
Cats are 9-1 when out-blocking a team.
Morris registered her 25^TH career match with 20 digs or more, tying second overall.
Iowa State leads the all-time series 59-44 – Cats lead 25-22 at home.
K-State is 4-1 in the last five meetings with a four-match win streak.

VS. THE POLLS

Wednesdays' upset over No. 25 Iowa State marked the Wildcats second victory over a rank 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 2-2 against ranked opponents this season and 1-2 against opponents receiving votes.

ROAD WARRIORS

K-State is 6-2 when playing on the road this season, after starting the season with a perfect 4-0 record on the road
On the road, the Wildcats are hitting .285 while limiting opponents to a .158 attack percentage.
Carter leads the offense with a 3.48 kills average and is hitting .248 a clip followed by Clinton at 2.50 (.273)
Bolding has produced 45 total blocks (1.62 per set) with a an incredible .495 hitting efficiency.
The Cats have served up 48 aces with Carter and Gregorski tallying 12 each followed by Bolding with 11
K-State is 232-285 all-time when playing on the road, excluding neutral games.

AROUND tHE BIG 12

UCF Texas both remain undefeated in Big 12 action with perfect 6-0 league records.
UCF leads the league with a conference-high seven match winning streak
TCU comes in second at 12-6 overall and 5-2 in Big 12 action followed by Iowa State (13-4, 4-2 Big 12) and BYU (14-3, 3-2 Big 12) rounding out the top five.
The Cats rank just outside of the top five
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 8-0.
Conversely, K-State is 2-6 when dropping the first set
The Wildcats are 10-1 when leading in attack percentage and 9-0 when producing more kills than their opponents.
Additionally, the Cats are 8-0 when limiting opponents to hitting efficiency under .200. with a 5-0 record when holding teams to under .100
K-State is 9-1 when leading opponents in blocks and 8-2 when leading in digs
The Wildcats are 2-1 in the month of October
Carter leads the Cats' offense with 202 total kills (3.61 per set) this season followed by Clinton at 2.54 kills per set
On defense, Morris leads the back row with a league-high 4.75 digs per set
Bolding is second in the conference with 1.03 blocks per set, ranking seventh overall in the nation.
Currently, the Big 12 ranks third in RPI (rating percentage index) with an average RPI of .6178 with six programs ranked the top 25 of the national polls and one receiving votes.
K-State ranks 81^st overall in RPI.

IT'S A PARTY

K-State is averaging the league's fourth-best 2.73 blocks per set which ranks 17^th among Division I.
The team's 155.5 total blocks is good for fourth 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 9-1 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 1,274 assists, Hinkle is 35 digs away from reaching 1,000.

UP NEXT

The Wildcats continue league action with a two-match series at Oklahoma on Oct. 19-20.
K-State and OU will go head-to-head at McCasland Field House in Norman, Okla.
OU leads the all-time series 59-38-1 and leads 28-16 in Norman.
In 2022, the two programs split the season series with the Wildcats taking a five-setter.
The conference series can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Aliyah Carter

Loren Hinkle

Kansas State University Athletics