Wildcats Prepped for Dillons Sunflower Showdown

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The K-State Wildcats travel east on I-70 to take on in-state rival Kansas in the first round of the 2024 edition of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

The Wildcats (6-9, 4-2 Big 12) are coming off a 2-0 week with five-set triumphs at Cincinnati and West Virginia to earn their third consecutive win. KU (14-1, 5-0 Big 12), who stands at No. 8 in the national standings, enters the week with a five-match winning streak that includes just two set losses in Big 12 play.

KU is 8-2 in the last 10 matches with a current six-match win streak, while the Jayhawks are also 8-2 in the last 10 meetings in Lawrence. K-State leads the all-time series with KU, 67-60-1, dating back to 1974.

K-State will return to Manhattan to host the first Big 12 match between the Cats and No. 20 Utah Utes on October 24, before making the trip to Ames, Iowa, for second round with Iowa State on October 27.

Single match tickets for all Wildcat home matches are available through the K-State Athletics ticket office at 1-800-221-CATS and www.kstatesports.com/tickets, starting at just $10 when purchased in advance.

MATCH #16
K-STATE (6-9, 4-2 BIG 12) at #8 KU (14-1, 5-0 BIG 12)
Thursday, October 17 // 6:30 PM CT // Horejsi Family Arena
Live Stats // ESPN+

K-STATE AT A GLANCE

The Wildcats (6-9, 4-2 Big 12) travel east on I-70 to take on in-state rival Kansas in the first round of the 2024 edition of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.
K-State is coming off a perfect 2-0 week with five-set triumphs at Cincinnati and West Virginia, stretching its win streak to three. The Cats are tied third in the league standings alongside No. 18 TCU (12-4).
Against WVU, senior Aliyah Carter accounted for 17 of the Wildcats' 65 kills while Liz Gregorski and Meg Brown both added 14.
Brenna Schmidt, who hit a match-leading .625 efficiency, totaled 10 kills on 16 swings with no errors.
As a team, K-State hit .256 in coming away with its fourth straight win over WVU.
Gregorski achieved her third double-double of the season in the third, finishing the afternoon with 13 digs to complete the double-double.
The Wildcats held a 13.0-10.0 edge in blocks, getting nine total blocks from Brown and six from Izzi Szulczewski, who handed out a career-high 53 assists to go with nine digs and four kills.
Carter added four blocks (2 solo, 2 assists) to reach a team-high 20.0 points alongside Brown.
Senior libero Ella Larkin led all players with 19 digs, marking her ninth match with 15 or more digs. Sophomore Symone Sims accounted for the pair of Wildcat aces on the day.
K-State has out-blocked its opponent six times this season while reaching double figures in seven matches.

SCOUTING #8 KU

Kansas (14-1, 5-0 Big 12), who ranks eighth in the latest AVCA Top 25 Poll, comes into Thursday's match after a pair of straight-set victories at West Virginia and Cincinnati.
The Jayhawks lone defeat came against the then-No. 9 Creighton Bluejays in the final preseason match of the season. KU has suffered just eight set losses this season (42-8).
Offensively, four everyday players average over two kills a set led by Ayah Elnady (2.88 kills pe set) and Toyosi Onabanjo (2.80 kills per set).
The duo, along with London Davis (2.68 kills/set) and Carolina Bien (2.68 kills/set) have each turned in over 100 kills this season.
Onabanjo is the Jayhawks' leader in total blocks (66.0) and hitting percentage at .457. The senior middle blocker leads the league in blocks per set (1.35).
KU's 2.66 blocks per set leads the Big 12 and ranks 29^th nationally.
Kansas ranks second in the Big 12 and fourth in Division I in kills per set (14.56) and are second nationally in hitting percentage (.327).
During Big 12 play, Davis is the team's leader in kills per set at 2.93 while Bien is next at 2.86.
Freshman Reese Ptacek was named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week after racking up 21 kills and 10 total blocks last week.

INSIDE THE SERIES

K-State leads the all-time series with KU, 67-60-1, dating back to 1974.
The Cats last defeated the Jayhawks in 2020 to split the season series.
The Jayhawks have won 11 of the previous 15 meetings, with a current six-match win streak.
K-State is 31-21 all-time on the road against KU, and are 1-5 in the last six meetings in Lawrence.
K-State is 2-8 in its last 10 matches in the series and 2-8 in the last 10 meeting in Lawrence.
KU won the 2023 edition of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown, taking both matches of the season-series.

GOING THE DISTANCE

Through 15 matches, nine of K-State's matches this season have gone at least four sets.
After Sunday's five-set match at WVU, four matches have gone the full five sets.
K-State played four consecutive three-set matches before a four-setter vs. Texas Tech (Oct. 3).
The Cats have also played four four-set matches (1-4) in addition to the four five-setters (3-1).
The Cats played just three five-set matches a season ago - equaling the lowest such matches in a single season.
K-State has won the opening set five times, going 3-2 in those matches.

LAST FIVE

With the help of a three-match winning streak, K-State is 4-1 in its last five outings.
K-State is averaging nearly a full kill per set (12.68) better over its opponents (11.86).
As a team, the Cats are hitting just .218 over the last five matches after hitting .180 before the skid began.
Gregorski leads the Wildcats with 3.68 kills per set while Carter is second at 3.64 kills per set during the stretch.
Schmidt is hitting at a team-leading .317 over the last five matches, while totaling 26 blocks (1.18 per set).

CATS VS. THE BIG 12

K-State is 4-2 in Conference play this season with a three-match conference win streak.
Carter leads the offense with 3.68 kills per set at a .165 hitting efficiency with 12 blocks.
Gregorski adds 3.64 kills per set in Big 12 play to go along with 2.44 digs, six aces and 11 blocks.
K-State is third in the league in digs per set (16.84) in Big 12 play led by 4.24 from Ella Larkin, who is fifth in the league.
The Cats have totaled 61 blocks this season (2.44), which is third in the Big 12. Schmidt and Williams lead K-State at the net, both averaging over one per match.
On the other side of the ball, the Wildcats are fifth in kills per set (13.92) in Big 12 matches.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

The Wildcats are 6-1 when hitting at a higher hitting percentage and 4-4 when producing more kills than their opponents.
Additionally, the Cats are 4-1 when they have limited their opponents to a hitting efficiency under .200.
K-State has out-blocked opponents in six matches going 5-1, while the win over Cincinnati marked the first victory when trailing in blocks (1-8).

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

K-State 3-5 (2-1 Big 12) when playing on the road this season and 2-3 when playing in true road games after back-to-back five-set wins over Cincinnati and WVU.
On the road, the Wildcats are hitting .207 with opponents hitting at a .209 efficiency.
Ella Larkin guides the defense with 4.36 digs per set while Schmidt has totaled 32 blocks (1.00 per set) with a team-leading .379 hitting percentage.
Carter averages 4.15 kills per set (.198) to lead the offense followed by Gregorski (2.45) and Brown (2.00).
The Cats have served up 38 aces with Gregorski and Sims both accounting for 10 of those.
Szulczewski averages 9.85 assists per set on the road with 23 total blocks and four service aces.
K-State is 457-436-2 all-time when playing on the road, and 236-295 in true road matches.

DEFENSIVE CATS

As a team, K-State is the Big 12 leader in digs per set (16.91) and has led in digs in 11 of 15 matches this season, dropping only three matches when trailing in digs.

The Wildcats are sixth in the league with a rate of 2.31 blocks per set, totaling 134 overall, and are third in conference games alone (2.44).
K-State has held its opponents under a .200 hitting efficiency five matches this season, going 4-1.
K-State accumulated 100 digs in a five-setter against UC Davis (Aug. 31), marking the first 100-dig match since 2019.
K-State generated season-high 21.0 blocks led by 11 from Schmidt, who is the first Cat to produce 11 since 2016 (Bryna Vogel v. Ohio State).
K-State's 21.0 total blocks is the highest block production since Sept. 19, 2014, against Michigan (23.5), while it marks the sixth time in school history K-State reached 21.0 blocks in a five-setter.

AROUND THE BIG 12

KU (14-1) remains the only undefeated team in Conference games with a perfect 5-0 league record.
Arizona State (16-2) and Utah (15-2) are tied second with a 5-1 Big 12 record.
Six schools were ranked in the AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll following week one action – No. 8 KU, No. 13 Arizona State, No. 18 TCU, No. 20 Utah, No. 12 Baylor, and No. 24 BYU.
Utah's Kamryn Gibadlo (offensive), Arizona State's Mary Shroll (defensive) and Kansas' Reese Ptacek (rookie) collected weekly Conference volleyball awards for the seventh week of the 2024 season.

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Players Mentioned

Meg Brown

Aliyah Carter

Liz Gregorski

Ella Larkin

Brenna Schmidt

Symone Sims

Izzi Szulczewski

Kansas State University Athletics