Kansas State University Athletics
A Loyal Group
Nov 27, 2025 | Volleyball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Their framed white jerseys mounted and on display on the volleyball court that they've known for years, Kansas State seniors Ava LeGrand, Shaylee Myers, Brenna Schmidt, Jordyn Williams, and redshirt junior Aniya Clinton grabbed one another and hugged it out a final time after the Senior Night presentations at Morgan Family Arena.
K-State lost to UCF in five sets (19-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-24 and 14-16) in front of a loud crowd that stayed until the end. And when the end of the final home match of the 2025 season hit at 8:53 p.m. the fans stayed some more to cheer as each senior was recognized and had her own moment to shine one final time.
The seniors prior to the season pointed out that they all were returning to complete their careers at K-State. Four seniors had played at K-State for four years, and Williams transferred from Kentucky prior to her junior season. To have every senior returning? That's rare. And that's something that K-State head coach Jason Mansfield might perhaps remember the most about this senior class — the loyalty.
"It's really rare to have four seniors who've been here for four years," Mansfield said. "Unfortunately, that isn't normal in college athletics. It speaks to a lot of things — their closeness, the specialness of K-State and Manhattan and Morgan Family Arena. They all had opportunities to say, 'This is not the place for me.' For them to stick it out and be loyal, I hope they're proud of the fact that they've stayed and have contributed so much to our culture and what we're trying to create and how we played on the court.
"I'm really proud of them. I'm just in awe. They stuck it out. I think they'll remember that for the rest of their lives."
Four years. Fifty-six victories. Twenty-eight wins at Morgan Family Arena.
Playing at Morgan Family Arena. Will they miss it? Of course, they'll miss it.
"Everyone in Manhattan seems to enjoy watching us, and they're behind us and that's really special," Myers said.
"Not all over the country do you have so many fans coming out to a women's volleyball game," LeGrand said. "We've used it to our advantage. I couldn't be more grateful for that."
The seniors dominated in almost every statistical category.
Myers entered the week leading K-State with 428 kills while her 4.76 kills per set ranks 10th nationally. She also ranks 12th nationally with 5.22 points per set. She entered Wednesday needing 41 kills to reach 1,000 in her career.
LeGrand orchestrates the offense with 919 assists and ranks third in the Big 12 with 10.21 assists per game and a team-high 27 service aces.
Schmidt averages 1.03 blocks per set followed by Jordan Williams with 1.00 blocks per set. Williams leads the team with 85 total blocks and with a .340 hitting percentage.
Schmidt, a 6-foot-6 middle blocker, came to K-State after an all-state senior season at Elmwood-Murdock High School in Eagle, Nebraska. After appearing in five matches as a freshman at K-State, she played in 24 matches as a sophomore and 26 last season, while leading the team with 104 blocks. That included 11 blocks against Iowa State to become the first player with double-digit blocks in a game since 2022.
"These girls I'll remember for the rest of my life, and I hope I stay in touch with them the rest of my life," Schmidt said. "It's the friendships and the support. I'm really thankful for them. I'm thankful for the coaches. I'll probably remember the people the most.
"As a freshman, I was super timid. Everybody helped me come out of my shell and be more confident in who I am."
Confidence oozes from Myers, who is capping one of the more notable careers in K-State history.
Myers began playing volleyball at the YMCA in Lincoln, Nebraska during elementary school. Although she also played basketball and soccer, volleyball was her first love. Her passion for volleyball only grew in the eighth grade as she joined Premier Nebraska, and over time she developed the craft of executing a kill, which has served her well through the years.
Myers arrived at K-State on July 4, 2022, after a legendary career at Lincoln Southwest High School, where the First Team Super-State selection by The Lincoln Journal Star amassed a school-record 1,536 kills and 161 service aces. She powered Lincoln Southwest to a 30-5 record and a spot in the state quarterfinals of the 2021 Class A Nebraska state tournament. Her senior season included her 489 kills and .372 hitting percentage — sixth best in the state of Nebraska.
And now? She was drafted 16th overall by the Atlanta Vibe in the 2025 Major League Volleyball Draft. She is also a contender for the Big 12 Player of the Year award.
"It's just every match this year, I look at the stats and I'm amazed that she continues to find ways to get kills," Mansfield said. "She has moments that are tough, and she just keeps with it and keeps staying aggressive and hitting the shots she'll be successful with. She has a lot of variety in her game."
Williams, a 6-foot-2 redshirt senior middle blocker from Lantana, Texas, entered Senior Night ninth in the Big 12 with a .340 hitting percentage.
The story starts back home. At age 8, she was in love with track. Her father coached her. She ran the 400 meters, the 4 x 100 meters and competed in the long jump. She was really good. She believed she was destined to run track.
Then came her friends. They were playing volleyball. So, she wanted to play volleyball with her friends. She began playing competitively when she was 12.
At age 13, Williams played for club team Texas Advantage Volleyball. The team trained six months a year before dominating on the volleyball court. Eventually, she earned Under Armour First Team All-America recognition in 2020 and was a member of two national championship teams with Texas Advantage. She also had college volleyball coaches looking.
Williams decided to take her talents to Kentucky.
But Williams spent two seasons at Kentucky and competed in just 46 sets over 17 matches.
She entered the transfer portal looking for a new opportunity.
Williams appeared in 16 matches with 13 starts in her first season at K-State in 2024. In 46 sets, she finished with 60 kills and had a team-high .321 hitting percentage. She was third on the team with 44 blocks and had 42 digs, seven aces and eight assists.
"Two years ago, when I first got here, I was unsure about everything," Williams said. "Being with these girls has made everything so worthwhile. I'm so appreciative of them and their belief in me as a player and a person. It's the best thing I could've ever asked for coming here. I've learned perseverance. Jason gave me the opportunity to come here, and being around the girls has really helped me persevere through challenges."
In the middle of it all is 5-foot-10 LeGrand, the orchestrator, who arrived at K-State as a freshman in 2022 and has built herself into one of the best setters in the Big 12.
At times, she's been downright unstoppable.
A First Team High School All-American selection by VolleyballMag.com out of Papillion-La Vista South High School in Nebraska, LeGrand led her team to a 40-0 record and 2021 Nebraska Class A state championship. She totaled 2,524 assists, 1,350 digs, 792 kills, 299 blocks and 188 service aces in her career as she helped Papillion-La Vista South vault to No. 3 in MaxPreps and No. 8 in the USA TODAY Poll.
Alyssa, Ava's mother, was a volleyball coach at Bellevue West High School and then became director of Nebraska Juniors. Nate, Ava's father, was big into basketball. Raegan, the oldest, starred in volleyball at USC, and Mara, the second oldest, played volleyball at Regis University in Denver. As for the cousins? One played at Stanford and the other played at Missouri.
With LeGrand's All-America credentials, some might've suggested she could be in line to become the next superstar at powerhouse Nebraska. But after some time and consideration, she pushed off any overtures from any volleyball programs and came to K-State to pursue her athletic dreams while doing so alongside K-State tight end Will Swanson, her boyfriend since they were freshmen in high school.
Tonight was about the volleyball senior class.
And what each player learned during her journey.
"I've found the joy in the little things," LeGrand said. "We're so lucky. So many people would love to be in our shoes. I find the brighter side every single day and find joy in that."
One scary moment arrived in October.
It happened during a match at Utah. Schmidt and 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 ended up diving headfirst into Schmidt's kneecap — a scary situation that turned out to cause a concussion, forcing her to miss a few matches.
"I missed playing so much," Clinton said. "I was so excited when I finally got the opportunity to play again."
Arguably the top high school player in west Texas, Clinton earned Outstanding Hitter awards out of Midland High School and grew under club volleyball coach Ping Cao, the 1984 Chinese Olympian while helping her squad to a third-place finish in the 2021 national tournament.
Under Mansfield, Clinton proved herself emphatically in 2023 as she was named to the All-Big 12 Rookie Team and earned Big 12 Rookie of the Week twice, finishing a brilliant redshirt freshman campaign with 92 sets, 261 kills, 53 digs and 58 blocks for 294 points. Her first season on the court, she ranked second on the team with 2.84 kills per set and 3.20 points per set.
Then disaster struck. Clinton suffered torn left quadriceps during the offseason, setting her up for a personal battle physically and mentally to get back onto the court.
She persevered. She played in 2024 and thrived in 2025 and came back from the concussion in October to put on a show in November.
"I'll remember the friendships and memories we've made along the way," she said. "We came here to play volleyball, but we all became more than teammates. When I came here as a freshman, it was really hard for me, and I had to figure things out for myself. Now I'm strong in who I am.
"It's a testament to being around good people all the time."
Their framed white jerseys mounted and on display on the volleyball court that they've known for years, Kansas State seniors Ava LeGrand, Shaylee Myers, Brenna Schmidt, Jordyn Williams, and redshirt junior Aniya Clinton grabbed one another and hugged it out a final time after the Senior Night presentations at Morgan Family Arena.
K-State lost to UCF in five sets (19-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-24 and 14-16) in front of a loud crowd that stayed until the end. And when the end of the final home match of the 2025 season hit at 8:53 p.m. the fans stayed some more to cheer as each senior was recognized and had her own moment to shine one final time.
The seniors prior to the season pointed out that they all were returning to complete their careers at K-State. Four seniors had played at K-State for four years, and Williams transferred from Kentucky prior to her junior season. To have every senior returning? That's rare. And that's something that K-State head coach Jason Mansfield might perhaps remember the most about this senior class — the loyalty.
"It's really rare to have four seniors who've been here for four years," Mansfield said. "Unfortunately, that isn't normal in college athletics. It speaks to a lot of things — their closeness, the specialness of K-State and Manhattan and Morgan Family Arena. They all had opportunities to say, 'This is not the place for me.' For them to stick it out and be loyal, I hope they're proud of the fact that they've stayed and have contributed so much to our culture and what we're trying to create and how we played on the court.
"I'm really proud of them. I'm just in awe. They stuck it out. I think they'll remember that for the rest of their lives."
Four years. Fifty-six victories. Twenty-eight wins at Morgan Family Arena.
Playing at Morgan Family Arena. Will they miss it? Of course, they'll miss it.
"Everyone in Manhattan seems to enjoy watching us, and they're behind us and that's really special," Myers said.
"Not all over the country do you have so many fans coming out to a women's volleyball game," LeGrand said. "We've used it to our advantage. I couldn't be more grateful for that."
The seniors dominated in almost every statistical category.
Myers entered the week leading K-State with 428 kills while her 4.76 kills per set ranks 10th nationally. She also ranks 12th nationally with 5.22 points per set. She entered Wednesday needing 41 kills to reach 1,000 in her career.
LeGrand orchestrates the offense with 919 assists and ranks third in the Big 12 with 10.21 assists per game and a team-high 27 service aces.
Schmidt averages 1.03 blocks per set followed by Jordan Williams with 1.00 blocks per set. Williams leads the team with 85 total blocks and with a .340 hitting percentage.
Schmidt, a 6-foot-6 middle blocker, came to K-State after an all-state senior season at Elmwood-Murdock High School in Eagle, Nebraska. After appearing in five matches as a freshman at K-State, she played in 24 matches as a sophomore and 26 last season, while leading the team with 104 blocks. That included 11 blocks against Iowa State to become the first player with double-digit blocks in a game since 2022.
"These girls I'll remember for the rest of my life, and I hope I stay in touch with them the rest of my life," Schmidt said. "It's the friendships and the support. I'm really thankful for them. I'm thankful for the coaches. I'll probably remember the people the most.
"As a freshman, I was super timid. Everybody helped me come out of my shell and be more confident in who I am."
Confidence oozes from Myers, who is capping one of the more notable careers in K-State history.
Myers began playing volleyball at the YMCA in Lincoln, Nebraska during elementary school. Although she also played basketball and soccer, volleyball was her first love. Her passion for volleyball only grew in the eighth grade as she joined Premier Nebraska, and over time she developed the craft of executing a kill, which has served her well through the years.
Myers arrived at K-State on July 4, 2022, after a legendary career at Lincoln Southwest High School, where the First Team Super-State selection by The Lincoln Journal Star amassed a school-record 1,536 kills and 161 service aces. She powered Lincoln Southwest to a 30-5 record and a spot in the state quarterfinals of the 2021 Class A Nebraska state tournament. Her senior season included her 489 kills and .372 hitting percentage — sixth best in the state of Nebraska.
And now? She was drafted 16th overall by the Atlanta Vibe in the 2025 Major League Volleyball Draft. She is also a contender for the Big 12 Player of the Year award.
"It's just every match this year, I look at the stats and I'm amazed that she continues to find ways to get kills," Mansfield said. "She has moments that are tough, and she just keeps with it and keeps staying aggressive and hitting the shots she'll be successful with. She has a lot of variety in her game."
Williams, a 6-foot-2 redshirt senior middle blocker from Lantana, Texas, entered Senior Night ninth in the Big 12 with a .340 hitting percentage.
The story starts back home. At age 8, she was in love with track. Her father coached her. She ran the 400 meters, the 4 x 100 meters and competed in the long jump. She was really good. She believed she was destined to run track.
Then came her friends. They were playing volleyball. So, she wanted to play volleyball with her friends. She began playing competitively when she was 12.
At age 13, Williams played for club team Texas Advantage Volleyball. The team trained six months a year before dominating on the volleyball court. Eventually, she earned Under Armour First Team All-America recognition in 2020 and was a member of two national championship teams with Texas Advantage. She also had college volleyball coaches looking.
Williams decided to take her talents to Kentucky.
But Williams spent two seasons at Kentucky and competed in just 46 sets over 17 matches.
She entered the transfer portal looking for a new opportunity.
Williams appeared in 16 matches with 13 starts in her first season at K-State in 2024. In 46 sets, she finished with 60 kills and had a team-high .321 hitting percentage. She was third on the team with 44 blocks and had 42 digs, seven aces and eight assists.
"Two years ago, when I first got here, I was unsure about everything," Williams said. "Being with these girls has made everything so worthwhile. I'm so appreciative of them and their belief in me as a player and a person. It's the best thing I could've ever asked for coming here. I've learned perseverance. Jason gave me the opportunity to come here, and being around the girls has really helped me persevere through challenges."
In the middle of it all is 5-foot-10 LeGrand, the orchestrator, who arrived at K-State as a freshman in 2022 and has built herself into one of the best setters in the Big 12.
At times, she's been downright unstoppable.
A First Team High School All-American selection by VolleyballMag.com out of Papillion-La Vista South High School in Nebraska, LeGrand led her team to a 40-0 record and 2021 Nebraska Class A state championship. She totaled 2,524 assists, 1,350 digs, 792 kills, 299 blocks and 188 service aces in her career as she helped Papillion-La Vista South vault to No. 3 in MaxPreps and No. 8 in the USA TODAY Poll.
Alyssa, Ava's mother, was a volleyball coach at Bellevue West High School and then became director of Nebraska Juniors. Nate, Ava's father, was big into basketball. Raegan, the oldest, starred in volleyball at USC, and Mara, the second oldest, played volleyball at Regis University in Denver. As for the cousins? One played at Stanford and the other played at Missouri.
With LeGrand's All-America credentials, some might've suggested she could be in line to become the next superstar at powerhouse Nebraska. But after some time and consideration, she pushed off any overtures from any volleyball programs and came to K-State to pursue her athletic dreams while doing so alongside K-State tight end Will Swanson, her boyfriend since they were freshmen in high school.
Tonight was about the volleyball senior class.
And what each player learned during her journey.
"I've found the joy in the little things," LeGrand said. "We're so lucky. So many people would love to be in our shoes. I find the brighter side every single day and find joy in that."
One scary moment arrived in October.
It happened during a match at Utah. Schmidt and 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 ended up diving headfirst into Schmidt's kneecap — a scary situation that turned out to cause a concussion, forcing her to miss a few matches.
"I missed playing so much," Clinton said. "I was so excited when I finally got the opportunity to play again."
Arguably the top high school player in west Texas, Clinton earned Outstanding Hitter awards out of Midland High School and grew under club volleyball coach Ping Cao, the 1984 Chinese Olympian while helping her squad to a third-place finish in the 2021 national tournament.
Under Mansfield, Clinton proved herself emphatically in 2023 as she was named to the All-Big 12 Rookie Team and earned Big 12 Rookie of the Week twice, finishing a brilliant redshirt freshman campaign with 92 sets, 261 kills, 53 digs and 58 blocks for 294 points. Her first season on the court, she ranked second on the team with 2.84 kills per set and 3.20 points per set.
Then disaster struck. Clinton suffered torn left quadriceps during the offseason, setting her up for a personal battle physically and mentally to get back onto the court.
She persevered. She played in 2024 and thrived in 2025 and came back from the concussion in October to put on a show in November.
"I'll remember the friendships and memories we've made along the way," she said. "We came here to play volleyball, but we all became more than teammates. When I came here as a freshman, it was really hard for me, and I had to figure things out for myself. Now I'm strong in who I am.
"It's a testament to being around good people all the time."
Players Mentioned
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