Kansas State University Athletics
‘She’s a Big Part of Who We Are’
Nov 13, 2025 | Volleyball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
She came roaring out of the Kansas State locker room, this 6-foot-2 vision of determination, physicality and confidence in a purple No. 5 jersey, and was greeted by a large crowd at Morgan Family Arena on Wednesday night. And afterward, redshirt junior outside hitter Aniya Clinton hugged her teammates near midcourt following the final point of the fourth set, which gave the Wildcats a 3-1 win over No. 21 Baylor — the Wildcats' second-straight Top 25 win and their fourth of this season.
In between her entrance and the game's final point, Clinton posted 14 kills and added eight digs and one block in this, her second game back with the team she loves, and the volleyball court that she so missed.
"It was a concussion," she explains, sitting inside an empty team meeting room on the second floor of Morgan Family Arena. Clinton still wore her jersey and white Nike kneepads.
Opponents cannot stop her. But her brain did.
It happened during a match at Utah on October 29. Middle blocker Brenna Schmidt and setter Ava LeGrand leapt into the air to execute a block. LeGrand fell, leaving K-State without a setter because LeGrand was on the ground. Things happen so fast in volleyball. Sometimes it's a blur. But Clinton fully recalls what happened next.
"Me and Brenna were like, 'Who's going to get the ball?'" Clinton says. "I dove headfirst into Brenna's knee, hitting my head on her kneecap. Then came the headache, localized where I hit my head, and then we saw the Utah team doctor, and I thought, 'This is it.'
"And then, the lights turned kind of weird."
The return flight to Manhattan proved brutal. Clinton's symptoms included light sensitivity, a foggy mind, fatigue and a persistent headache. Her eyes and ears were sensitive. She could smell everything. It was so weird.
A concussion is a day-to-day thing. Clinton served as a fifth K-State coach of sorts during the Wildcats' visit to No. 17 BYU — an 3-0 loss. She believed she was ready to go when K-State faced Cincinnati — a 3-1 win— on November 6, which was one week after the concussion.
But…
"I had to pass a test on the iPad to be released by the doctor," she says. "I didn't pass the test and still suffered some symptoms. The day after Cincinnati, I was determined to pass the test. I did, and the doctor cleared me."
What does Clinton mean to K-State? Well, she ranks 10th in the Big 12 in averaging 3.83 kills per set. But her value is much more than that.
"She brings a toughness that honestly we don't have without her," K-State head coach Jason Mansfield says after the big win over No. 21 Baylor on Wednesday night. "She's confident, dominant, but when she inserts herself into our team, she gives other people confidence. She plays free, is having fun, and being aggressive. There's just no one like her on our team.
"It's not just about her being a great player, but about the confidence she gives everyone on the court. Her teammates love to have her out there. If anybody's missing, we're not as good, but she's a big part of who we are. She showed her domination at Kansas. That first match was where I saw a different player and who I think she is."
Clinton had 16 kills and 14 digs in a 3-2 win at No. 14 Kansas in Lawrence — one game before she suffered her concussion that prevented her from playing against No. 17 BYU and Cincinnati.
Ten days after her concussion, Clinton posted 17 kills on a .536 hitting percentage as K-State rolled to a 3-0 win over No. 20 Colorado on Saturday.
"It was really exciting," Clinton says. "When you do something for long you can lose the gratitude. I played with so much joy being out there with the girls. It's so different to be on the court than on the bench. I was so happy. I was happy with our performance, everything."
Against No. 21 Baylor, Clinton says, "I gave it my all."
"Once you get to a certain point in a game, you just get the feeling," she says. "Once we got to 23 and they had 19 in the fourth set, I was like, 'We just have to stay disciplined.' We just had to keep doing what we'd been doing the whole game. I was really proud of us."
K-State is 15-7 overall and 8-6 in the Big 12 and is one of just four Big 12 teams to record at least four Top 25 wins this season, joining No. 8 Arizona State, No. 16 TCU, and No. 13 Kansas. The Wildcats beat the Bears in Manhattan for the first time since October 29, 2016.
K-State, which barely missed the NCAA Tournament last season, currently has a RPI of 31 with four remaining regular-season games against No. 13 Kansas, at Houston, UCF and at Iowa State.
The Wildcats and Jayhawks play at 1:00 p.m. Saturday at a sold-out Morgan Family Arena.
"Beating a Top 25 team is a mentality we've always had at K-State," Clinton says. "Sometimes the wins don't always come, but we have the right pieces now, so the wins are coming. We just know who we are in such a great way. We know what we can do and try to showcase that every night.
"I'm so excited down the stretch. It's another chance to do what we've been doing here at home. It's so fun to have all these fans. Saturday's game against KU will be sold out. I'm really proud of us."
There's a special sense of pride, too, that accompanies a comeback story.
"I missed playing so much," Clinton says. "I was so excited when I finally got the opportunity to play again."
K-State, simply, wasn't the same team without her.
She came roaring out of the Kansas State locker room, this 6-foot-2 vision of determination, physicality and confidence in a purple No. 5 jersey, and was greeted by a large crowd at Morgan Family Arena on Wednesday night. And afterward, redshirt junior outside hitter Aniya Clinton hugged her teammates near midcourt following the final point of the fourth set, which gave the Wildcats a 3-1 win over No. 21 Baylor — the Wildcats' second-straight Top 25 win and their fourth of this season.
In between her entrance and the game's final point, Clinton posted 14 kills and added eight digs and one block in this, her second game back with the team she loves, and the volleyball court that she so missed.
"It was a concussion," she explains, sitting inside an empty team meeting room on the second floor of Morgan Family Arena. Clinton still wore her jersey and white Nike kneepads.
Opponents cannot stop her. But her brain did.
It happened during a match at Utah on October 29. Middle blocker Brenna Schmidt and setter Ava LeGrand leapt into the air to execute a block. LeGrand fell, leaving K-State without a setter because LeGrand was on the ground. Things happen so fast in volleyball. Sometimes it's a blur. But Clinton fully recalls what happened next.
"Me and Brenna were like, 'Who's going to get the ball?'" Clinton says. "I dove headfirst into Brenna's knee, hitting my head on her kneecap. Then came the headache, localized where I hit my head, and then we saw the Utah team doctor, and I thought, 'This is it.'
"And then, the lights turned kind of weird."
The return flight to Manhattan proved brutal. Clinton's symptoms included light sensitivity, a foggy mind, fatigue and a persistent headache. Her eyes and ears were sensitive. She could smell everything. It was so weird.
A concussion is a day-to-day thing. Clinton served as a fifth K-State coach of sorts during the Wildcats' visit to No. 17 BYU — an 3-0 loss. She believed she was ready to go when K-State faced Cincinnati — a 3-1 win— on November 6, which was one week after the concussion.
But…
"I had to pass a test on the iPad to be released by the doctor," she says. "I didn't pass the test and still suffered some symptoms. The day after Cincinnati, I was determined to pass the test. I did, and the doctor cleared me."
What does Clinton mean to K-State? Well, she ranks 10th in the Big 12 in averaging 3.83 kills per set. But her value is much more than that.
"She brings a toughness that honestly we don't have without her," K-State head coach Jason Mansfield says after the big win over No. 21 Baylor on Wednesday night. "She's confident, dominant, but when she inserts herself into our team, she gives other people confidence. She plays free, is having fun, and being aggressive. There's just no one like her on our team.
"It's not just about her being a great player, but about the confidence she gives everyone on the court. Her teammates love to have her out there. If anybody's missing, we're not as good, but she's a big part of who we are. She showed her domination at Kansas. That first match was where I saw a different player and who I think she is."
Clinton had 16 kills and 14 digs in a 3-2 win at No. 14 Kansas in Lawrence — one game before she suffered her concussion that prevented her from playing against No. 17 BYU and Cincinnati.
Ten days after her concussion, Clinton posted 17 kills on a .536 hitting percentage as K-State rolled to a 3-0 win over No. 20 Colorado on Saturday.
"It was really exciting," Clinton says. "When you do something for long you can lose the gratitude. I played with so much joy being out there with the girls. It's so different to be on the court than on the bench. I was so happy. I was happy with our performance, everything."
Against No. 21 Baylor, Clinton says, "I gave it my all."
"Once you get to a certain point in a game, you just get the feeling," she says. "Once we got to 23 and they had 19 in the fourth set, I was like, 'We just have to stay disciplined.' We just had to keep doing what we'd been doing the whole game. I was really proud of us."
K-State is 15-7 overall and 8-6 in the Big 12 and is one of just four Big 12 teams to record at least four Top 25 wins this season, joining No. 8 Arizona State, No. 16 TCU, and No. 13 Kansas. The Wildcats beat the Bears in Manhattan for the first time since October 29, 2016.
K-State, which barely missed the NCAA Tournament last season, currently has a RPI of 31 with four remaining regular-season games against No. 13 Kansas, at Houston, UCF and at Iowa State.
The Wildcats and Jayhawks play at 1:00 p.m. Saturday at a sold-out Morgan Family Arena.
"Beating a Top 25 team is a mentality we've always had at K-State," Clinton says. "Sometimes the wins don't always come, but we have the right pieces now, so the wins are coming. We just know who we are in such a great way. We know what we can do and try to showcase that every night.
"I'm so excited down the stretch. It's another chance to do what we've been doing here at home. It's so fun to have all these fans. Saturday's game against KU will be sold out. I'm really proud of us."
There's a special sense of pride, too, that accompanies a comeback story.
"I missed playing so much," Clinton says. "I was so excited when I finally got the opportunity to play again."
K-State, simply, wasn't the same team without her.
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