K-State Hosts Texas Tech on Senior Day

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State concludes its home slate of the regular season this weekend with a two-match set at Morgan Family Arena against Texas Tech, starting Friday at 6:30 p.m. for senior night while Saturday's match is scheduled for 3 p.m.

The Wildcats will honor seniors Sydney Bolding, Aliyah Carter, Kadye Fernholz, Loren Hinkle and Mackenzie Morris at the conclusion of Friday's match for the Cat's senior night recognition.

K-State (14-10, 8-7 Big 12) is coming off a massive upset over the defending national champion Texas Longhorns, snapping a 39-match losing streak against UT which dated back to 2003. The victory set a single-season program record as the Cats collected their fifth Top 25 victory of the year, including the first Top 5 win under head coach Jason Mansfield.

Seniors Aliyah Carter and Mackenzie Morris were awarded for their dominating performances as the duo received Big 12 weekly accolades, the conference announced Tuesday. Carter received her second Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honor of the season, while Morris received her first Defensive Player of the Week recognition.

Texas Tech (10-16, 3-11 Big 12) makes the trip to Manhattan with a current two-match win streak with a pair of victories over West Virginia.

The Wildcats lead the all-time series 43-15 and are 4-1 in the last five matchups in the series after splitting the season series last year, including a 24-3 record at home against the Red Raiders.

The two-match set will air on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

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

K-State concludes its home slate of the regular season this weekend with a two-match set at Morgan Family Arena against Texas Tech, starting Friday at 6:30 p.m. for senior night while Saturday's match is scheduled for 3 p.m.
The Wildcats will honor seniors Sydney Bolding, Aliyah Carter, Kadye Fernholz, Loren Hinkle and Mackenzie Morris at the conclusion of Friday's match for the Cat's Senior Night recognition.
K-State (14-10, 8-7 Big 12) is coming off a massive upset over the defending national champion Texas Longhorns, snapping a 39-match losing streak against UT which dated back to 2003.
The victory set a single-season program record as the Cats collected their fifth Top 25 victory of the year, including the first Top 5 win under head coach Jason Mansfield.
Carter received her second Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honor of the season, while Morris received her first Defensive Player of the Week recognition.
Texas Tech (10-16, 3-11 Big 12) makes the trip to Manhattan with a current two-match win streak with a pair of victories over West Virginia.
The Wildcats lead the all-time series 43-15 and are 4-1 in the last five matchups in the series after splitting the season series last year, including a 24-3 record at home against the Red Raiders.
The two-match set will air on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
K-State is in its 50^th season of Wildcat Volleyball, posting an overall 907-719-12 record and 411-212-5 at home.

SCOUTING TEXAS TECH

TTU comes to Manhattan with an overall record of 10-16, including a 3-11 Big 12 record and a two-match winning streak
Tony Graystone, who is in his 25^th season overall, has led the Red Raiders the past eight seasons to an overall 115-117 (.496) record following stops at West Texas A&M and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Caitlin Dugan leads the Red Raiders offense as the graduate student has amassed a team-high 301 kills (3.07 per set) and 337.5 points.
Dugan eclipsed the 1,000 career kill mark with a second set kill in the 3-2 win over West Virginia
Reese Rhodes has a passed a team-high 642 assists (8.03 per set) while Maddie Correa holds down the back line with 348 digs (3.55 per set)
Freshman Reagan Engler has posted a team-high .236 hitting percentage while Abby Dickinson serving up a team-high 17 aces.
Kate Hanson, another freshman, leads with 99.0 total blocks.

INSIDE THE SERIES

K-State holds a 43-15 lead in the all-time series with Texas Tech, dating back to 1982.
The Wildcats are 24-3 at home versus Texas Tech
The Cats and Red Raiders split the season series last year, with K-State claiming a 3-2 decision in the final meeting at Bramlage Coliseum
TTU snapped a five-match losing streak with K-State in the 2022 series opener in Lubbock

LAST TIME OUT

Wildcats swept past Texas, 25-22, 25-22, 25-21, handing Texas its only Big 12 loss of the season
K-State hit .351 with 45 kills (11 errors)
The match had 19 tie scores with 10 lead changes.
Carter turned in 20 kills (.311).
Clinton added seven kills with a .333 efficiency followed by Schmidt and Szulczewski with six
Morris had a match-high 20 digs with no reception errors
Szulczewski dished out a match-high 31 assists with six kills (.857) and six digs
Bolding turned in a match-high three blocks
The Cats out-dug the Longhorns, 53-35
Four Wildcats recorded an ace.
UT hit .246 (44 kills, 14 errors)
Skinner led with a team-high 14 kills (.211)
Each team registered five blocks
Carter turned in her 17^th match with 20 or more kills
Szulczewski produced her seventh match with 30 or more assists
Morris earned her 28^th 20-dig match
K-State is 11-3 in three-set matches; 12-1 when winning the first set
Cats are 5-4 against ranked teams; 3-1 against Top 10 foes
Texas leads the all-time series 49-8

WRITING HISTORY

K-State set a new program record with five wins over ranked opponents in a single season
K-State's victory snapped a 39-match losing streak against Texas
First Top 5 victory under Jason Mansfield
Program record 12-straight set wins against ranked opponents at home; nine straight against Top 10 teams
First sweep over Texas since 2000
Program's first Top 5 win at home in school history; third overall (previous wins were both against Nebraska)
Since 2011, K-State is just the seventh unranked team to defeat Texas on the road
Fourth straight victory over ranked opponent at home this season
K-State is just the second team to sweep UT this season, joining then-No. 2 Stanford
Wildcats handed the Longhorns their first Big 12 loss of the season
The Cats won their first match versus the Longhorns since Oct. 15, 2003 (3-2)
Carter's 20 kills ties fifth for total kills in three-set match in school history
First time a player had a 20-kill three-set match since 2021 with Carter's 23 kills against Wayne State.

WEEKLY HONORS

In just three weeks, Carter received her second Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honor, while Morris received her first Defensive Player of the Week recognition this season.
Carter and Morris helped the Cats set a single-season program record with their fifth ranked victory this year, including the first Top 5 win under head coach Jason Mansfield.
A product of Dubuque, Iowa, Carter submitted her 17^th career match with 20 or more kills, registering a match-high 20 kills with just six errors for a .311 hitting efficiency.
Carter's 20 kills ties fifth in the rally-scoring era for total kills in a single three-set match, marking the program's first 20-kill three-set match since her 23 kills against Wayne State in 2021.
Morris, the 2022 Big 12 Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, helped the Cats hold the Longhorns to a .246 hitting percentage as she handed in a match-high 20 digs for her 28^th career 20-dig match.
The Big 12 leader in digs per set (4.74) and total digs (412) has guided the Wildcats to four straight ranked wins at home where K-State has swept each match.

HOME COOKIN'

Wildcats have won four straight matches, all coming leading to sweeps over ranked opponents.
K-State is 7-4 when playing at home and 5-2 in Big 12 matches.
The Cats are hitting .190, holding opponents to a .163 attack percentage
Carter has been the force behind the Cats offense, as the senior averages 4.33 kills per set for a .182 efficiency.
Izzi Szulczewski dishes out 7.83 assists per set to pace the Wildcats with a team-high 12 aces alongside Liz Gregorski.
Defensively, Mackenzie Morris guides the back row with 5.06 digs per set while Bolding averages 1.39 blocks per set at home with a .232 hitting efficiency.
K-State is 411-212-5 all-time when playing at home.

AROUND tHE BIG 12

Texas clinched its seventh consecutive Big 12 conference title with a 13-1 league record.
BYU (22-5, 11-4 Big 12) and Kansas (20-5, 11-4 Big 12) are tied second in the league standings followed by Houston (17-7, 10-5 Big 12) and Iowa State (17-9, 8-7 Big 12) rounding out the top five.
Five programs from the Big 12 are ranked in the AVCA standings with No. 5 Texas, No. 13 BYU, No. 17 Kansas, No. 21 Houston, and No. 23 Baylor, while K-State, Iowa State and TCU are receiving votes.
Kansas State's Aliyah Carter (Offensive) and Mackenzie Morris (Defensive) along with Iowa State's Nayeli Gonzalez (Rookie) brought home Big 12 volleyball accolades for the 12^th week of the season.

IT'S THE BREAKDOWN

As a team, K-State is hitting .225 (12.63 kills per set) while limiting opponents to a .172 hitting efficiency, which ranks third in the league.
The Cats have won the opening set in 12 matches this season, going 12-1.
Conversely, K-State is 2-9 when dropping the first set
The Wildcats are 14-3 when leading in attack percentage and 13-2 when producing more kills than their opponents.
Additionally, the Cats are 10-2 when limiting opponents to hitting efficiency under .200, with a 6-0 record when holding teams to under .100
K-State is 11-3 when leading opponents in blocks and 12-3 when leading in digs
Carter leads the Cats' offense and is fifth in the Big 12 in kills per set (4.03), fifth in points per set (4.53), and sixth in total kills (347), this season followed by Clinton at 2.74 kills per set
On defense, Morris leads the back row with a league-high 4.74 digs per set, while she also leads the league in total digs (412)
Bolding is second in the conference with 1.36 blocks per set, ranking 17^th overall in the nation.
Currently, the Big 12 ranks third in RPI (rating percentage index) with an average RPI of .5910 with five programs ranked the top 25 of the national polls and one receiving votes.
The Wildcats are 53^rd in the latest RPI standings.

WILDCAT SENIORS

K-State will honor Bolding, Carter, Fernholz, Hinkle and Morris following Friday's match.
Bolding sits eighth in the rally-scoring era each with 337.0 career blocks while her 1.30 average is good for second. Kadye Fernholz follows in ninth with 330.
Totaling 1,341 career kills, Carter ranks sixth overall and third in the rally-scoring era, while her current career average of 3.78 kills per set is good for third overall.
With her 20 kills against UT, Carter recorded her 17^th 20-kill match which is the most by a Wildcat in the rally-scoring era.
Morris, a product of Dallas, Texas, is third overall and in the rally scoring era with 1,677 total digs.
Morris has produced eight 20-dig matches this season, including a season-best 34, to bring her career total to 28. Her 28 20-dig matches is good for second all-time in program history.
At 4.31 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 two service aces from joining the 100-aces club.
A native of Shawnee, Kan., 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.
With 1,309 assists, Hinkle is 16 digs away from reaching 1,000.

UP NEXT

The Cats conclude the regular-season on Saturday, Nov. 25 at Houston with first serve is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start at Fertitta Center.
The match can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sydney Bolding

Aliyah Carter

Kadye Fernholz

Liz Gregorski

Loren Hinkle

Mackenzie Morris

Izzi Szulczewski

Kansas State University Athletics