K-State Treks to Orlando to Face UCF

Wednesday, November 20

Orlando, Fla.

6 p.m.

Kansas State University

UCF

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K-State upsets #18 TCU 3-0 / Nov. 14, 2024 - Morgan Family Arena

Nov 19, 2024 | Volleyball

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MANHATTAN, Kan. – Fresh off its sweep over nationally ranked TCU, K-State is set to face UCF on Wednesday night at The Venue at UCF in Orlando, Fla., with first serve slated for 6 p.m. CT.

The Wildcats (10-13, 8-6 Big 12) picked up their first victory over a ranked opponent this season with the help of 22 kills from Aliyah Carter, who garnered Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors.

UCF enters the conference match up with an 8-15 overall record, that includes a 1-13 record in league play. The Knights look to break an 11-match losing streak Wednesday.

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

Following the match at UCF, the Wildcats will return to Morgan Family Arena to host the final Dillons Sunflower Showdown of 2024 against No. 11 Kansas on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT.

Advanced tickets for Sunday's Dillons Sunflower Showdown between K-State and No. 11 Kansas are sold out, while limited tickets are available for walk-up purchase. Tickets are available for the Wildcats' regular-season finale against No. 24 BYU and can be purchased at 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 #24
K-STATE (10-13, 8-6 BIG 12) at UCF (8-15, 1-13 BIG 12)
Wednesday, November 20 // 6 PM CT // The Venue at UCF
Live Stats // ESPN+

K-STATE AT A GLANCE

Fresh off its sweep over nationally ranked TCU, K-State (10-13, 8-6 Big 12) is set to face UCF on Wednesday night at The Venue at UCF in Orlando, Fla., with first serve slated for 6 p.m. CT.
The Wildcats picked up their first victory over a ranked opponent this season with the help of 22 kills from Aliyah Carter, who garnered Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors.
In front of a sold-out crowd, Carter's 22 kills helped the Wildcats earn their sixth Top 25 win under second-year head coach Jason Mansfield.
K-State came out on top in each of the seven major statistical categories – hitting percentage (.200), points (60.0), kills (47), aces (3), blocks (10.0), digs (66) and assists (46) – on its way to collecting the upset.
The Cats defense forced 22 errors from TCU and held the Frogs to their second-lowest hitting percentage of the season (.149). K-State out-blocked TCU 10.0-6.0 led by big stops from Brenna Schmidt (5) and Shaylee Myers (3).
Redshirt sophomore Aniya Clinton finished the night with 12 kills while hitting .258.
Senior setter Izzi Szulczewski dished out 33 assists alongside a match-high 14 digs to pick up her 12 double-double of the season. Carter chipped in 10 digs for her 32^nd career double-double, while Ella Larkin (12) and Ava LeGrand (11) also reached the 10-dig mark.

SCOUTING UCF

After starting off their 2024 campaign with a five-match win streak under 11^th-year head coach Jenny Maurer, the Knights are 8-15 overall with a 1-13 record in league action.
Maurer has led the Knights to an overall 25-27 record in two seasons at UCF.
The Knights look to break an 11-match losing streak.
UCF is hitting .233 as a team, averaging 13.10 kills per set led by Avah Armour.
The 6-foot-5 outside hitter leads the Knights with 3.27 kills a set at a .180 efficiency.
In a 5-1 offense, Abby Schomers paces the offense with 9.29 assists per set.
Defensively, the Knights are averaging 13.87 digs led by Chloe Scheer (4.38 digs/set), while Sasha Cohen and Alexia Kuehl are averaging 0.68 blocks.
The Knights were picked 11^th in the Big 12 preseason coaches' poll.

INSIDE THE SERIES

Wednesday's match marks the sixth meeting between the Wildcats and Knights, and the third in Orlando.
K-State leads the all-time series 3-2 after picking up a straight set victory in opening weekend of conference play.
The Cats 2-0 in three-set matches and 1-2 in five-set matches against the Knights.
Under Mansfield, K-State is 1-1 vs. UCF.

KILLER QUEEN

The Big 12 Conference named K-State graduate Aliyah Carter as its Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Wildcats to Top 25 sweep over TCU, the league office announced Tuesday.
Carter earns her second weekly honor of the season after picking up 22 kills against then-No. 18 TCU, her eighth 20-kill match of the year, to power K-State to its first victory over a ranked opponent this season.
In addition to hitting at a .308 clip, Carter tallied 10 digs to complete the 32^nd double-double of her career while also totaling three blocks against the Horned Frogs.
The Dubuque, Iowa product has now produced 25 career matches with 20 or more kills, which is one shy of tying second all-time in school history alongside K-State's first All-American Dawn Cady.
The 5-foot-9 outside hitter finished the week leading the Big 12 in kills per set (6.00), total kills (36) and points per set (6.33). Her 6.00 kills per set was eighth highest nationally across Division I while her average of 6.33 points per set was 10^th.
Carter has led the Cats in kills in 18 of 23 outings this season and has reached double-digit kills in all but two matches.
The Big 12 weekly honor is the 11^th in Carter's respective career, and her sixth league Offensive Player of the Week title. Carter's 11 weekly awards are the most by any Wildcat and tie seventh in conference history.
Carter is one of only seven players in school history to produce a 30-kill match, while her 87 attacks at Iowa State shattered a rally-scoring era, five-set match program record. She is also one of only four players in the Big 12 to achieve a 30-kill match this season.
Her 1,778 career kills is second all-time in K-State history.

TEAM LEADERBOARD

Carter is currently the team kills-leads with 394 kills, averaging 4.38 per set. Brown is next in line with 206 kills (2.29 kills/set), while Myers follows closely behind (2.22 kills/set).
Larkin is averaging 4.52 digs per set to lead the Cats statistically, posting 407 total digs on the year.
Schmidt is leading the block with 1.07 blocks per set, followed by Williams (0.98) and Brown (0.77).
Brown is the sixth player during the rally-scoring era in school history to record 16 solo blocks in a season and is the fastest Wildcat to reach 16.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

K-State 5-7 (4-3 Big 12) when playing on the road this season.
On the road, the Wildcats are hitting .204 with opponents hitting at a .215 efficiency.
Larkin guides the defense with 4.60 digs per set while Schmidt has totaled 47 blocks (1.06 per set) with a team-leading .403 hitting percentage.
Carter averages 4.44 kills per set (.181) to lead the offense.
The Cats have served up 54 aces with Gregorski and Sims both accounting for 11 of those.
Szulczewski dishes out 10.36 assists per set on the road and is tied second in blocks (28) alongside Brown.
K-State is 459-438-2 all-time when playing on the road, and 237-297 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 18 of 23 matches this season.

The Wildcats are sixth in the league with a rate of 2.24 blocks per set, totaling 202 overall, and are fifth in conference games only (2.26).
K-State has held its opponents under a .100 hitting efficiency in eight matches this season, going 7-1.
K-State accumulated 100 digs, the second most by a Big 12 member this season,
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.

CATS Vs. THE BIG 12

K-State is seventh in the league standings with an 8-6 conference record, that includes a 4-3 record on the road.
In Big 12 matches, the Cats' offense is led by Carter, who now leads the league in total kills in conference matches (260). Carter is also second with 4.56 kills per set in Big 12 matches, total points (282), and points pet set (4.95).
K-State is the Big 12 leader in digs per set in overall matches (16.91) and second in conference games only (16.88), guided by Larkin who is third overall in the league (4.52).
Schmidt and Williams lead K-State at the net, both averaging over one per match in league matches, while Brown has totaled 11 solo blocks.
Offensively, the Wildcats are second in kills per set (14.05) and assists per set (13.30).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

The Wildcats are 8-1 when hitting a higher efficiency and 8-6 when producing more kills than their opponents.
Additionally, the Cats are 7-1 when they have limited their opponents to a hitting efficiency under .200.
K-State has out-blocked opponents in seven matches going 6-1, with four victories when trailing in blocks (4-9).
The Cats have led in digs in 18 of 23 matches this season and have won nine matches when leading in total digs and are 9-9 overall in the category.
K-State has won five of its seven five-set matches in 2024, while it is 1-6 in four-setters and 4-5 in three-set matches.

DOUBLE DOWN

Four Wildcats have recorded double-doubles this season, led by setter Izzi Szulczewski with 12. Szulczewski has totaled 22 in her career at K-State.
Carter has turned in a team-leading 32 double-doubles in her career, including eight this season.
Szulczewski and Carter each posted double-doubles against nationally-ranked TCU last week.
Ava LeGrand owns three-career double-doubles along with Liz Gregorski, with both earning all three this season.

AROUND THE BIG 12

With just two weeks left of the season, Arizona State (26-2, 14-1 Big 12) leads the way in the league standings followed closely by KU (22-3, 13-2 Big 12). Utah (21-5, 11-4 Big 12) ranks third with Baylor (18-7, 10-4 Big 12) rounding out the top four. K-State is seventh in the standings.
Six schools rank in the latest AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll– No. 9 Arizona State, No. 11 Kansas, No. 17 Baylor, No. 19 Utah, No. 22 TCU and No. 24 BYU.
K-State's Aliyah Carter (offensive), BYU's Brielle Kemavor (co-defensive), TCU's Sarah Sylvester (co-defensive) and Cincinnati's Faith Frame (rookie) earned weekly league volleyball recognition during the 12th week of the season.