K-State Faces Houston in Big 12 Action Wednesday

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State heads to the Lone Star State to take on Houston Wednesday night at Fertitta Center, with first serve scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.

K-State (15-8, 8-7 Big 12) enters the week tied seventh in the league standings, alongside TCU. Houston (8-17, 1-13 Big 12) looks to snap a 12-match losing streak in hopes of picking up its first since September 27 (vs. Texas Tech, 3-1).

With just three matches left of the regular season, K-State continues to fight for a chance at earning an at-large bid to the 2025 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship, as the Wildcats boast the league's eighth-best RPI at 29. It would mark the Wildcats first trip to the NCAA Tournament under third-year head coach Jason Mansfield and the first overall since 2021.

Wednesday's match will broadcast on ESPN+ and the ESPN app, while live stat links can be found on the K-State volleyball schedule page HERE.

MATCH #24
K-STATE (15-8, 8-7 BIG 12) at HOUSTON (8-17, 1-13 BIG 12)
Wednesday, November 19 // 7 PM CT // Fertitta Center (Houston, Texas)
Live Stats // ESPN+

FOLLOW THE CATS

Wednesday's match can be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
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 WEDNESDAY WIN WOULD…

Hand the Wildcats their first win over Houston as Big 12 opponents.
Mark the first win against UH since August 28, 2007, and first in Houston since September 4, 2004.
Be the second-most conference wins in a single season in the Mansfield era and bring the Cats one victory away from tying the 2023 season (10-8).

K-STATE AT A GLANCE

K-State heads into its final three matches of the regular season with an overall record of 15-8 and 8-7 mark in Big 12 play.
Three players registered double-doubles in Week 12 with Ava LeGrand (2), Shaylee Myers and Aniya Clinton.
In the Big 12 standings, the Wildcats tie seventh alongside TCU (18-9, 8-7 Big 12) with the Horned Frogs winning the head-to-head.
K-State is 3-2 in its last five outings, highlighted by upsets over No. 20 Colorado and No. 21 Baylor.
Myers, a contender for the Big 12 Player of the Year award, is the Big 12 leader in attacks per set (12.62) and is second in the league in kills per set (4.74) and points per set (5.19). She is one of only two players to have 10 or more 20-kill matches this season (10).
Myers is one of only two players in the conference to garner three Offensive Player of the Week awards.
The Wildcats are 7-4 on the road this season, which includes a 5-3 mark in Big 12 play.

SCOUTING HOUSTON

Houston (8-17, 1-13 Big 12) looks to pick up just its second Big 12 win of the season in hopes of snapping a 12-match losing streak. Houston's lone conference win came against Texas Tech on September 27.
Over the past 12 matches, Houston has won 10 total sets with five-set losses against UCF and at West Virginia.
Senior Brenya Reid surpassed the 1,000 career kill mark in the Cougars' four-set loss to Baylor on Saturday. She finished with 14 kills to bring her 1,006 career. She is one of 122 active Division I players to achieve the milestone.
Alyssa Gonzales is coming off a 20-kill performance against the Bears, leading the match with 22 with nine digs.
Defensively, Houston is second to only Arizona State in blocks per set (2.61), while the team ranks fifth in the league in total blocks (235.0).
Barakat Rahom is seventh in the conference in total blocks (108) and seventh in blocks per set (1.21) behind Kellen Morin (1.25), who ranks fourth.

INSIDE THE SERIES

Houston leads the all-time series, 5-4, that includes a 2-1 lead in matches played in Houston.
K-State is 3-2 in the last five meetings, while Houston has won both matches played as Big 12 foes.
The 2023 matchup was the first meeting between the two squads since 2007 (W, 3-0).
The Wildcats have won just one set against Houston under Mansfield, boasting a 1-6 set-record.

LAST 5 MATCHES
9/4/04: Kansas State 3, Houston 2
9/10/05: Kansas State 3, Houston 1
8/28/07: Kansas State 3, Houston 0
11/25/23: Houston 3, Kansas State 1
9/25/24: Houston 3, Kansas State 0

20-KILL LEADERBOARD

With her 21 kills against Baylor, Myers moved into a three-way tie for third for 20-kill matches in a single season: 1. Dawn Cady (1999) – 14, 2. Kaitlynn Pelger (2011) – 11, 3. Liz Wegner (1999)/Liz Wegner (2000)/Shaylee Myers (2025) - 10

Her 11 career 20-kill matches tie seventh all-time alongside Nataly Korobkova (2007-08) and Yolanda Young (1993-96).
Liz Wegner-Busch (1998-2001) holds the K-State record for 20-kill matches in a career with 28.

THE FINAL STRETCH

Wednesday's match marks the first of the final three matches of the regular season, and one of two of the last road matches.
Seven of the Wildcats' nine last matches were against nationally ranked opponents.
The final regular season match will feature the second meeting between K-State and Iowa State on November 29 in Ames, Iowa.

MILESTONE WATCH

Myers is 57 kills short of her 1,000^th career kill.
She would be the 20^th player in school history to reach 1,000 career kills, and only second player to do so in the last seven years.
She is the 28^th Wildcat to reach the 1,000 career point mark, ranking 25^th overall in the school history with 1,053 career points.

LAST TIME OUT

K-State got double-doubles from Aniya Clinton and Ava LeGrand Saturday afternoon, but No. 13 Kansas handed the Wildcats a straight-set loss to split the season's Dillons Sunflower Showdown at Morgan Family Arena, 25-22, 25-20, 26-24.
Two players registered double-digit kills for the Wildcats: Myers (15), Clinton (11).
LeGrand had 34 assists with 12 digs for her 13^th double-double of the year, while Clinton added 11 digs for her seventh.
Sims registered 12 digs with Schmidt leading with a match-high four blocks.
Swanson and Zelenovic each recorded 10 kills from KU.
KU held a 5-2 lead in service aces, while the teams combined for 13 service errors.
In total, the match had 16 tied scores and seven lead changes, including four in the final set.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

The Wildcats are undefeated when leading in kills (15-0) and attack percentage (12-0), and are 13-0 when hitting above .200 with five victories hitting north of .300. ...........
Additionally, the Cats are 10-1 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 5-7 when opponents post a team efficiency above .200.
The Wildcats post an impressive 12-1 record when winning the opening set.
K-State has out-blocked opponents in 11 matches (9-2), totaling a season-high 13.0 vs. No. 21 Baylor (Nov. 12)
This season, the Wildcats have recorded a season-high 93 digs against the Jayhawks (Oct. 24), posting an 11-1 record when leading in digs.
K-State finished 5-4 in the month of October, while it is 3-1 in November.

AROUND THE BIG 12

Arizona State (22-3, 13-1 Big 12) paces the way for the Big 12 standings, followed closely by KU (20-8, 11-3 Big 12) and Colorado (21-6, 11-4 Big 12).
Seven schools rank in the latest AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll – No. 9 Arizona State, No. 13 Kansas, No. 20 TCU, No. 21 Colorado, No. 23 Baylor, No. 25 BYU, and No. 25 Iowa State.
Arizona State's pair of Noemie Glover (offensive) and Colby Neal (defensive) and Baylor's Ksenia Rakhmanchik (rookie) were named the Big 12 Volleyball Players of the Week for matches ending Nov. 16.
The Big 12 conference is the No. 1 conference in terms of RPI with 10 teams within the Top 50 of the RPI rankings, including eight in the top 30.

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 (Oct. 3) and KU (Oct. 24).
LeGrand leads the way with 13 in 2025, followed by Clinton with seven and Myers five.
The trio combine for 28 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 412 total kills, 4.74 kills per set, 451.5 points, and 5.19 points per set.
LeGrand orchestrates the offense with 10.14 assists per set (882 total) with a team-leading 27 service aces.
Schmidt leads the way in blocks per set (1.05), followed by Williams (1.00 blocks/set), who leads overall in total blocks (82.0) and hitting percentage (.334).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Aniya Clinton

Ava LeGrand

Shaylee Myers

Kansas State University Athletics