K-State Welcomes #8 BYU to Morgan Family Arena

Thursday, October 26

Manhattan, Kan.

6:30 p.m.

Kansas State University

BYU

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Oct 25, 2023 | Volleyball

Match Notes Live Stats Watch Live BYU Match Notes

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State returns to Morgan Family Arena to go head-to-head in the first Big 12 meeting with No. 8 BYU on Oct. 26-27 with first serve scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Thursday's match marks the Wildcats (11-8, 5-5 Big 12) fifth match up against a nationally ranked team and second versus a Top 10 team since facing No. 4 Nebraska, now national leader, in early September.

The No. 8 Cougars (18-3, 7-2 Big 12) look to extend their win streak out to six and currently rank second overall in the league standings alongside UCF.

BYU leads the all-time series against K-State, 3-1, since the first meeting in 1998 while Thursday marks the first match against the Cougars since 2011. The Cats' lone defeat over the Cougars came down to five sets in 2009 (25-21, 22-25, 25-19, 17-25, 15-11).

At 5-5 in conference action, K-State ties sixth in the Big 12 standings alongside TCU (12-9).

The conference series can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with the broadcast team of Brian Smoller and former Wildcat All-Big 12 selection and K-State rally-scoring career blocks leader Kelsey Stringer, formerly Kelsey Chipman.

Single-match tickets for Thursday's match can be purchased at the K-State Athletics ticket office at 1-800-221-CATS and www.kstatesports.com/tickets, while advance tickets are sold out for Friday . 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 to go head-to-head with No. 8 BYU on Oct. 26-27 with first serve scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Thursday's match marks the Wildcats (11-8, 5-5 Big 12) fifth match up against a nationally ranked team and second versus a Top 10 team since facing No. 4 Nebraska, now national leader, in early September.
The No. 8 Cougars (18-3, 7-2 Big 12) look to extend their win streak out to six and currently rank second overall in the league standings alongside UCF.
BYU leads the all-time series against K-State, 3-1, since the first meeting in 1998 while Thursday marks the first match against the Cougars since 2011.
The Cats' lone defeat over the Cougars came down to five sets in 2009 (25-21, 22-25, 25-19, 17-25, 15-11).
At 5-5 in conference action, K-State ties sixth in the Big 12 standings alongside TCU (12-9).

The conference series can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with the broadcast team of Brian Smoller and former Wildcat All-Big 12 selection and K-State rally-scoring career blocks leader Kelsey Stringer, formerly Kelsey Chipman.
K-State is in its 50^th season of Wildcat Volleyball, posting an overall 904-717-12 record.

SCOUTING #8 BYU

BYU moved to eighth in the latest AVCA/Taraflex Coaches Top 25 Poll with an 18-3 overall record, while the Cougars are 7-2 in league action to tie second in the Big 12.
Now on a five-match win streak, BYU takes its undefeated October record into Manhattan
Heather Olmstead has guided the Cougars to an overall 231-32 record in her nine seasons at the helm of the organization.
Olmstead, a Utah State alum, was named the 2018 AVCA National Coach of the Year and holds the highest winning percentage of any women's volleyball Division I coach at .878 (min. three seasons).
BYU ranks in the top-10 nationally in both opponent hitting percentage (No. 9, .149) and blocks per set (No. 10, 2.79).
The Cougars also rank 22nd in team hitting percentage, at .270, and 29th in total blocks, with 203.5. Posting 3.85 kills per set, Livingston sits at No. 50 nationwide. Her 4.32 points per set average comes in at No. 60.
Senior outside hitter Erin Livingston (offensive) and middle blocker Mia Lee (rookie) have earned Big 12 Player of the Week accolades twice this season while middle blocker Whitney McEwan-Llarenas earned Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 25
Livingston, a 6-foot-2 native of Corona, Calif., averages 3.85 kills per set at .258 a clip followed by McEwan-Llarenas at 2.13.
Whitney Bower dishes out 8.77 assists per set – good for 10^th in the league – to go along with a team-high 26 aces alongside Hannah Billeter
Kamaile Hiapo leads the back row, averaging 3.53 digs per set while Lee has total 92.0 blocks this season (1.31 per set) followed by McEwan Llarenas (1.17 per set)
BYU ended last season 22-7, 14-3 WCC), making an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament

INSIDE THE SERIES

BYU leads the all-time series against K-State, 3-1, since the first meeting in 1998
Thursday marks the first match against the Cougars since 2011.
The Cats' lone defeat over the Cougars came down to five sets in 2009 (25-21, 22-25, 25-19, 17-25, 15-11).
BYU swept K-State in the last meeting, as the only match played in Manhattan

LAST TIME OUT

The Wildcats moved to 11-8 on the year after splitting the season series with Oklahoma
K-State dropped the five-set series opener before defeating the Sooners in straight sets Friday.
K-State tallied 16 services aces, led by six from Bolding
Carter led the offense with 30 kills (3.75 per set) following by Clinton with 20 and a .224 attack percentage.
Bolding register 14 kills with an .455 hitting efficiency to go along with six aces, seven blocks and six digs.
Szulczewski paced the Cats' offense that hit .203 with 61 total assists (7.63 per set)

VS. THE POLLS

K-State is 2-2 against ranked opponents this season and 1-3 against opponents receiving votes.
The Cats earned their second win over a ranked opponent on Oct. 11 vs. No. 25 Iowa State
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 against Baylor, who was then ranked 18^th.

HOME COOKIN'

K-State is 4-4 when playing at home and 2-2 in Big 12 matches.
The Cats are hitting .148 while opponents hold an edge in attach percentage at .160
Carter has been the force behind the Cats offense, as the senior has totaled 101 kills at home this season.
The Dubuque, Iowa product is averaging 3.74 kills per set and hitting .148.
Newcomer Izzi Szulczewski has dished out 187 assists pacing the Wildcats while she has served up a team-high nine aces alongside Liz Gregorski.
Defensively, Morris has guided the back row with 5.22 digs per set while Bolding has produced 37 total blocks (1.37 per set) at home with a .212 hitting efficiency.
K-State is 408-212-5 all-time when playing at home.

AROUND tHE BIG 12

Texas (14-3, 9-0 Big 12) leads the Big 12 as the last remaining undefeated team in the league after UCF suffered a pair of losses against Baylor.
BYU (16-3, 5-2 Big 12) ties third with UCF (16-4, 7-2) followed by Baylor (12-7, 6-3), and KU (14-4, 5-3) rounding out the top five.
K-State ranks outside the top five, tied sixth alongside TCU (12-9, 5-5 Big 12)
Five programs from the Big 12 are ranked in the AVCA standings with No. 5 Texas, No. 8 BYU, No. 14 Kansas, No. 20 Baylor, and No. 22 Houston, while Iowa State and UCF are receiving votes.
Baylor's Elise McGhee (Offensive), Houston's Kate Georgiades (Defensive) and Kansas' Raegan Burns (Rookie) procured Big 12 honors for the ninth week of the season.

BIG 12 RANKS

As a team, K-Sttae ranks in the Top 5 of the Big 12 statistical leaderboards in four categories – aces per set (1.59), blocks per set (2.61), opponent hitting percentage (.165) and total blocks (183.0).
Three Wildcats sit in the top 10 of the individual leaderboards led by Aliyah Carter and Sydney Bolding with three categories
Carter is fourth in the league in attacks per set (10.22), sixth in points per set (4.22), and seventh in kills per set (3.68)
Bolding sits in the top three in blocks per set (1.41), which is 15^th in the nation, and total blocks with 97.0 while ranking seventh in hitting percentage (.344)
Mackenzie Morris is the conference leader with 319 total digs while sitting second at 4.56 digs per set.

IT'S THE BREAKDOWN

As a team, K-State is hitting .214 while limiting opponents to a .165 hitting efficiency, averaging 12.3 kills per set.
The Cats have won the opening set in 10 matches this season, going 9-1.
Conversely, K-State is 2-7 when dropping the first set
The Wildcats are 11-2 when leading in attack percentage and 10-1 when producing more kills than their opponents.
Additionally, the Cats are 8-2 when limiting opponents to hitting efficiency under .200, with a 5-0 record when holding teams to under .100
K-State is 9-2 when leading opponents in blocks and 9-2 when leading in digs
The Wildcats are 3-3 in the month of October, with a lone victory at home
Carter leads the Cats' offense with 254 total kills (3.68 per set) this season followed by Clinton at 2.48 kills per set
On defense, Morris leads the back row and is second in the Big 12 with 4.56 digs per set, while leading the league in total digs (319)
Bolding is second in the conference with 1.41 blocks per set, ranking 15^th overall in the nation.
Currently, the Big 12 ranks third in RPI (rating percentage index) with an average RPI of .6015 with six programs ranked the top 25 of the national polls and one receiving votes.
K-State ranks 88^th overall in the latest RPI standings.

IT'S A PARTY

K-State is averaging the league's fourth-best 2.61 blocks per set which ranks 22^nd among Division I.
The team's 183.0 total blocks is good for fifth overall in the Big 12.
K-State has reached double-figure blocks in 12 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 9-2 when out-blocking opponents

DOUBLE-TROUBLE

Three Wildcats have recorded double-doubles this season led Carter with seven followed Szulczewski with six and Hinkle two
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 22 against Oklahoma Thursday
Carter is 13 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^th assist in 2022.
With 1,305 assists, Hinkle is 19 digs away from reaching 1,000.

CRACKING THE TOP 10

Kadye Fernholz joined the Wildcats top 10 rally-scoring era in total career blocks against Oklahoma
The senior middle blocker ranks 10^th overall, passing Joy Hamlin (2003-05), with 323 total blocks.
Totaling 1,248 career kills, Carter ranks seventh overall and third in the rally-scoring era
The 2020 Big 12 Freshman of the Year has led the Wildcats offense in 15 matches this season, including a season-best 22 kills against UCF
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.
With 15 20-kill matches, Carter ties first in program history during the rally-scoring era alongside Kaitlynn Peiger (2010-13), and tying fifth overall.
Mackenzie Morris, a product of Dallas, Texas, is the fifth player to generate over 1,500 career digs at K-State, ranking third overall and in the rally scoring era with 1,584 total digs.
Morris has produced sixx 20-dig matches this season with a season-best 30 to bring her career total to 26.
Morris' 26 20-dig matches is good for second all-time 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).
Hinkle ranks sixth in the rally scoring era with 122 total service aces while Morris is just five service aces from joining the 100-aces club.

UP NEXT

The Wildcats face No. 14 Kansas (14-4, 5-3 Big 12) in the annual Dillons Sunflower Showdown in Lawrence on Nov. 3-4.
K-State leads the all-time series 67-58-1 and is 31-19 in Lawerence.
First serve of the series opener is scheduled for 6:30 followed by a 3 p.m. start Saturday.
The conference series can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.