Wildcats Set for Nationally Televised Dillons Sunflower Showdown

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The season's first edition of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown between K-State and 14^th-ranked Kansas is set for a national broadcast on ESPNU Friday night, as the 131^st installment of the in-state rivalry is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence.

K-State (10-6, 3-5 Big 12) looks to bounce back after dropping a pair of Top 25 matches at Baylor and TCU, while No. 14 KU (15-7, 6-2 Big 12) enters the match having won six of its last seven matches. The Jayhawks have won nine of the last 10 meetings in the series.

MATCH #17
K-STATE (10-6, 3-5 BIG 12) at #14 KU (15-7, 6-2 BIG 12)
Friday, October 24 // 8 PM CT // Allen Fieldhouse (Lawrence, Kan.)
Dillons Sunflower Showdown
Live Stats // ESPNU // Tickets

FOLLOW THE CATS

The Dillons Sunflower Showdown will air on ESPNU, marking the Wildcats' first nationally televised game of the season.
Live stat links can be found on the K-State volleyball schedule page on kstatesports.com, while fans can find live game updates all season long on the Wildcats social media pages (@KStateVB).
Single-match tickets for all home matches can be purchased by contacting the K-State Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 221-CATS, visiting kstatesports.com/tickets or at the Morgan Family Arena ticket booth.

A FRIDAY WIN WOULD…

Move K-State to 2-3 over its last five matches.
Hand the Wildcats their second victory over a Top 25 team, while it would be the first in Big 12 play.
Mark the eighth win over a ranked opponent under head coach Jason Mansfield. K-State currently is 7-14 against Top 25 teams in the Mansfield era.
Snap KU's four-match winning streak.
Mark the first victory over the Jayhawks since 2020, ending an eight-match losing skid.

K-STATE AT A GLANCE

K-State (10-6, 3-5) looks to jump back into the win column after suffering a pair of challenging four-set Top 25 road matches at Baylor and TCU.
Shaylee Myers continues to be one of the most dominant players in the Big 12 conference and NCAA, as the senior is eighth in the nation in kills per set (4.85) and ninth in points per set (5.31). The Big 12 leader in kills per set and two-time Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week has turned in seven matches with 20 or more kills, including a program record 34 on October 1 at West Virginia.
With 10 matches left of the regular season, five are against teams featured in the latest AVCA standings along with Iowa State, which is receiving votes.
Senior setter Ava LeGrand has registered a team-leading eight double-doubles on the year, including seven in the last nine matches.
The Wildcats are 7-16 against Top 25 opponents in the Mansfield era.
On the road, K-State moves to 5-3 that includes a 3-3 mark as a true road team.
This season, K-State holds a 6-4 edge in matches that exceed three sets, with all six victories coming in five-set matches.

SCOUTING #14 KANSAS

The Jayhawks (15-7, 6-2 Big 12) enter Friday's contest with a five-match win streak, after sweeping No. 10 TCU last night, 28-26, 25-16, 25-22.
KU is in its first season under head coach Matt Ulmer, who previously served as the head coach at Oregon (2017-24) where he compiled a 166-77 overall record (.683).
In 2013, Ulmer became youngest coach in volleyball history to win a national championship when he guided Long Beach State to a beach volleyball title.
As a team, KU ranks first in total assists (1,047), kills (1,127), digs (1,203), and blocks (223.0). The Jayhawks also sit third in the league in opponent hitting percentage (.172), while their 223 blocks rank second in the nation.
At the net, Reese Ptacek ranks among the country's three players in total blocks, ranking first in the league and 18^th overall with 97 total blocks. She is followed by Aurora Papac (93) and Jovana Zelenovic (86), who rank third and seventh in the Big 12, respectively.
Libero Ryan White has anchored a back row with 331 total digs, averaging 3.89 digs/set, ranking second and fifth in the Big 12 in the categories.
Offensively, five players are averaging over 2.30 kills per set, led by senior Rhian Swanson with 3.10 kills/set, while freshman Jovana Zelenovic has tallied a team-high 252 total kills.
Cristin Cline and Katie Dalton have each split time as the Jayhawks primary setter. Dalton most recently dished out a career-high 55 assists in a four-set victory over Iowa State (Oct. 10).

INSIDE THE SERIES

K-State leads the all-time series, 67-62-1, dating back to 1974.
KU has won the last eight in the series overall, going back to 2020, and has been ranked in the AVCA Top 25 in the last four matchups.
K-State last won on October 30, 2020, a five-set victory in Lawrence.
The Cats are 31-22 on the road in the series but have dropped eight of the last 10 to the Jayhawks in Lawrence.
KU has taken 11 of the last 15 meetings overall.

Last 5 Matches
11/2/22: Kansas 3, Kansas State 0
11/3/23: Kansas 3, Kansas State 2
11/4/23: Kansas 3, Kansas State 0
10/17/24: Kansas 3, Kansas State 2
11/24/24: Kansas 3, Kansas State 1

LAST TIME OUT

TCU picked up a four-set win over K-State – 26-24, 25-23, 32-34, 25-17.
K-State hit .134 (57 kills, 29 errors, 209 swings) with two Wildcats reaching double-digit kills: Myers (21), Clinton (18)
LeGrand produced her eighth double-double of the season, dishing out 40 assists with 19 digs.
Defensively, Sims produced a team-best 20 digs, while Schmidt led with a match-high six blocks (1 solo, 5 assists) and LeGrand had four block assists.
K-State out-blocked TCU, 9.0-7.0.
K-State leads the all-time series 15-11, while TCU holds a 7-5 edge in matches played in Fort Worth.
Set 3 was the highest scoring set for K-State since September 27, 2024 vs. UCF, where the Wildcats scored 30 points to win the set.

VS. RANKED OPPONENTS

K-State is 1-3 against teams ranked in the AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll with a victory against then-No. 25 North Carolina, while they are 1-1 against teams receiving votes.
Myers is averaging an impressive 4.63 kills per set against ranked teams followed by Clinton (3.44).
Overall, K-State boasts a 7-16 mark against Top 25 opponents under Mansfield.
In 2023, K-State set a program record for Top 25 wins in a single season, that included 12 consecutive set wins with sweeps over #8 BYU (twice) and #3 Texas.
K-State was last ranked in 2020.

MAKE IT GRAND

In her first full season as K-State's primary setter, senior Ava LeGrand third the Big 12 with 10.16 assists per set and sixth in total assists with 620.
LeGrand is 110 assists short of her 1,000^th career assist.
This season, the senior from Papillion, Nebraska, has set single-match career best in assists (59) at West Virginia (Oct. 1).
LeGrand's 59 assists against WVU is the second-most compiled in a single match this season by a Big 12 player.
She has also turned in eight double-doubles this season and now has 11 in her career.

AIR JORDYN

Middle blocker Jordyn Williams continues to anchor the K-State defense at the net, ranking in the Big 12's top-20 in blocks per set (0.96).
The senior tallied a season-best seven blocks and a career-high .667 hitting percentage in the match against Texas Tech (Oct. 10).
Her seven blocks against TTU are the most by a K-State player this season, while she is fourth in the Big 12 in overall hitting percentage (.362).

DIGGY SIMS

A libero and defensive specialist from Frisco, Texas, Symone Sims, has anchored the back row this season as the Cats' starting libero.
Sims is third in the Big 12 in digs per set at a 3.90 mark, while her 238 total digs stand sixth in the league.
She posted a career-high 25 digs against Iowa State (Oct. 8) and at Baylor (Oct. 15)
Totaling six matches on the year with 20 or more digs, she is one 20-dig match shy of joining the program's top-10 leaderboard with total 20-dig matches in a single season.

MYERS MAYHEM

Senior Shaylee Myers' has recorded double-digit kills in all but one match this season, reaching the 20-kill mark in six and includes a record-breaking 34 kills against West Virginia (Oct. 1).
Myers has earned the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week award twice this season (Sept. 23, Oct. 7).
She became the first player in the rally-scoring era to record 34 kills in a single match and just the fourth in program history to reach the milestone.
Her 34 kills are the most kills by any Big 12 player in a match this season.
Myers is only the second player in school history to post 39.5 or more points in a match, setting a new rally-scoring era record.
Tied the program record for service aces in a five-set match, becoming the fifth player in the rally-scoring era to notch five aces.
With her 21 kills at TCU, Myers became the ninth Wildcat to turn in seven or more 20-kill matches in a single season.

ANIYA-LATOR

Clinton, who was selected to the 2025 Preseason All-Big 12 Volleyball Team, has recorded double digit kills in 10 matches in 2025 while reaching the 20-kill mark in three matches this season.
She matched a career-best 25 kills twice this season at West Virginia (Oct. 1) and at Cincinnati (Oct. 3).
A product of Midland, Texas, Clinton is second on the team with 233 kills (3.82 per set) while hitting at a .178 efficiency with 2.31 digs/ set and 0.43 blocks/ set with 14 service aces.
The 6-foot-2 outside hitter/ opposite was one of 18 Big 12 players to earn a spot on the conference's preseason squad.
In 2023, Clinton was named to the All-Big 12 Rookie Team and earned multiple Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors.

DOUBLE DOWN

Ava LeGrand, Aniya Clinton and Shaylee Myers have each recorded a double-double this season for K-State, with all three registering double-doubles at Cincinnati.
LeGrand leads the way with eight in 2025, followed by Clinton with four and Myers has one.
The trio combine for 17 double-doubles in their respective careers.

SENIOR STACKED

K-State's four seniors are leading the team in nearly every major statistical category.
Myers paces the offense with 296 total kills, 4.85 kills per set, 324.0 points, and 5.31 points per set.
LeGrand leads the team and is third in the league with 10.16 assists per set (620 total), as well as service aces (18).
Schmidt leads the way in blocks per set (1.24), while Jordyn Williams leads overall in total blocks (54.0) and hitting percentage (.362).

SHINING IN PURPLE

Five of K-State's six true freshman made their collegiate debuts during the Wildcats' non-conference schedule.
Defensive specialist/libero Caleigh Ponn has appeared in all but three sets in her true freshman season, while middle blocker Cadence Lundgren has played in 36 of 61.
Ponn is fourth on the team in total blocks (114) and blocks per set (1.97), while she has notched 10 or more digs in four matches this season.
Lundgren has made seven match starts and totaled 29.0 blocks this season (0.82 blocks/set), that includes four solo blocks.
Redshirt freshman Emerson Van Lannen is second on the team in service aces (17), recording a season-high three in three matches this season (Last: at #20 Baylor, Oct. 15.)

CATS VS. THE BIG 12

K-State is ninth in the league standings with a 3-5 conference record, that includes a 2-2 record when playing on the road.
In Big 12 matches, the Cats' offense is led by Myers, who is second in the league in total kills (157) and total points (169.0). Myers is fourth in kills per set (4.76) and points per set (5.12) in conference matches only.
Schmidt paves the way at the net, tallying 1.38 blocks/set.
Williams has totaled 29 in Big 12 matches, which includes a team-leading five solo blocks. She also leads with a .364 hitting percentage in league games.
Offensively, the Wildcats are the Big 12 leaders in total kills in conference matches (452), while they are third in the league in kills per set (13.70).
The Cats 286-250 all-time in Big 12 play, including a 21-23 record under Mansfield, while the program boasts an overall conference record of 339-385.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

The Wildcats are undefeated when leading in kills (10-0) and attack percentage (7-0), and are 9-0 when hitting above .200 with four victories hitting north of .300.
Additionally, the Cats are 6-1 when they have limited their opponents to a hitting efficiency under .200. In four of those wins, opponents hit under .100.
Conversely, K-State is 4-5 when opponents post a team efficiency above .200.
K-State has out-blocked opponents in eight matches (6-2), totaling a season-high 10 in four matches (last: vs. Texas Tech, October 10).
This season, the Wildcats have recorded a season-high 78 digs against Iowa State (Oct. 8) with a 7-1 record when leading in digs.
In the month of October, K-State is 3-3, while the Wildcats 6-2 in Friday matches.

YEAR THREE OF THE MANSFIELD ERA

Jason Mansfield, who was appointed as the ninth head coach on Dec. 27, 2022, enters his third season at the helm of the Kansas State volleyball program.
In year one, K-State achieved a record-breaking five top-25 wins with victories over No. 3 Texas, No. 8 BYU (twice), No. 18 Baylor, and No. 25 Iowa State.
K-State handed Texas – the 2022 and 2023 NCAA National Champion – its only loss in conference play in its final season in the Big 12.
Overall, K-State boasts a 7-16 mark against Top 25 opponents under Mansfield.

AROUND THE BIG 12

Arizona State (16-2) remains atop of the league standings with a perfect 6-0 mark in Big 12 matches, while Colorado (16-3) and TCU (16-3) have each recorded just one loss.
Six schools rank in the latest AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll – No. 6 Arizona State, No. 10 TCU, No. 14 Kansas, No. 17 BYU, No. 19 Baylor, and No. 24 Colorado – while Iowa State is receiving votes.
TCU's Evan Hendrix (offensive), Arizona State's Colby Neal (defensive), and BYU's Suli Davis (rookie) were named the Big 12 Volleyball Players of the Week for the fourth week of Conference play.

Wildcats Set for Nationally Televised Dillons Sunflower Showdown

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Aniya Clinton

Ava LeGrand

Cadence Lundgren

Shaylee Myers

Caleigh Ponn

Symone Sims

Emerson Van Lannen

Jordyn Williams

Kansas State University Athletics

Wildcats Set for Nationally Televised Dillons Sunflower Showdown

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Aniya Clinton

Ava LeGrand

Cadence Lundgren

Shaylee Myers

Caleigh Ponn

Symone Sims

Emerson Van Lannen

Jordyn Williams

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