K-State Drops Season Finale to BYU Friday

MANHATTAN, Kan. – In its regular season finale, K-State got double-doubles from Aliyah Carter and Izzi Szulczewski as the Wildcats fell to BYU on Senior Day at Morgan Family Arena – 17-25, 25-18, 21-25, 17-25.

BYU, who is receiving votes it the latest AVCA Coaches Top 25 poll, won its third consecutive match and finished sixth in the league standings. The Wildcats owned a 56-43 edge in kill production, however, the Cougars (19-9, 12-6 Big 12) defense limited the Cats to a .175 hitting percentage behind 15.0 team blocks led by seven from Brielle Kemavor. Kjersti Strong was the only player to reach double-digit kills for the Cougars (10).

Carter, one of six seniors for K-State (10-17, 8-10 Big 12), led all players with 15 kills and added 12 digs for the 33^rd double-double performance of her career. The outside hitter finishes second all-time in K-State history with 1,839 kills. Aniya Clinton added 12 kills, her fifth consecutive 10-kill match, while Meg Brown had 11 at a match-leading .625 hitting percentage.

In her final match in the Wildcat uniform, Szulczewski handed out 49 assists with 10 digs for her team-leading 14^th double-double of the year. Szulczewski finished her K-State career seventh in school history during the rally scoring era with 1,795 assists.

Senior Ella Larkin turned in her 12^th match with 20 or more digs, which is good for second in the single-season records. Brenna Schmidt led the defense with five block assists, followed by Clinton (4).

The Wildcats honored and celebrated the collegiate careers of six seniors Friday, that included Brown, Carter, Liz Gregorski, Larkin, Molly Ramsey, and Szulczewski.

FROM THE CATS
Jason Mansfield, K-State Head Coach
Overall Thoughts…
"First, I want to thank the crowd for their incredible support throughout the entire season. Tonight was another amazing turnout. In our final match here, we faced a talented and young BYU team that has improved steadily all season. They're playing great volleyball right now. I thought we competed with them in every set, but unfortunately, we couldn't close out some of those tight sets at the end. Still, I'm proud of our fight—just like all season, we showed that we can battle with anyone."

On the Senior Class…
"This senior class is truly special. Many of them transferred in and played a key role in turning this program around. They'll always mean a lot to me because I had the opportunity to coach them, whether for one year or two. We're really going to miss them—not just in matches, but outside the gym as well. Their personalities and character brought so much to this program. I feel incredibly fortunate to have coached such a great group of people."

SET-BY-SET
Set One – BYU 25, K-State 17
BYU opened with a 9-2 lead, that included a 4-0 scoring run, until a kill from Carter snapped the run. Back-to-back kills from Clinton and Carter led off 7-2 run that bridge the gap to three, 13-10.

The Cougars managed to stretch their lead back out to seven, 20-13, to help run away with the set. BYU's defense held K-State to a .075 hitting percentage (12 kills, 9 errors) behind four blocks.

Set Two – K-State 25, BYU 18
K-State made it a one-point set, 11-10, before BYU responded with a 4-1 run to stretch its lead out to four at the media timeout.

The Cats regrouped and rallied to bring the set within one, 17-16, before Schmidt and Clinton each hammered a pass from Szulczewski to grab the lead. K-State finished with a 10-1 closing run to even the match.

Highlighted by six kills from Carter, K-State hit at a .366 clip with 18 kills and three errors. The defense limited the Cougars to a .132 efficiency, as the Cats held a 3.0-2.0 edge in block production.

Set Three – BYU 25, K-State 21
Back-to-back kills by Szulczewski handed K-State a 9-8 lead, until BYU utilized a 5-1 run to take a three-point lead. After going point-for-point, the score was knotted at 17-17 before the Cougars put together a pair of 3-0 runs to take the third set.

BYU's defense totaled five team blocks in the third, led by four from Kemavor, while K-State produced a 15-9 edge in kills.

Set Four – BYU 25, K-State 17
Down 19-16, a kill from Szulczewski and block by Williams and Myers forced a timeout from BYU. Momentum shifted back to the Cougars, as they put together a 6-1 closing run to secure the match victory.

INSIDE THE BOX

BYU won in four – 25-17, 18-25, 25-21, 25-17.
K-State hit .175 as a team (56 kills, 29 errors, 154 attacks).
BYU finished with a .197 hitting percentage (43 kills, 16 errors, 137 swings).
Three players reached the 10-kill mark: Carter (15), Clinton (12), and Brown (11).
The Cougars held a 15.0-8.0 lead in total blocks, paced by Kemavor's eight blocks (1 solo, 7 assists).
Carter finished with 13 digs for the double-double while Szulczewski ended with 49 assists and 10 digs for her 14^th double-double of the season.
Larkin led K-State with her 12^th match with 20 or more digs (25).
Strong led BYU with 10 kills.
K-State led in total kills, 56-43, while BYU had 11 service aces against the Cats six.

BEYOND THE BOX

With the victory, BYU took a 4-3 lead in the all-time series.
Friday's match marked the fourth meeting in Manhattan, and third contest between the two schools in Big 12 play.
Jason Mansfield is 2-1 in his head coaching career against the Cougars.
K-State honored six seniors: Meg Brown, Aliyah Carter, Liz Gregorski, Ella Larkin, Molly Ramsey, and Izzi Szulczewski.

– k-statesports.com –

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Team Stats

Aliyah Carter

Aniya Clinton

Meg Brown

Shaylee Myers

Players Mentioned

Meg Brown

Aliyah Carter

Aniya Clinton

Liz Gregorski

Ella Larkin

Molly Ramsey

Brenna Schmidt

Izzi Szulczewski

Players Mentioned

Meg Brown

Aliyah Carter

Aniya Clinton

Liz Gregorski

Ella Larkin

Molly Ramsey

Brenna Schmidt

Izzi Szulczewski

Kansas State University Athletics