Wildcats Gaining Momentum in Stretch Run
Oct 30, 2023 | Volleyball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
"It's been a good week," Jason Mansfield says, taking a seat inside the team meeting room. The week began when first-year Kansas State women's volleyball head coach celebrated his birthday. The week ended with the Wildcats blowing out the candles on a pair of historic performances on Thursday and Friday.
There were no brooms, only cheers, as K-State fans went crazy in Morgan Family Arena after trouncing No. 8 BYU 25-18, 25-16 and 25-19 on Thursday. That gave the Wildcats their first top-10 victory at home in 20 years and marked their first-ever straight-set win over a top-10 opponent.
There were no brooms, only hugs, as K-State players digested the enormity of it all after breezing past the Cougars 25-21, 25-22, 25-21 on Friday. They became the first K-State squad ever to record two top-10 sweeps. The victory also marked the third season, and the first since 2003, with two top-10 victories.
"From day one, I told this group we can be great, and we could not just play with anyone, but we could beat anyone," Mansfield says.
Mansfield, hired by K-State Athletic Director Gene Taylor as the ninth head coach on December 27, 2022, has been a part of seven NCAA Final Fours and one national championship during stints at Stanford and Washington. He's seen greatness. He's seen it be done. Meanwhile, K-State, which experienced some up-and-down years, sought a new perspective. Against BYU, Mansfield had the Wildcats in rarified air.
Today, the Wildcats are 13-8 overall and 7-5 in the Big 12 Conference and own the third-longest winning streak in the league. They trail No. 5 Texas, UCF, No. 14 Kansas and No. 8 BYU in the league standings. They should be in contention for a national ranking of their own. There were eyes on this K-State/BYU matchup. And the outcome was eye-popping.
"We never talk about rankings, at least I don't," Mansfield says. "I'm sure the girls probably do. Every week, we just try to figure out how we can beat the next team we play. The perception of the program, we have to have wins like this for the perception to be what we know it to be, which is we have great players, and we have the capability to play with anyone."
In less than a year, Mansfield has altered mindsets.
"We're very strong," redshirt freshman Aniya Clinton says. "Winning games like that in the way that we did lets us see that we can do things like this. We can beat programs like that, and we can stick with teams like that. It's a good step in the right direction."
Adds freshman Symone Sims: "It certainly sets our expectations higher. We have expectations for ourselves and each other now. Now we know how to execute them. That's going to really help us in the future."
It helps that K-State harbors one of the top one-two outside-hitting punches in the Big 12.
On Thursday, Aliyah Carter had 18 kills while hitting .317, followed by Clinton with 13 and incredible .684 efficiency.
On Friday, Clinton hit an incredible .455 clip, registered 16 kills on 33 swings with just one error while Carter had a match-high 17 kills with nine digs.
"Aniya is special, and she has a chance to be one of the best outside hitters in the country this year let alone in the future," Mansfield says. "Aliyah and Aniya taking a lot of swings for us was the right move, and they're really, really feeding off each other. Our team is so confident because they're just going for it."
Similarly, Mansfield has K-State going for it as well. K-State wraps up the Big 12 season at No. 14 Kansas, then hosts No. 5 Texas and Texas Tech before finishing out at No. 22 Houston.
This could just be getting good.
"I love our lineup," Mansfield says. "We're really athletic. We're fearless. We're going for it. I love the momentum that we have right now. We have to keep it up. It's going to be tough going on the road against our rival. They're playing really well right now.
"I'm just really proud of this team."
"It's been a good week," Jason Mansfield says, taking a seat inside the team meeting room. The week began when first-year Kansas State women's volleyball head coach celebrated his birthday. The week ended with the Wildcats blowing out the candles on a pair of historic performances on Thursday and Friday.
There were no brooms, only cheers, as K-State fans went crazy in Morgan Family Arena after trouncing No. 8 BYU 25-18, 25-16 and 25-19 on Thursday. That gave the Wildcats their first top-10 victory at home in 20 years and marked their first-ever straight-set win over a top-10 opponent.
There were no brooms, only hugs, as K-State players digested the enormity of it all after breezing past the Cougars 25-21, 25-22, 25-21 on Friday. They became the first K-State squad ever to record two top-10 sweeps. The victory also marked the third season, and the first since 2003, with two top-10 victories.
"From day one, I told this group we can be great, and we could not just play with anyone, but we could beat anyone," Mansfield says.
Mansfield, hired by K-State Athletic Director Gene Taylor as the ninth head coach on December 27, 2022, has been a part of seven NCAA Final Fours and one national championship during stints at Stanford and Washington. He's seen greatness. He's seen it be done. Meanwhile, K-State, which experienced some up-and-down years, sought a new perspective. Against BYU, Mansfield had the Wildcats in rarified air.
Today, the Wildcats are 13-8 overall and 7-5 in the Big 12 Conference and own the third-longest winning streak in the league. They trail No. 5 Texas, UCF, No. 14 Kansas and No. 8 BYU in the league standings. They should be in contention for a national ranking of their own. There were eyes on this K-State/BYU matchup. And the outcome was eye-popping.
"We never talk about rankings, at least I don't," Mansfield says. "I'm sure the girls probably do. Every week, we just try to figure out how we can beat the next team we play. The perception of the program, we have to have wins like this for the perception to be what we know it to be, which is we have great players, and we have the capability to play with anyone."
In less than a year, Mansfield has altered mindsets.
"We're very strong," redshirt freshman Aniya Clinton says. "Winning games like that in the way that we did lets us see that we can do things like this. We can beat programs like that, and we can stick with teams like that. It's a good step in the right direction."
Adds freshman Symone Sims: "It certainly sets our expectations higher. We have expectations for ourselves and each other now. Now we know how to execute them. That's going to really help us in the future."
It helps that K-State harbors one of the top one-two outside-hitting punches in the Big 12.
On Thursday, Aliyah Carter had 18 kills while hitting .317, followed by Clinton with 13 and incredible .684 efficiency.
On Friday, Clinton hit an incredible .455 clip, registered 16 kills on 33 swings with just one error while Carter had a match-high 17 kills with nine digs.
"Aniya is special, and she has a chance to be one of the best outside hitters in the country this year let alone in the future," Mansfield says. "Aliyah and Aniya taking a lot of swings for us was the right move, and they're really, really feeding off each other. Our team is so confident because they're just going for it."
Similarly, Mansfield has K-State going for it as well. K-State wraps up the Big 12 season at No. 14 Kansas, then hosts No. 5 Texas and Texas Tech before finishing out at No. 22 Houston.
This could just be getting good.
"I love our lineup," Mansfield says. "We're really athletic. We're fearless. We're going for it. I love the momentum that we have right now. We have to keep it up. It's going to be tough going on the road against our rival. They're playing really well right now.
"I'm just really proud of this team."
Players Mentioned
K-State Men's Basketball | Postgame Press Conference at Colorado
Thursday, February 26
K-State Rowing | Media Day
Tuesday, February 24
K-State Rowing | Weights Practice
Tuesday, February 24
K-State Tennis | Weekend Recap vs Old Dominion & Minnesota
Tuesday, February 24
