Carter Happy She Made the Decision to Stay
Dec 13, 2023 | Volleyball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Aliyah Carter is ready to play again. That's putting it lightly.
Carter and Kansas State saw their hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament vanish after a successful season under first-year head coach Jason Mansfield. The Wildcats were one of the first four teams left out of the tournament.
It proved to be a key reason why Carter, the first three-time unanimous All-Big 12 selection in school history, chose to take her COVID year and return to the Wildcats for a fifth and final season.
Carter, a native of Dubuque, Iowa, owns a career average of 3.79 kills per set, which is a school record during the rally-scoring era (since 2001), and ranks third all-time in school history behind Liz Wegner (1998-2001) and Dawn Cady (1996-99).
She's back for one more season in Manhattan and determined to reach a NCAA Tournament.
"I'm not the only one disappointed on this team, and I think being mad and angry and having a chip on our shoulder is the best motivation we could possibly have," she says.
She's fired up. She's ready to go.
She believes that the sky is the limit for the Wildcats next season.
K-State Sports Extra's D. Scott Fritchen spoke with Aliyah Carter about her decision to return to K-State and her aspirations for the upcoming season in this Q&A:
D. Scott Fritchen: Exactly when did you decide to use your COVID year and return to the Wildcats for a fifth and final season?
Aliyah Carter: I always knew I was going to use my COVID year. I just didn't know if I was going to use it at K-State just because I got granted this whole another year of volleyball and maybe I'd want to experience it someplace else and go to a bigger city. I don't know, I was kind of up the air about it for a while, even during the season. Then Selection Sunday happened, and basically that night when we found out we didn't make it in — which was just heartbreaking — basically I texted my family because I wanted them to be involved with the decision. I said, "What do you guys think? What should I do?" They said to pray about it and that at the end of the day it was my decision. So, I gave myself a week and thought maybe the decision might come to me one day because at the moment I was just really mad that we didn't make the tournament.
A week went by, and I had my individual meeting with Jason Mansfield and the coaches that Friday, so I knew I had to have a decision by then. Then Thursday came around and I still didn't have a decision, but I was like, "I'm still so mad about the tournament." I love my coaches and my teammates and love the school. I just love Manhattan. I was like, "There's nothing wrong with being here, and there's nothing wrong with me wanting to stay."
Fritchen: Take me back to the NCAA Tournament selection show and just the emotions you must've felt before, during and after the selection process. What was that day like?
Carter: I'd take you back to Houston, our last conference game, and we ended up losing that game in four sets, but we still felt like in our hearts and in our guts that we did the work to make it into the tournament. We took down some of the most unbeatable teams. We took down last year's national champs. They'd have to give us a chance. That's what we were thinking.
Going into Selection Sunday, what was in my head was whether we'd get an eight seed or not. We had done the work to get an eight seed. We thought it'd be awesome if we could go to Wisconsin because Liz Gregorski was just at Wisconsin, and she has a bunch of friends there and family and it's close. But I wouldn't have minded going to Stanford. We knew that we weren't probably going to go to Nebraska because we'd already played them. We had a good feeling that we weren't going to go to Nebraska. There were people going to Texas, and we got down to Wisconsin and then we didn't get up getting to Wisconsin. I said, "Oh, we're going to Stanford." Then when the eighth seed at Stanford got called, I kind of knew. There were four more spots left and once the last spot was taken, it was complete silence, and crying. It was very sad. I was crushed. I felt like Selection Sunday was like a funeral because we didn't have another chance. We knew Sidney Bolding and Loren Hinkle were leaving, and we knew Kadye Fernholz wasn't going to come back, and most likely Mackenzie Morris was going to go into the transfer portal, so that was it. It was definitely heartbreaking.
Fritchen: You talk about it being like a funeral, but looking back what did this past season mean to you?
Carter: It means the most. This season was the best season I'd had at K-State so far, just the feeling of it, the way I played, the way I was able to lead the team. It just felt right. It felt like our team was just coming together beautifully, and on top of that, we had some great wins in the new arena and the volleyball fan base is growing and it felt amazing. The whole season, minus the selection show, was just pretty much almost like a perfect story. We had some hiccups here and there, but when you think back to Nebraska, after losing against Nebraska at home, we were like, "We know what tough teams are going to feel like. We just got smacked by a tough team. So, what are we going to do about it?" We responded in great ways with BYU and Iowa State and Texas. There were some games where we just didn't quite get it, away games, but I had full faith that we were going to do great things.
Fritchen: How have you changed the most in the last year?
Carter: The way I view volleyball has changed the most. My junior year was really hard for me. I wasn't playing as much, I felt like I was just so bad at volleyball, I didn't know if I'd ever get out of that funk. I feel like I owe a lot of credit to Jason and the staff for igniting the fire within me again. I love volleyball again. I feel like any position that I was going to be put in this season, whether it was me playing or on the bench cheering my teammates, I felt that I was put into a position where I could really love the sport again and feel like I was getting better.
Fritchen: Obviously, you recently were named a unanimous All-Big 12 First Team selection, becoming the first player in K-State history to unanimously be named All-Big 12 First Team three times. How does that feel?
Carter: It always feels great being able to get an accolade like that, especially when it's with my teammates. But overall, volleyball is a team sport. So, it feels great, don't get me wrong and I appreciate every award I get, but man, if I could trade all the awards and accolades and playing time to be in the Tournament right now, I would.
Fritchen: Who are some of the key pieces of this team returning that you're particularly excited about for next season?
Carter: I'm definitely excited for Aniya Clinton. Her story is unique because she redshirted the previous year. Nobody knew about Aniya. We knew she was a great player from practicing with her and the potential she could have, but she's just getting started. She reminds me of how I was my freshman year, and I just hope it's just up, up, up for her from here. She's going to be a big piece for K-State for years to come. Symone Sims is great as a freshman. She played defensive specialist for the last half and she just needed an opportunity to show what we should do. She's amazing. I hope to see a lot of good things from her in the back row and leading people even though she's a freshman. I feel like Izzi Szulczewski, of course, as our setter, is big. Throughout my years at K-State, I never had a setter for more than a year, so she was a key part of me coming back to K-State because I know I could probably go somewhere and make another good connection with a setter, but to get to play with her as setter for two years in a row is going to be crazy. For sure those things I look forward to. Liz coming back and her leadership is untouchable. She's just such a great leader and can talk to anyone and make anybody feel good no matter what situation. Those four people are just going to be key for next season.
Fritchen: Take me back to that initial Zoom call with Jason Mansfield when he was first hired and how things have blossomed and turned out this year. Selection show aside, is it everything you had envisioned?
Carter: Everything and more, for sure. In the spring after the Zoom call when he came in, I think that's the moment I started to really think this was someone who could really coach me, and I started to realize how much he cared for not only the sport and not only the team but us as individuals. He wants to get to know us and understand how we think and what makes us motivated and how he can help us in any way. Of course, he's a coach and he's going to coach and make the right decisions, but I trusted Jason and I believe in him, and I believe in his vision for K-State volleyball. I just think he's a great individual.
Fritchen: And now we're here. What is the potential of the team next season?
Carter: I think we could be great. I'm not the only one disappointed on this team, and I think being mad and angry and having a chip on our shoulder is the best motivation we could possibly have. Having the coaches that are going to make the right decision in the office working hard on overtime to find the right people to come on the team and the freshmen who are going to come in, they watch selection shows, and they're disappointed, too. I think we can be great if we take all the energy that we have, and we keep it and use it in the right ways.
Fritchen: You've come a long way since the days of dominating the court at Wahlert Catholic High School in Dubuque, Iowa. What have you learned most about yourself during your journey?
Carter: I think I learned most how to channel my energy. I've learned how I tick. Back in high school and just getting recruited by colleges, your mind is somewhere else, you're thinking about getting recruited and who's watching me play, and what's going to go on, and you're still growing. But I was still an athlete, I had so much passion for the game in high school, and people would say that I was a little firecracker and jumping out of the gym. It was great but coming to K-State and being somewhere and loving where you are, I felt like I could really zone in on where I could channel my energy. I couldn't just be on the court going crazy and not thinking about the right shots or thinking about how I could lead my team. I couldn't just think about myself now because we're a team and you have to think about the team. I really got the memo on how to channel my energy in the right things and give a little push or tug here and there when I need to. I'm really excited to come back, and I'm just happy that I made the decision to stay.
Aliyah Carter is ready to play again. That's putting it lightly.
Carter and Kansas State saw their hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament vanish after a successful season under first-year head coach Jason Mansfield. The Wildcats were one of the first four teams left out of the tournament.
It proved to be a key reason why Carter, the first three-time unanimous All-Big 12 selection in school history, chose to take her COVID year and return to the Wildcats for a fifth and final season.
Carter, a native of Dubuque, Iowa, owns a career average of 3.79 kills per set, which is a school record during the rally-scoring era (since 2001), and ranks third all-time in school history behind Liz Wegner (1998-2001) and Dawn Cady (1996-99).
She's back for one more season in Manhattan and determined to reach a NCAA Tournament.
"I'm not the only one disappointed on this team, and I think being mad and angry and having a chip on our shoulder is the best motivation we could possibly have," she says.
She's fired up. She's ready to go.
She believes that the sky is the limit for the Wildcats next season.
K-State Sports Extra's D. Scott Fritchen spoke with Aliyah Carter about her decision to return to K-State and her aspirations for the upcoming season in this Q&A:
D. Scott Fritchen: Exactly when did you decide to use your COVID year and return to the Wildcats for a fifth and final season?
Aliyah Carter: I always knew I was going to use my COVID year. I just didn't know if I was going to use it at K-State just because I got granted this whole another year of volleyball and maybe I'd want to experience it someplace else and go to a bigger city. I don't know, I was kind of up the air about it for a while, even during the season. Then Selection Sunday happened, and basically that night when we found out we didn't make it in — which was just heartbreaking — basically I texted my family because I wanted them to be involved with the decision. I said, "What do you guys think? What should I do?" They said to pray about it and that at the end of the day it was my decision. So, I gave myself a week and thought maybe the decision might come to me one day because at the moment I was just really mad that we didn't make the tournament.
A week went by, and I had my individual meeting with Jason Mansfield and the coaches that Friday, so I knew I had to have a decision by then. Then Thursday came around and I still didn't have a decision, but I was like, "I'm still so mad about the tournament." I love my coaches and my teammates and love the school. I just love Manhattan. I was like, "There's nothing wrong with being here, and there's nothing wrong with me wanting to stay."
Fritchen: Take me back to the NCAA Tournament selection show and just the emotions you must've felt before, during and after the selection process. What was that day like?
Carter: I'd take you back to Houston, our last conference game, and we ended up losing that game in four sets, but we still felt like in our hearts and in our guts that we did the work to make it into the tournament. We took down some of the most unbeatable teams. We took down last year's national champs. They'd have to give us a chance. That's what we were thinking.
Going into Selection Sunday, what was in my head was whether we'd get an eight seed or not. We had done the work to get an eight seed. We thought it'd be awesome if we could go to Wisconsin because Liz Gregorski was just at Wisconsin, and she has a bunch of friends there and family and it's close. But I wouldn't have minded going to Stanford. We knew that we weren't probably going to go to Nebraska because we'd already played them. We had a good feeling that we weren't going to go to Nebraska. There were people going to Texas, and we got down to Wisconsin and then we didn't get up getting to Wisconsin. I said, "Oh, we're going to Stanford." Then when the eighth seed at Stanford got called, I kind of knew. There were four more spots left and once the last spot was taken, it was complete silence, and crying. It was very sad. I was crushed. I felt like Selection Sunday was like a funeral because we didn't have another chance. We knew Sidney Bolding and Loren Hinkle were leaving, and we knew Kadye Fernholz wasn't going to come back, and most likely Mackenzie Morris was going to go into the transfer portal, so that was it. It was definitely heartbreaking.
Fritchen: You talk about it being like a funeral, but looking back what did this past season mean to you?
Carter: It means the most. This season was the best season I'd had at K-State so far, just the feeling of it, the way I played, the way I was able to lead the team. It just felt right. It felt like our team was just coming together beautifully, and on top of that, we had some great wins in the new arena and the volleyball fan base is growing and it felt amazing. The whole season, minus the selection show, was just pretty much almost like a perfect story. We had some hiccups here and there, but when you think back to Nebraska, after losing against Nebraska at home, we were like, "We know what tough teams are going to feel like. We just got smacked by a tough team. So, what are we going to do about it?" We responded in great ways with BYU and Iowa State and Texas. There were some games where we just didn't quite get it, away games, but I had full faith that we were going to do great things.
Fritchen: How have you changed the most in the last year?
Carter: The way I view volleyball has changed the most. My junior year was really hard for me. I wasn't playing as much, I felt like I was just so bad at volleyball, I didn't know if I'd ever get out of that funk. I feel like I owe a lot of credit to Jason and the staff for igniting the fire within me again. I love volleyball again. I feel like any position that I was going to be put in this season, whether it was me playing or on the bench cheering my teammates, I felt that I was put into a position where I could really love the sport again and feel like I was getting better.
Fritchen: Obviously, you recently were named a unanimous All-Big 12 First Team selection, becoming the first player in K-State history to unanimously be named All-Big 12 First Team three times. How does that feel?
Carter: It always feels great being able to get an accolade like that, especially when it's with my teammates. But overall, volleyball is a team sport. So, it feels great, don't get me wrong and I appreciate every award I get, but man, if I could trade all the awards and accolades and playing time to be in the Tournament right now, I would.
Fritchen: Who are some of the key pieces of this team returning that you're particularly excited about for next season?
Carter: I'm definitely excited for Aniya Clinton. Her story is unique because she redshirted the previous year. Nobody knew about Aniya. We knew she was a great player from practicing with her and the potential she could have, but she's just getting started. She reminds me of how I was my freshman year, and I just hope it's just up, up, up for her from here. She's going to be a big piece for K-State for years to come. Symone Sims is great as a freshman. She played defensive specialist for the last half and she just needed an opportunity to show what we should do. She's amazing. I hope to see a lot of good things from her in the back row and leading people even though she's a freshman. I feel like Izzi Szulczewski, of course, as our setter, is big. Throughout my years at K-State, I never had a setter for more than a year, so she was a key part of me coming back to K-State because I know I could probably go somewhere and make another good connection with a setter, but to get to play with her as setter for two years in a row is going to be crazy. For sure those things I look forward to. Liz coming back and her leadership is untouchable. She's just such a great leader and can talk to anyone and make anybody feel good no matter what situation. Those four people are just going to be key for next season.
Fritchen: Take me back to that initial Zoom call with Jason Mansfield when he was first hired and how things have blossomed and turned out this year. Selection show aside, is it everything you had envisioned?
Carter: Everything and more, for sure. In the spring after the Zoom call when he came in, I think that's the moment I started to really think this was someone who could really coach me, and I started to realize how much he cared for not only the sport and not only the team but us as individuals. He wants to get to know us and understand how we think and what makes us motivated and how he can help us in any way. Of course, he's a coach and he's going to coach and make the right decisions, but I trusted Jason and I believe in him, and I believe in his vision for K-State volleyball. I just think he's a great individual.
Fritchen: And now we're here. What is the potential of the team next season?
Carter: I think we could be great. I'm not the only one disappointed on this team, and I think being mad and angry and having a chip on our shoulder is the best motivation we could possibly have. Having the coaches that are going to make the right decision in the office working hard on overtime to find the right people to come on the team and the freshmen who are going to come in, they watch selection shows, and they're disappointed, too. I think we can be great if we take all the energy that we have, and we keep it and use it in the right ways.
Fritchen: You've come a long way since the days of dominating the court at Wahlert Catholic High School in Dubuque, Iowa. What have you learned most about yourself during your journey?
Carter: I think I learned most how to channel my energy. I've learned how I tick. Back in high school and just getting recruited by colleges, your mind is somewhere else, you're thinking about getting recruited and who's watching me play, and what's going to go on, and you're still growing. But I was still an athlete, I had so much passion for the game in high school, and people would say that I was a little firecracker and jumping out of the gym. It was great but coming to K-State and being somewhere and loving where you are, I felt like I could really zone in on where I could channel my energy. I couldn't just be on the court going crazy and not thinking about the right shots or thinking about how I could lead my team. I couldn't just think about myself now because we're a team and you have to think about the team. I really got the memo on how to channel my energy in the right things and give a little push or tug here and there when I need to. I'm really excited to come back, and I'm just happy that I made the decision to stay.
Players Mentioned
OH/OPP
/ Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ Volleyball
MB/OPP
/ Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
L
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
S
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