Kansas State University Athletics
Friday, August 30
West Lafayette, IN
6 p.m.
Kansas State University
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Purdue University
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Kansas St.
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Purdue
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K-State Drops Season Opener at No. 8 Purdue
Aug 30, 2024 | Volleyball
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – K-State got a double-doubles from outside hitter Aliyah Carter and setter Izzi Szulczewski, however, No. 8 Purdue picked up a four-set win in the season opener Friday at Holloway Gymnasium – 21-25, 25-18, 22-25, 23-25.
In the program's first match against the Boilermakers since 2009, Carter's kill total lifted K-State (0-1) to a 55-52 edge in total kill production.
Carter, who turned in her seventh consecutive match with 10-plus kills against Top 25 opponents, recorded her 25th career double-double with her 10th dig in the third set. The Cats' super-senior from Dubuque, Iowa finished the night with 21 kills and 13 digs.
In a 5-1 lineup, Szulczewski punched in her third match with 40 or more assists for K-State, tallying 49 on the night with 10 digs, while newcomer Meg Brown totaled 16 kills. Ella Larkin, who earned the starting libero position in the season opener, added 20 digs followed by Symone Sims with 12.
Purdue (1-0) earned its third straight win in the all-time series, leading 4-1, as the Boilermakers were led by 17 kills from Chloe Chicoine and 16 from Eva Hudson.
FROM THE CATS
Head Coach Jason Mansfield
Overall Statement…
"I'm proud of how we competed in the first match of the year, at a very tough place to play, vs. a top 10 team with lots of returners back. Their outsides are two of the best in the country and we did a good job of slowing them down. Our defense got better as the match went on, so there's lots of good stuff to build on there. I'm not sure we played that well on the road all last year, so this is a good start to the season on the road, we'll learn and grow from it."
On Carter's opening night performance…
"Aliyah was the best outside on the floor tonight, she proved that she deserves to be put up with the best outside hitters in the country and she competed the way we know she can all night."
On the transfers first match at K-State…
"We have three really great pieces that we added to our team with Meg Brown, Ella Larkin and Jordyn Williams from the transfer portal. Their growth this season is really important to our success, and I think all three of them showed lots of moments tonight of how special they each can be, we are really lucky to have them at K-State."
SET-BY-SET
Set One – #8 Purdue 25, K-State 21
Purdue jumped out to a 3-0 lead but was snapped by a 5-0 spurt led by Meg Brown's first kill in purple. The Boilermakers and Wildcats continued to exchange points, with neither team able to grab larger than a two-point lead.
With the set tied at 21, the Boilermakers turned in three consecutive kills before a block by Raven Colvin and Kenna Wollard delivered the set point.
Carter totaled a set-high seven kills in the opening set with three errors at a .267 clip, while Szulczewski paces the Cats with 12 assists.
Set Two – K-State 25, #8 Purdue 18
A kill from Carter and two attack errors from Purdue helped the Wildcats to a 10-8 lead. K-State held on to its lead with a block by newcomer Jordyn Williams and Izzi Szulczewski to force a Purdue timeout.
K-State turned in a 7-3 run to take a 22-17 lead for Purdue to take its final timeout of the set. The Wildcats immediately responded with a service ace by Gregorski and kill from Brown for set-point. Brown connected on a pass from Szulczewski to even the match.
The Cats hit .294 in the second set with 13 kills on 34 swings.
Set Three – #8 Purdue 25, K-State 22
Purdue used a 6-1 run to come from behind a four-point deficit, 10-6, to take the lead but the Cats was ended by a kill from Shaylee Myers.
With the score at 16-14 in favor of Purdue, K-State called its first timeout since the opening set. The Wildcats managed to tie the set at 21 until All-American Chicoine answered with a pair of kills and led her team to a set win.
Purdue picked up 14 kills on 42 swings in the third set to outhit K-State .214-.143, led by six kills from Chicoine.
Set Four – #8 Purdue 25, K-State 23
After back-and-forth action, Purdue capitalized on a pair of blocks to stretch out to a 16-13 lead.
Following a K-State timeout, Larkin earned her second ace of the night to keep the match alive, but attack errors handed Purdue the season opener.
K-State recorded a .222 hitting efficiency (15 kills, 7 errors), led by Brown, who hit .556 in the final set with a set-high six kills and one error, while Szulczewski had 14 assists.
INSIDE THE BOX
BEYOND THE BOX
WHAT'S NEXT
K-State will face UC Davis (1-0) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. CT for day two of the Stacey Clark Classic at Holloway Gymnasium. The Aggies defeated UMBC (0-1) in four sets (25-23, 25-21, 21-25, 25-15) earlier Friday afternoon in the tournament opener.
In the program's first match against the Boilermakers since 2009, Carter's kill total lifted K-State (0-1) to a 55-52 edge in total kill production.
Carter, who turned in her seventh consecutive match with 10-plus kills against Top 25 opponents, recorded her 25th career double-double with her 10th dig in the third set. The Cats' super-senior from Dubuque, Iowa finished the night with 21 kills and 13 digs.
In a 5-1 lineup, Szulczewski punched in her third match with 40 or more assists for K-State, tallying 49 on the night with 10 digs, while newcomer Meg Brown totaled 16 kills. Ella Larkin, who earned the starting libero position in the season opener, added 20 digs followed by Symone Sims with 12.
Purdue (1-0) earned its third straight win in the all-time series, leading 4-1, as the Boilermakers were led by 17 kills from Chloe Chicoine and 16 from Eva Hudson.
FROM THE CATS
Head Coach Jason Mansfield
Overall Statement…
"I'm proud of how we competed in the first match of the year, at a very tough place to play, vs. a top 10 team with lots of returners back. Their outsides are two of the best in the country and we did a good job of slowing them down. Our defense got better as the match went on, so there's lots of good stuff to build on there. I'm not sure we played that well on the road all last year, so this is a good start to the season on the road, we'll learn and grow from it."
On Carter's opening night performance…
"Aliyah was the best outside on the floor tonight, she proved that she deserves to be put up with the best outside hitters in the country and she competed the way we know she can all night."
On the transfers first match at K-State…
"We have three really great pieces that we added to our team with Meg Brown, Ella Larkin and Jordyn Williams from the transfer portal. Their growth this season is really important to our success, and I think all three of them showed lots of moments tonight of how special they each can be, we are really lucky to have them at K-State."
SET-BY-SET
Set One – #8 Purdue 25, K-State 21
Purdue jumped out to a 3-0 lead but was snapped by a 5-0 spurt led by Meg Brown's first kill in purple. The Boilermakers and Wildcats continued to exchange points, with neither team able to grab larger than a two-point lead.
With the set tied at 21, the Boilermakers turned in three consecutive kills before a block by Raven Colvin and Kenna Wollard delivered the set point.
Carter totaled a set-high seven kills in the opening set with three errors at a .267 clip, while Szulczewski paces the Cats with 12 assists.
Set Two – K-State 25, #8 Purdue 18
A kill from Carter and two attack errors from Purdue helped the Wildcats to a 10-8 lead. K-State held on to its lead with a block by newcomer Jordyn Williams and Izzi Szulczewski to force a Purdue timeout.
K-State turned in a 7-3 run to take a 22-17 lead for Purdue to take its final timeout of the set. The Wildcats immediately responded with a service ace by Gregorski and kill from Brown for set-point. Brown connected on a pass from Szulczewski to even the match.
The Cats hit .294 in the second set with 13 kills on 34 swings.
Set Three – #8 Purdue 25, K-State 22
Purdue used a 6-1 run to come from behind a four-point deficit, 10-6, to take the lead but the Cats was ended by a kill from Shaylee Myers.
With the score at 16-14 in favor of Purdue, K-State called its first timeout since the opening set. The Wildcats managed to tie the set at 21 until All-American Chicoine answered with a pair of kills and led her team to a set win.
Purdue picked up 14 kills on 42 swings in the third set to outhit K-State .214-.143, led by six kills from Chicoine.
Set Four – #8 Purdue 25, K-State 23
After back-and-forth action, Purdue capitalized on a pair of blocks to stretch out to a 16-13 lead.
Following a K-State timeout, Larkin earned her second ace of the night to keep the match alive, but attack errors handed Purdue the season opener.
K-State recorded a .222 hitting efficiency (15 kills, 7 errors), led by Brown, who hit .556 in the final set with a set-high six kills and one error, while Szulczewski had 14 assists.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Purdue picked up a four-set win in the 2024 season opener – 25-21, 18-25, 25-22, 25-23.
- K-State hit .203 (55 kills, 25 errors) against Purdue's .234 (52 kills, 18 errors)
- Purdue out-blocked K-State, 17.0-6.0
- Friday's match saw 41 tie scores and 15 lead changes.
- Carter finished the night with a match-high 21 kills and 13 digs, while Brown totaled 16 kills in her first match for K-State.
- Szulczewski totaled 49 assists on the night with 10 digs.
- Carter and Szulczewski each posted a double-double.
- Larkin added 20 digs followed by Sims with 12.
- Two Boilermakers reached double figure kills with Chicoine (17) and Hudson (16).
BEYOND THE BOX
- Friday marked the first meeting between K-State and Purdue since 2009.
- Purdue leads the all-time series, 4-1, with a three-match win streak.
- Carter has turned in 10-plus kills in seven straight matches against Top 25 teams.
- Carter achieved her 25th career double-double; she is 10 away from cracking the top 10 in the K-State record books along with her 18th career 20-kill match.
- K-State is 5-6 under Mansfield against Top 25 teams.
- The loss marked the first time K-State dropped its season-opener since 2020 – vs. Iowa State, 3-2.
WHAT'S NEXT
K-State will face UC Davis (1-0) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. CT for day two of the Stacey Clark Classic at Holloway Gymnasium. The Aggies defeated UMBC (0-1) in four sets (25-23, 25-21, 21-25, 25-15) earlier Friday afternoon in the tournament opener.
– k-statesports.com –
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on the K-State Volleyball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on the K-State Volleyball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
Team Stats
KState
Purdue
Kills
55
52
Errors
25
18
Attempts
148
145
Hitting %
.203
.234
Points
67.0
74.0
Assists
54
49
Aces
6
5
Blocks
6
17
Game Leaders
Kills
21
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
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