Cats, #14 Jayhawks Meet for Dillons Sunflower Showdown

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Leading into the final six matches of the regular season, K-State travels to Lawrence to take on rival No. 14 Kansas in the 2023 edition of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown Friday and Saturday at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

The initial match of the showdown is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. followed by a 3 p.m. start Saturday.

K-State (13-8, 7-5 Big 12) looks to keep their hot streak alive as the Cats have won three straight including major upsets over then-No. 8 BYU last weekend. The Wildcats collected their first-ever sweep over a Top 10 foe Thursday before sweeping past the Cougars in the finale.

With the victories over the Cougars, the Cats are 4-2 against ranked opponents and received 11 votes in the latest AVCA Top 25 polls.

Two Wildcats received Big 12 weekly honors as Aliyah Carter was tabbed the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week and Aniya Clinton the Big 12 Rookie of the Week.

No. 14 KU (16-4, 7-3 Big 12) is on a four-match win streak, with just one set loss. The Jayhawks last loss came in a straight-set defeat on October 6 against defending national champion Texas. KU has a 10-match home winning streak heading into the match, a streak that dates back to September 2 against Marquette.

The Wildcats have a 67-58-1 edge in the Dillons Sunflower Showdown, including a 31-19 record on the road.

KU is ranked third in the league standings trailing No. 4 Texas and UCF while K-State follows in fifth behind No. 12 BYU.

The conference series 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

Leading into the final six matches of the regular season, K-State travels to Lawrence to take on rival No. 14 Kansas in the 2023 edition of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown Friday and Saturday at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.
The initial match of the showdown is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. followed by a 3 p.m. start Saturday.
K-State (13-8, 7-5 Big 12) looks to keep their hot streak alive as the Cats have won three straight including major upsets over then-No. 8 BYU last weekend.
The Wildcats collected their first-ever sweep over a Top 10 foe Thursday before sweeping past the Cougars in the finale.
With the victories over the Cougars, the Cats are 4-2 against ranked opponents and received 11 votes in the latest AVCA Top 25 polls.
Two Wildcats received Big 12 weekly honors as Aliyah Carter was tabbed the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week and Aniya Clinton the Big 12 Rookie of the Week.
No. 14 KU (16-4, 7-3 Big 12) is on a four-match win streak, with just one set loss. The Jayhawks last loss came in a straight-set defeat on October 6 against defending national champion Texas.
The Wildcats have a 67-58-1 edge in the Dillons Sunflower Showdown, including a 31-19 record on the road.
KU is ranked third in the league standings trailing No. 4 Texas and UCF while K-State follows in fifth behind No. 12 BYU.
The conference series can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+
K-State is in its 50^th season of Wildcat Volleyball, posting an overall 906-717-12 record and 233-287 road record.

SCOUTING #14 KANSAS

Kansas ranks 14^th in the latest AVCA/Taraflex Coaches Top 25 Poll with a 16-4 overall record, while the Jayhawks are 7-3 in league action to rank third in the Big 12 standings.
Now on a four-match win streak, KU looks to continue is 10-match winning streak at home dating back to Sept. 2 against Marquette. During the stretch, eight of the 10 wins have come in the fashion of a sweep.
Ray Bechard has guided the Jayhawks to an overall 463-306 (.602) record since taking over the program in 1998 to become the winningest coach in Kansas volleyball history.
A four-time Big 12 Coach of the Year, Bechard led the program to six consecutive NCAA Tournaments between 2012-2017.
Kansas comes into the weekend boasting a high-powered offense, as the Jayhawks are still first in the Big 12 with 13.11 assists per set, 15.89 digs per set and 14.06 kills per set.
Reagan Cooper, a 6-foot-2 outside, averages a team-best 3.56 kills per set at a .327 clip.
Camryn Turner leads the league with a 10.61 assists average to go along with 16 service aces while Ayah Elnday leads with 21.
Raegan Burns leads the back row, averaging 3.56 digs per set while Toyosi Onabanjo has total 70.0 blocks this season (one per set).
KU ended last season 19-11 (8-8 Big 12) making an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament

INSIDE THE SERIES

Friday's contest will mark the 127^th all-time meeting between K-State and Kansas.
K-State owns 67-58-1 edge in the series which dates back to 1974, as the teams have met every season since the inception of the Wildcats' volleyball program.
K-State is 31-19 when playing at its in-state rival, dropping the final meeting in Lawrence last season.
The Jayhawks have claimed six of the last seven meetings and 13 of the last 17, spanning back to 2014.
Additionally, Kansas is 17-5 in the rivalry since the 2012 season.
The Cats last picked up an away win over Kansas in 2020, winning in five sets (Oct. 30).
Five of the last nine matches have gone to five sets, while there have been seven five-setters in the series since 2016.
There has not been a straight-set victory for either side since the 2016 season (11 matches).
The last three Wildcat victories in the Dillons Sunflower Showdown have come in five sets.

ABOUT LAST WEEKEND

First season K-State recorded two sweeps over Top 10 program with back-to-back victories over then No. 8 BYU.
Thursday's match marked the first sweep over a Top 10 program in school history
Third season with two Top 10 wins (1999, 2003)
The Cats are on a nine-set winning streak
Jason Mansfield picked up his second Top 10 victory as a head coach.
The Cats tied the series with the Cougars, 3-3
Carter and Clinton combined for 64 of the Cats 86 kills while Szulczewski paced the 5-1 offense that hit .318 with 64 assists (10.67)
BYU was held to a season-low .075 efficiency (31 kills, 23 errors) in the initial match
With 3,044 in attendance, K-State has reach capacity in four matches this season

VS. THE POLLS

K-State is 4-2 against ranked opponents this season and 1-3 against opponents receiving votes.
The Cats recorded back-to-back straight set wins over then-No. 8 BYU to earn their third straight ranked victory at home.
A season ago, K-State went 1-4 against teams ranked in the AVCA top-25 poll.

ROAD WARRIORS

K-State is 7-4 when playing on the road this season and 4-4 when playing in true road games.
The Cats last time out featured a five-set loss to Oklahoma before they bounced back with a straight-set win to kick off a three-match winning streak.
On the road, the Wildcats are hitting .262 while limiting opponents to a .168 attack percentage.
Morris has guided the defense with 4.14 digs per set while Bolding has totaled 60 blocks (1.43 per set) with a .458 hitting percentage.
Carter averages 3.64 kills per set (.219) to pace the offense followed by Clinton at 2.41 (.267)
The Cats have served up 70 aces with Bolding and Gregorski each accounting for 18 of them
Setters Izzi Szulczewski and Loren Hinkle have each registered time for the Cats, leading both a 6-2 and 5-1 offense
Szulczewski has turned in 309 assists (7.19 per set) on the road with 10 service aces.
K-State is 233-287 all-time when playing on the road, excluding neutral games.

AROUND tHE BIG 12

Texas (16-3, 11-0 Big 12) leads the Big 12 as the last remaining undefeated team in the league.
UCF (17-5, 8-3) is second in the league standings followed by Kansas (16-4, 7-3), BYU (18-5, 7-4) and K-State (13-8, 7-5 Big 12)
Five programs from the Big 12 are ranked in the AVCA standings with No. 4 Texas, No. 12 BYU, No. 14 Kansas, No. 21 Baylor, and No. 22 Houston, while UCF and K-State are receiving votes.
Kansas State's Aliyah Carter (Offensive) and Aniya Clinton (Rookie) along with Texas' Asjia O'Neal (Defensive) earned weekly Big 12 volleyball awards after helping their teams to multiple wins over top-20 opponents.

BIG 12 RANKS

As a team, K-State ranks in the Top 5 of the Big 12 statistical leaderboards in six categories – aces per set (1.61), blocks per set (2.63), digs per set (14.78), opponent hitting percentage (.163). team aces (122) and total blocks (183.0).
Three Wildcats sit in the top five of the individual leaderboards with Aliyah Carter, Sydney Bolding and Mackenzie Morris.
Carter sits in the Top 5 in three statistical categories: attacks per set (3^rd – 10.52), kills per set (5^th – 3.85), and points per set (4^th – 4.38)
Bolding is second in the league in blocks per set (1.43) and hitting percentage (.347)
Mackenzie Morris is the conference leader with 340 total digs while sitting second at 4.47 digs per set.

IT'S THE BREAKDOWN

As a team, K-State is hitting .222 (12.43 kills per set) while limiting opponents to a .162 hitting efficiency, which leads the league and ranks 23^rd nationally.
The Cats have won the opening set in 12 matches this season, going 11-1.
Conversely, K-State is 2-7 when dropping the first set
The Wildcats are 13-2 when leading in attack percentage and 12-1 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 11-2 when leading opponents in blocks and 11-2 when leading in digs
The Wildcats finished 5-3 in the month of October, including three ranked victories at home.
Carter leads the Cats' offense and is sixth in the conference with 289 total kills (3.85 per set) this season followed by Clinton at 2.68 kills per set
On defense, Morris leads the back row and is second in the Big 12 with 4.47 digs per set, while she leads the league in total digs (340)
Bolding is second in the conference with 1.43 blocks per set, ranking 12^th overall in the nation.
Currently, the Big 12 ranks third in RPI (rating percentage index) with an average RPI of .5984 with five programs ranked the top 25 of the national polls and two receiving votes, including K-State.
The Wildcats are 56^th in the latest RPI standings.

IT'S A BLOCK PARTY

K-State is averaging the league's fourth-best 2.63 blocks per set which ranks 20^th nationally
The team's 200.0 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 11-2 when out-blocking opponents

DOUBLE-TROUBLE

Three Wildcats have recorded double-doubles this season led Carter with eight followed Szulczewski with seven and Hinkle two
Szulczewski and Carter each put together a double-double in the Cats straight-set win over BYU Thursday, leading K-State to its first Top 10 win in program history.
With her 23^rd double-double against BYU, Carter is 12 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

CRACKING THE TOP 10

Kadye Fernholz and Sydney Bolding are tied ninth in the rally-scoring era each with 327.0 career blocks while Bolding's 1.30 average is good for second.
Totaling 1,284 career kills, Aliyah Carter ranks seventh overall and third in the rally-scoring era with her current career average of 3.73 kills per set ranks ranking third overall.
With 15 20-kill matches, Carter ties first in program history during the rally-scoring era alongside Kaitlynn Peiger (2010-13) and ties fifth overall.
Mackenzie Morris, a product of Dallas, Texas, is third overall and in the rally scoring era with 1,605 total digs.
Morris has produced six 20-dig matches this season with a season-best 30 to bring her career total to 26, which is good for second all-time in program history.
At 4.25 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).
Loren 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.

UP NEXT

The Cats will return to Morgan Family Arena for a midweek match against the defending national champion Texas on Wednesday, November 8.
First serve is slated for 6:30 PM
Texas leads the all-time series 49-7.
The conference contest can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

Cats, #14 Jayhawks Meet for Dillons Sunflower Showdown

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Players Mentioned

Sydney Bolding

Aliyah Carter

Aniya Clinton

Kadye Fernholz

Loren Hinkle

Mackenzie Morris

Izzi Szulczewski

Kansas State University Athletics

Cats, #14 Jayhawks Meet for Dillons Sunflower Showdown

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Players Mentioned

Sydney Bolding

Aliyah Carter

Aniya Clinton

Kadye Fernholz

Loren Hinkle

Mackenzie Morris

Izzi Szulczewski

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