Cats Face No. 18 Bears in Big 12 Road Series

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State continues Big 12 action this week when the Wildcats head to Waco, Texas, to go head-to-head with No. 18 Baylor at Ferrel Center on Oct. 5-6. Both matches of the season series are scheduled for 7 p.m.

K-State (8-5, 2-2 Big 12) dropped its second conference match in four sets Saturday against Big 12 newcomer Cincinnati.

Baylor (7-6, 1-2 Big 12) split week two of league action with Iowa State, falling in five in the series opener before the Bears came back to defeat the Cyclones in straight sets.

Despite K-State leading the all-time series 29-27, BU has won 10 straight matches and is 16-12 at home against K-State.

At 2-2 in conference action, K-State ties sixth in the Big 12 standings alongside No. 10 BYU while Baylor ties eighth alongside Cincinnati.

The match can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with the broadcast team of John Morris, Camryn Freiberg, Lincoln Rose and Braya Choquette.

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 continues Big 12 action this week when the Wildcats head to Waco, Texas, to go head-to-head with No. 18 Baylor at Ferrel Center on Oct. 5-6.
Both matches of the season series are scheduled for 7 p.m.
K-State (8-5, 2-2 Big 12) dropped its second conference match in four sets Saturday against Big 12 newcomer Cincinnati.
Baylor (7-6, 1-2 Big 12) split week two of league action with Iowa State.
Bears fell in five in the series opener before coming back to defeat the Cyclones in straight sets.
K-State leading the all-time series 29-27
BU has won 10 straight matches and is 16-12 at home against K-State.
At 2-2 in conference action, K-State ties sixth in the Big 12 standings alongside No. 10 BYU while Baylor ties eighth alongside Cincinnati.
K-State is in its 50^th season of Wildcat Volleyball, posting an overall 901-714-12 record.

SCOUTING #18 BAYLOR

Baylor enters week seven action ranked 18^th in the AVCA/GameChanger national polls
Three players have earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors this season with Kyndal Stowers (offensive), Manuela Bibinbe (defensive) and Kyndal Stowers (rookie). Stowers has picked up the Rookie of the Week accolade twice this season.
Baylor (7-6, 1-2 Big 12) is led by ninth-year head coach Ryan McGuyre
Under McGuyre, the Bears have compiled an overall 186-69 (.729) record with seven straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including four consecutive seasons in the Sweet 16.
The Biola alum, has generated an overall 521-202 (.721) record across 22 seasons with three seasons at Biola and 10 at California Baptist.
Baylor boasts a pair of preseason All-Big 12 picks in sophomore setter Averi Carlson, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year last season, and 6-foot-4 sophomore opposite-side hitter Allie Sczech.
Sczech and junior libero Lauren Briseno won gold medals with the USA Volleyball U21 team at the Pan American Cup.
With no seniors on the 2023 squad, Baylor added six freshman to the 18-player roster
Stowers averages 4.15 kills per set to pace the offense which ranks fourth in the league, followed by Elise McGhee with 3.19.
McGhee's sister, Kara, was the top middle blocker for the Bears last season is playing her fifth-year at Oregon.
In a 5-1 offense, Carlson guides the Bears with 10.69 assists per set – good for second in the Big 12 and 19^th nationally.
Alicia Andrew averages just under a block a set at 0.98, totaling 48 this season.
Baylor was picked third in the Big 12 preseason poll with 123 points after finishing 25-7 last season.

INSIDE THE SERIES

The Wildcats lead the all-time series 29-27 since the series start in 1993
Baylor holds a current 10-match win streak.
The Wildcats last won on Oct. 20, 2018
K-State is 12-16 when taking on Baylor in Waco.
Baylor won the 2022 series with K-State only earning one set victory

THE WEEKEND REVIEW

Cincinnati picked up a four-set win in its first Big 12 win, 25-21, 18-25, 25-16, 25-19
K-State was held to a .118 hitting efficiency (48 kills, 30 errors)
Szulczewski and Carter each tallied a double-double
Carter recorded a match-high 17 kills
Two Bearcats reached double figures with Washington (12) and Walker (10)
Morris and Szulczewski each served up a pair of aces
Szulczewski dished out 29 assists
Bolding turned in her ninth match with five or more kills
Saturday marked the first meeting in school history between K-State and Cincinnati
The Wildcats move to 2-2 in conference action
K-State moves to 3-4 overall when playing at Morgan Family Arena, 1-2 in Big 12 play
Carter reached double figures for the ninth time of the season
The Iowa product recorded her 19^th career double-double
Szulczewski leads the Wildcats with five double-doubles this season

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

K-State is 5-1 when playing on the road this season, after starting the season with a perfect 4-0 record on the road
The Wildcats are hitting .316 while limiting opponents to a .157 hitting efficiency.
Carter is averaging 3.05 kills per set and hitting .248 on the road followed by Clinton hitting .315 with 2.71kills a clip
Bolding has produced 35 total blocks (1.71 per set) with a an incredible .528 hitting efficiency.
The Cats have served up 40 aces on the road, with Carter accounting for 11 of them and Gregorski with 10.
K-State is 231-284 all-time when playing on the road, excluding neutral games.

AROUND THE BIG 12

UCF and Texas are off to a perfect 4-0 start in Big 12 action.
UCF leads the league overall with a 13-2 record.
Kansas, Iowa State, and TCU are in a three-way tie for third with a 3-1 league record.
Five programs from the Big 12 are ranked in the AVCA standings with No. 9 BYU, No. 10 Texas, No. 18 Baylor, No. 19 Kansas, and No. 20 Houston while Iowa State and UCF are receiving votes.
TCU's Melanie Parra (Offensive), Texas' Bella Bergmark (Defensive) and Iowa State's Nayeli Gonzalez (Rookie) collected Big 12 volleyball honors for the sixth week of the season. This is the second weekly accolade for Parra this season and the first career weekly recognition for Bergmark and Gonzalez.

IT'S THE BREAKDOWN

The Cats have won the opening set in six matches this season, going 6-0.
Conversely, K-State is 2-5 when dropping the first set
The Wildcats are 8-1 when leading in attack percentage and 7-0 when producing more kills than their opponents.
Additionally, the Cats are 6-0 when limiting opponents to hitting efficiency under .200.
K-State is 7-0 when leading opponents in blocks and 6-1 when leading in digs
The Wildcats finished at an even 5-5 in September
Carter totals 153 kills (3.48 per set) this season followed by Clinton at 2.53 kills per set
A native of Dubuque, Iowa, Carter's kills average ranks eighth in the Big 12
On defense, Morris averages a league-high 4.78 digs per set
Bolding is second in the conference with 1.57 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 .6044 with six programs ranked the top 25 of the national polls.
In the first release of the team RPI standings, K-State comes in 95^th overall.

BRICK WALL

K-State is averaging the league's fourth-best 2.77 blocks per set which ranks 12^th among Division I.
The team's 124.5 total blocks ranks sixth overall in the Big 12.
The Wildcats collected a season-best 14.0 blocks in a sweep of UT Martin on Sept. 8.
Bolding is second in the the Big 12 and fourth in the nation in blocks per set (1.57).
Kadye Fernholz is on pace to join the program's 400-block club as she earned her 300^th career block against UT Martin, totaling 311.0 in her career.
Fernholz has registered 100-plus blocks the past two seasons while Bolding led the Cats last season with 141.0, which ranked 38^th in the nation.
With her six blocks against TCU, Bolding is now 11 blocks away from her 300^th career stop at K-State.

DOUBLE-TROUBLE

Three Wildcats have recorded double-doubles this season led by Szulczewski with five followed by Carter (4) and Hinkle (1)
Szulczewski and Carter each produced a double-double Saturday against Cincinnati.
A native of Beaverton, Ore., Szulczewski generated her first double-double with the Wildcats in the season opener with a team season-best 41 assists.
Preseason All-Big 12 honoree Aliyah Carter brought her career total to 19 after tallying 17 kills with 11 digs vs. UC.
Carter is 16 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

MILESTONE WATCH

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. She now has 1,209 assists and 940 total digs.
Kadye Fernholz recorded her 300^th career block in the Cats' sweep over UT Martin.
Sydney Bolding is just 11 blocks from reaching her 300^th at K-State.
Aliyah Carter joined the 1,000-kills club in the season opener at Portland State
Carter ranks in fifth total kills (1,147) in the rally-scoring era and 14^th overall in K-State history
Mackenzie Morris is the sixth player to reach 1,400 digs while ranking fourth in the rally-scoring era.
Morris is just seven service aces from joining the 100-aces club.

UP NEXT

K-State returns to Morgan Family Arena on Wednesday, Oct. 11, to take on No. 25 Iowa Sate (12-3, 3-1 Big 12)
Wednesday's match will mark the fourth contest against a ranked opponent this season
ISU is one of six teams from the Big 12 ranked in the national standings.
The Cyclones lead the all-time series 59-53, while K-State is 24-22 at home
The match can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

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Players Mentioned

Sydney Bolding

Aliyah Carter

Kadye Fernholz

Loren Hinkle

Mackenzie Morris

Kansas State University Athletics