Wildcats, Bearcats Set for Big 12 Action Thursday Night

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Fresh off a five-set thriller against Iowa State, K-State is set to take on Cincinnati Thursday night at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, scheduled for a 5 p.m. CT first serve.

The Wildcats (4-9, 2-2 Big 12) picked up their second Big 12 victory Saturday evening, as K-State overcame a 2-0 deficit and handed Iowa State its first Big 12 loss of the season in front of a sold-out crowd. K-State's defense held ISU to a .144 hitting percentage behind 93 digs and a season-high 21.0 blocks led by 11 by Brenna Schmidt.

Cincinnati enters week three of Big 12 play 2-1 in Conference with an 11-3 overall record, that included a seven-match win streak from Sept. 7-Sept. 25. The Bearcats won the first meeting between the two squads last season, 3-1, taking a 1-0 advantage in the all-time series.

Thursday's match can be seen ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

Following the match at Cincinnati, K-State will head to Morgantown, W.V., to take on the West Virginia Mountaineers (6-9, 0-4 Big 12) on Sunday at noon at WVU Coliseum.

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 #14
K-STATE (4-9, 2-2 BIG 12) at CINCINNATI (11-3, 2-1 BIG 12)
Thursday, Oct. 10 // 5 PM CT // Fifth third Arena
Live Stats // ESPN+

K-STATE AT A GLANCE

Fresh off a five-set thriller against Iowa State, K-State is set to take on Cincinnati Thursday night at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, scheduled for a 5 p.m. CT first serve.
The Wildcats (4-9, 2-2 Big 12) picked up their second Big 12 victory Saturday evening, as K-State overcame a 2-0 deficit and handed Iowa State its first Big 12 loss of the season in front of a sold-out crowd.
K-State's defense held ISU to a .144 hitting percentage behind 93 digs and a season-high 21.0 blocks led by 11 from Brenna Schmidt.
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.
Brenna Schmidt became the first Wildcat to register 10 or more since Sydney Bolding against TCU on Nov. 19, 2022.
Izzi Szulczewski dished out 31 assists and added 13 digs to complete her seventh double-double of the year. Ava LeGrand also inked a double-double, her fourth of the season, with 20 assists and 15 digs.
K-State has won six of the last 10 matches against Iowa State, that includes a current five-match win streak.
The Big 12 is the fourth ranked RPI (rate percentage index) conference in the country with an average RPI of .5963 following behind Big Ten, ACC and SEC.

SCOUTING CINCINNATI

Cincinnati (11-3), a team that finished 12-16 overall and 5-16 in the Conference last season, is off to a 2-1 start in its second season in the Big 12 after picking up a straight set victory over UCF. The Bearcats lone Conference loss is to Iowa State (1-3).
The Bearcats are undefeated at home this season with a record of 4-0 with just four set losses.
UC held a seven-match winning streak from Sept. 7-Sept. 25, losing five sets in that time frame.
Overall, seven of UC's 11 victories have come in sweep fashion, while its losses were in four (2) and three-set matches.
Freshman libero Faith Frame was named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week for the second this season Tuesday, totaling 30 digs (4.29) that included a match-high 17 in the Bearcats sweep of UCF.
Offensively, UC is seventh in the league with a .255 hitting efficiency with an average of 13.00 kills a set led by Carly Glendinning (3.78, .286).
Running a 5-1 offense, Katelyn Lefler dishes out 10.14 assists per set while Glendinning and Sydney Nolan combine for 27 of the Bearcats 71 service aces.
Cincinnati is third in the Big 12 in blocks per set (2.51)/ limiting opponents to a .173 hitting percentage.
Four players are averaging over one block a set: Irbe Lazda (1.33), Abby Walker (1.20), Ligia Williams (1.00) and Zeta Washington (1.00).

INSIDE THE SERIES

Cincinnati holds a 1-0 edge in the all-time series after picking up a four-set win in its first season in the Big 1 – 25-21, 18-25, 25-16, 25-19.
Two Wildcats picked up double-doubles against the Bearcats with Aliyah Carter (17 kills, 11 digs) and Szulczewski (29 assists, 10 digs).

CATS vs. THE BIG 12

K-State is 2-2 in Conference play this season with victories over UCF and Iowa State.
Liz Gregorski leads the offense, hitting .267 and averaging 3.87 kills per set to go along with 2.13 digs, four aces and 10 blocks.
Gregorski turned in a team- and career-high 21 kills against Texas Tech (Oct. 3).
Carter adds 3.67 kills a set in Big 12 play followed by Meg Brown (3.27), while Brown posts a team-leading efficiency of .302.
Defensively, K-State averages a league-high 19.07 digs per set led by 4.47 from Ella Larkin. The Cats have totaled 38 blocks this season (2.53) with Schmidt and Jordyn Williams combining for 35 and both averaging over one block a set.
On the other side of the ball, the Wildcats are fifth in kills per set (13.58) and are 3-4 when leading in kills.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

K-State 1-5 (0-1 Big 12) when playing on the road this season and 0-3 when playing in true road games after dropping a four-setter at Texas Tech in the first Big 12 road test.
On the road, the Wildcats are hitting .199 with opponents hitting at a .209 efficiency.
Larkin guides the defense with 4.57 digs per set while Schmidt has totaled 22 blocks (1.00 per set) with a team-leading .347 hitting percentage.
Carter averages 4.35 kills per set (.218) to lead the offense followed by Gregorski (2.09) and Shaylee Myers (1.88).
The Cats have served up 27 aces with Gregorski each accounting for eight of them, with Symone Sims adding six.
Szulczewski has turned in 9.61 assists on the road with 14 total blocks and four service aces.
K-State is 455-436-2 all-time when playing on the road, and 234-295 in true road matches.

DEFENSIVE CATS

As a team, K-State is the Big 12 leader in digs per set (17.63) and has led in digs in 10 of 13 matches this season, losing those three matches when trailing in digs.
The Wildcats are fifth in the league with a rate of 2.31 blocks per set, totaling 111 overall, and are third in conference games alone (2.53).
K-State has held its opponents under a .200 hitting efficiency five matches this season, going 4-1. The Cats are also 4-1 when out-blocking opponents.
K-State accumulated 100 digs in a five-setter against UC Davis (Aug. 31), marking the first 100-dig match since 2019.
K-State's defense turned in held ISU to a .144 hitting percentage behind 93 digs and a season-high 21.0 blocks led by 11 from Brenna Schmidt.
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.

KILLER CARTER

Carter, the all-time rally-scoring era kills leader, ranks fourth all-time in K-State history with 1,573 after turning in her 94^th career match with 10 or more kills against Iowa State.
With two 20-kill matches following opening weekend, Carter continues her dominance as the rally-scoring 20-kill match leader with 19, which is fourth all-time in school history.
She also stands alone as the rally-scoring era kills average leader with an average of 3.81.

AROUND THE BIG 12

KU (12-1) remains the only undefeated team in Conference games with a perfect 3-0 league record. The Jayhawks suffered their lone loss against Creighton in a sweep at home.
Arizona State (14-2), Utah (13-2) and TCU (11-3) are tied second with a 3-1 Big 12 record.
Five schools were ranked in the AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll following week one action – No. 8 KU, No. 13 Arizona State, No. 17 TCU, No. 18 Baylor, and No. 23 BYU, while Utah is receiving votes.
TCU's Melanie Parra (offensive), Arizona State's Mary Shroll (defensive) and Cincinnati's Faith Frame (rookie) earned weekly league recognition for their efforts during the second week of Big 12 action.
Parra earned her fourth Offensive Player of the Week honor this season, just two away from tying the Conference's single-season record.

Wildcats, Bearcats Set for Big 12 Action Thursday Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sydney Bolding

Meg Brown

Aliyah Carter

Liz Gregorski

Ella Larkin

Ava LeGrand

Shaylee Myers

Brenna Schmidt

Symone Sims

Izzi Szulczewski

Jordyn Williams

Kansas State University Athletics

Wildcats, Bearcats Set for Big 12 Action Thursday Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sydney Bolding

Meg Brown

Aliyah Carter

Liz Gregorski

Ella Larkin

Ava LeGrand

Shaylee Myers

Brenna Schmidt

Symone Sims

Izzi Szulczewski

Jordyn Williams

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