K-State, #11 KU Set for Final Dillons Sunflower Showdown

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State and Bo. 11 Kansas are set to meet Sunday in the season's second edition of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown at Morgan Family Arena, with first serve scheduled at 2 p.m.

K-State (10-14, 8-6 Big 12) looks to bounce back after falling to UCF in five sets Wednesday. Three Wildcats reached double-digit kills with Aniya Clinton leading both squads with a career-high 25, as she became the fourth player this season to produce a 20-kill match.

KU (22-3, 13-2 Big 12), who is ranked 11^th in the latest AVCA coaches' poll, has won two consecutive matches and comes into Sunday's match second in the Big 12 standings behind Arizona State.

The Wildcats own a 67-61-1 edge in the Dillons Sunflower Showdown, including a 30-22 record at home. KU claimed a five-set victory over K-State at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena on October 17, overcoming a 2-1 deficit to win its seventh straight in the series. Sunday will mark K-State's fourth match facing a ranked opponent in November.

Sunday's match will air on ESPN+ and the ESPN app, with Matt Walters and Liz Wegner-Busch on the call.

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 #25
K-STATE (10-14, 8-7 BIG 12) vs. #11 KANSAS (22-3, 13-2 BIG 12)
Sunday, November 24 // 2 PM CT // Morgan Family Arena
Live Stats // ESPN+ // Tickets // Promotions

K-STATE AT A GLANCE

K-State and Kansas are set to meet Sunday in the season's second edition of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown at Morgan Family Arena, with first serve scheduled at 2 p.m.
The Wildcats (10-14, 8-7 Big 12) look to bounce back after suffering a tough five-set loss at UCF Wednesday night.
Despite the Wildcats holding a 71-63 edge in kill production, the Knights defense forced 24 errors and out-blocked K-State 11.0-5.0.
Aniya Clinton led all players and notched a career-high 25 kills, her first career match with 20 or more kills, and hit at a .347 clip. Shaylee Myers added a season-high 18 kills followed by Aliyah Carter with 11.
Izzi Szulczewski dished out a career-high 59 assists, as the Beaverton, Ore., product paced a Wildcat offense that hit .297. Szulczewski finished with a season- and match-high three service aces and eight digs.
Defensively, Ella Larkin tallied 22 digs with a pair of aces while Brenna Schmidt totaled three block assists.
Clinton is the fourth Wildcat this season to produce a 20-kill match, joining Carter, Meg Brown and Liz Gregorski.
Carter garnered Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors Tuesday.
K-State is 1-7 against opponents ranked in the AVCA Coaches Top 25 this season.

SCOUTING #11 KANSAS

Kansas (22-3, 13-2 Big 12), who ranks 11^th in the latest AVCA Top 25 Poll, is coming off a pair of top 25 wins over then-No. 18 TCU and then-No. 17 Baylor.
The Jayhawks held an 11-match win streak in Big 12 play before dropping a pair of league matches at Arizona State and Arizona. KU has suffered 19 set losses this season (66-19).
Offensively, five players average over two kills a set led by Ayah Elnady (3.24 kills pe set), who has served a team-leading 35 aces this season.
Senior Camryn Turner, the 2023 Big 12 Setter of the Year, is third in the nation with 11.31 assists per set and is second in the conference with 995 total assists.
Turner is the only setter this year to earn the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week title (Sept. 23).
Toyosi Onabanjo is the Jayhawks' is second in kills (2.60) and is the team leader in total blocks (95.0) and hitting percentage (.408). The senior middle blocker is fourth in the league in blocks per set (1.35), while Reese Ptacek is second overall (1.30).
KU's 2.55 blocks per set leads the Big 12 and ranks 34^th nationally.
Kansas ranks second in the Big 12 and fifth in Division I in kills per set (14.50) and are 12^th nationally in hitting percentage (.290).

INSIDE THE SERIES

K-State leads the all-time series with KU, 67-61-1, dating back to 1974.
The Cats last defeated the Jayhawks in 2020 to split the season series.
The Jayhawks have won nine of the last 10 meetings, with a current seven-match win streak.
K-State is 30-22 at home against KU and is 2-3 in the last five meetings in Manhattan.
KU won the 2023 edition of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown, taking both matches of the season-series.
Head coach Jason Mansfield is 0-3 in his career against Kansas, while Sunday marks the first meeting at home.

GOING THE DISTANCE

Through 24 matches, 15 of K-State's matches this season have gone at least four sets.
After the five-setter at UCF, eight matches have gone the full five sets (5-3), including six in October.
K-State played four consecutive five-set matches from October 5-17, going 3-1.
The Cats have also played seven four-set matches (1-6).
K-State has recorded a program record 10 five-set matches twice (2017, 2019).

KILLER QUEEN

Aliyah Carter earned her second weekly honor of the season Tuesday after picking up 22 kills against then-No. 18 TCU, her eighth 20-kill match of the year, and powered 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 24 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 1,789 career kills is second all-time in K-State history.

IMPACT PLAYERS

Carter is currently the team kills leader with 405 kills, averaging 4.35 per set. Brown is next in line with 208 kills (2.24 kills/set), while Myers follows closely behind (171).
Four players have turned in 20-kill matches this season, with the latest coming from Clinton with a career-high 25 at UCF.
Larkin is averaging 4.52 digs per set to lead the Cats statistically, posting 429 total digs on the year.
Schmidt is leading the block with 1.04 blocks per set, followed by Williams (0.98) and Brown (0.75).
Brown is the sixth player during the rally-scoring era in school history to record 17 solo blocks in a season and is the fastest Wildcat to reach 17.

HOME COOKIN'

The Wildcats are 418-218-5 all-time when playing at home, including a 5-6 record at home this season.
Under Mansfield, the Cats are 14-10 overall at home, that includes a 11-5 record in Big 12 play.
In 11 home matches this season, the Wildcats are hitting .197 paced by 8.38 assists from Szulczewski, while opponents are hitting .217.
Carter averages a team-leading 4.30 kills per set, followed by Brown (2.68), who is hitting at a team-best .251.
Two players average over a block a set with Williams (1.22) and Schmidt (1.08).
K-State has served up 39 aces at home, with Larkin accounting for eight of them. The senior libero averages 4.43 digs at home to lead the backrow.

DEFENSIVE CATS

As a team, K-State is the Big 12 leader in digs per set (16.68) and has led in digs in 18 of 24 matches this season.

The Wildcats are tied sixth in the league with an average of 2.18 blocks per set, totaling 207 overall.
K-State has held its opponents under a .200 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 8-7 conference record, that includes a 4-3 record at home.
In Big 12 matches, the Cats' offense is led by Carter, who is second in the league in total kills in conference matches (271). Carter is also second with 4.52 kills per set in Big 12 matches, total points (293), and points pet set (4.88).
K-State is the Big 12 leader in digs per set in overall matches (16.68) and third in conference games only (16.53), 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 12 solo stops.
Offensively, the Wildcats are second in kills per set (14.06) and assists per set (13.29).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

The Wildcats are 8-2 when hitting a higher efficiency and 8-7 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.
The Cats have led in digs in 18 of 24 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 eight five-set matches in 2024, while it is 1-6 in four-setters and 4-5 in three-set matches.

AROUND THE BIG 12

With just two weeks left of the regular-season, Arizona State (27-2, 15-1 Big 12) leads the way in the league standings followed closely by KU (22-3, 13-2 Big 12). Utah (25-5, 12-4 Big 12) ranks third with Baylor (19-7, 11-4 Big 12) and TCU (18-7, 10-5 Big 12) rounding out the top five.
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.

K-State, #11 KU Set for Final Dillons Sunflower Showdown

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Players Mentioned

Meg Brown

Aliyah Carter

Aniya Clinton

Liz Gregorski

Ella Larkin

Shaylee Myers

Brenna Schmidt

Izzi Szulczewski

Kansas State University Athletics

K-State, #11 KU Set for Final Dillons Sunflower Showdown

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Players Mentioned

Meg Brown

Aliyah Carter

Aniya Clinton

Liz Gregorski

Ella Larkin

Shaylee Myers

Brenna Schmidt

Izzi Szulczewski

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