No. 14 KU Sweeps K-State Saturday in Lawrence

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Izzi Szulczewski turned in her ninth double-double of the season in the second Dillons Sunflower Showdown, as K-State fell in straight sets to rival No. 14 Kansas Saturday (19-25, 24-26, 23-25) at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

Szulczewski has recorded a double-double in three of the Cats' last four matches as the junior dished out 26 assists to go with 14 digs.

K-State (13-10, 7-7 Big 12) gathered 39 kills at a .216 pace led by Aliyah Carter and Aniya Clinton. Carter totaled 14 kills with a .214 hitting efficiency followed by Clinton for 12.

Mackenzie Morris led the backrow with 18 digs while sophomore Brenna Schmidt had a match-high five blocks.

KU (18-4, 9-3 Big 12) hit .213 with 45 kills on 122 swings and 19 errors led by Caroline Bien. The junior outside was the lone Jayhawk to reach double figures with 14 k

FROM THE HEAD COACH
Head Coach Jason Mansfield
Overall statement…
"It's my first time experiencing the rivalry, and as I mentioned last night, it's awesome. You can feel the passion people have for this matchup. [KU's] program is currently a bit stronger than ours, as it should be. The coach has been there for 27 years, and I have a lot of respect for what he's built because it's something we are striving for in Manhattan. I'm proud of our players for their effort last night, but it was another disappointing loss in the second set where we felt we had a chance to win. Coming back to battle in the third set speaks volumes about our group and shows that we are continually finding ways to improve. We have a tough stretch ahead with five consecutive matches against ranked teams, but we're holding our own and believe we can compete with these teams. Now, we are focused on finding small ways to get better and maintaining our health."

On Szulczewski's performance…
"I'm really proud of how Izzi is growing as a leader on the court. Obviously, she's been more consistent and making more plays. Her defense has been excellent against teams that are attacking her. She's doing a commendable job in digging the balls she's capable of defending."

SET-BY-SET
Set One – KU 25, K-State 19
Down 5-6, K-State scored two consecutive points with the help of a block assist by Brenna Schmidt and Aniya Clinton until KU broke away with a 6-0 scoring run to take the set lead.

The Jayhawks extended their lead out to seven, 17-10, with a kill by Ayah Elnday to force the Wildcats second timeout. Attacks from Carter and Szulczewski brought the score back within five, but KU added three straight points to help secure the set victory.

Clinton and Carter each registered five kills in the opening set to lead the Cats' offense that hit .216 while KU hit .364 as a team.

Set Two – KU 26, K-State 24
With the score tied 4-4, the Cats put together a 5-1 run to grab a three-point lead. With the help of another successful run K-State took advantage of a service and attack error to take the 13-9 lead, forcing a timeout from KU.

The Jayhawks worked their way to a one-point deficit, 17-16, but a kill from Carter ended the threat. A touch was confirmed to overturn a call, in favor of the Cats, to keep the two-point lead.

Szulczewski and Schmidt teamed up for the stop for the Cats to be the first to reach 20.

At set point K-State, the Jayhawks took advantage of a service error to ignite an unanswered 5-0 closing run to take the second clip.

The Cats offense out-hit the Jayhawks .217-.208 in the set, with 14 kills and four errors.

Set Three – KU 25, K-State 23
KU used a 4-1 scoring to take a 15-10 lead until a pair of attack errors and Carter's 14^th kill helped the Cats bring the score within three.

Schmidt connected on a pass from Szulczewski to place the kill out of range of the Jayhawks to keep Cats in the set. K-State put three straight blocks in the books, led by Schmidt, to make it 21-18.

K-State's defense held the Jayhawks to a .098 hitting efficiency, forcing 10 errors as they out-blocked KU 4.0-2.0 led by three from Schmidt.

INSIDE THE BOX

Kansas swept past the Cats, 25-19, 26-24, 25-23
K-State hit .216 (39 kills, 14 errors)
Carter had 14 kills to lead the offense followed by Clinton with 12
Morris recorded a season-best 34 digs for her third career 30-dig match.
Szulczewski dished out a season-best 51 assists with 14 digs.
Schmidt turned in five blocks while Szulczewski with four.
Szulczewski served up a pair of aces.
KU hit .213 (45 kills, 19 errors)
Bien was the lone Jayhawk to reach double figure kills with 14
The match had 17 tie scores with nine lead changes.

BEYOND THE BOX

K-State is 2-9 when dropping the first set
The Cats are 4-4 against ranked opponents, 1-3 vs. Top 25 teams on the road
K-State is 7-6 when playing on the road this season, 4-6 in true road games
In Big 12 action, the Cats are 3-5 on the road
K-State is 10-4 in three-set matches.
The Wildcats lead the all-time series 67-60-1 and are 30-24 in Lawrence

WHAT'S NEXT
The Cats will return to Morgan Family Arena for a midweek match against the defending national champion Texas (18-3, 13-0 Big 12) on November 8, at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday's match can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

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Team Stats

Aliyah Carter

Aniya Clinton

Kadye Fernholz

Sydney Bolding

Players Mentioned

Aliyah Carter

Aniya Clinton

Mackenzie Morris

Brenna Schmidt

Izzi Szulczewski

Players Mentioned

Aliyah Carter

Aniya Clinton

Mackenzie Morris

Brenna Schmidt

Izzi Szulczewski

Kansas State University Athletics