K-State Falls in Five Sets on Senior Day

Manhattan, Kan. – K-State pushed UCF to a fifth set after dropping the opening two frames, but the Wildcats' comeback fell short in a Senior Day loss Wednesday night at Morgan Family Arena, 25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 14-25, 16-14.

Coming off their sixth win in eight matches, the Wildcats (16-9, 9-8 Big 12) battled back from a 2-0 deficit, but their comeback ultimately fell short as UCF (17-11, 8-9 Big 12) limited K-State to a .195 hitting percentage while racking up 14.0 blocks and 68 digs.

With her 22 kills, Shaylee Myers became the first Wildcat since 2011 – and just the third in program history – to reach 20 or more kills in 11 matches in a single season. She joins Kaitlynn Pelger, who posted 11 in 2011, while Dawn Cady holds the record with 14 set in 1999. Myers also added a match-high three aces.

Symone Sims collected a match-leading 23 digs on her way to becoming just the fifth player in program history to tally 20 or more digs in 10 matches in a single season.

Ava LeGrand and Aniya Clinton each registered double-doubles in the loss. LeGrand notched her team-leading 15^th double-double of the year with 47 assists and 13 digs, while Clinton contributed 15 kills and 16 digs for her eighth.

Middle blocker Brenna Schmidt led K-State at the net with five blocks (1 solo, 4 assists), followed by LeGrand with three. Senior Jordyn Williams knocked down nine kills.

UCF's Avah Armour picked up 21 kills, while Skylar English added 17 kills with 16 digs. Setter Mikayla Porter handed out 43 assists to go with 16 digs.

FROM THE CATS
JASON MANSFIELD, K-STATE HEAD COACH
Overall Statement…
"Congrats to UCF. I thought they played a really good match. They started the match really well. I loved our response after the second set. Thought the girls did a phenomenal job of getting back to being us. They are a really good team with one of the best outside hitters in the conference, and we did a great job slowing her down. But yeah, it's disappointing. I'm sad for the seniors that we weren't able to pull it out but really proud of them. And again, their loyalty to the program speaks for itself. I'm sad, just as I'm sure they are, that that's the last match they'll play in the arena. But couldn't be prouder of this group and what they've accomplished this year."

SET-BY-SET
Set 1 – UCF 25, K-State 19

Down 10-5, the Wildcats clawed their way back to a one-point deficit, but UCF fended off the late rally to take the opening set.
UCF's defense held K-State to a .061 hitting percentage (9 kills, 7 errors, 33 attempts), while the Knights produced a .222 efficiency with 14 kills on 36 swings.
Myers led all players and knocked down five kills with two errors (.231).
The Knights Thompson tallied three blocks in Set 1. As a team, UCF led in blocks, 3.0-2.0.

Set 2 – UCF 25, K-State 20

K-State chipped away at a three-point deficit to tie the set at 17, before a four-point spurt helped UCF put the set away.
UCF held a .250-.226 edge in hitting percentage as five different players put down a kill for UCF in Set 2, led by four from Chapman and Armour.
Myers put down five kills.
Set 2 featured two tied scores and two lead changes – the first of the match.

Set 3 – K-State 25, UCF 20

With the score knotted 11-11, a kill and service ace from Myers kicked off a 4-0 scoring run and forced a timeout from UCF.
The Wildcats never trailed in picking up its first set victory, allowing just three lead changes.
Both squads were evenly matched with 15 kills apiece, but K-State hit .213 while UCF's offense hit at a .182 pace.
Armour had eight kills with one error, hitting .340.

Set 4 – K-State 25, UCF 14

Highlighted by a pair of kills from Reagan Fox and service ace by Caleigh Ponn, the Wildcats scored five unanswered points on their way to grabbing the second-largest lead of the match, 20-10.
Myers picked up a set-best seven kills with one error on 12 swings, hitting at a.500 clip.

Set 5 – UCF 16, K-State 14

After 11 lead changes and 6 tied scores, UCF managed to bring the score within one before scoring three unanswered points to take the final set. A service ace from Armour delivered the final blow.

Clinton and Armour each posted four kills in the set.
UCF's defense held K-State to a -.045 hitting percentage – the lowest output of the match – and forced six errors.

INSIDE THE BOX

K-State fell in five sets to UCF Wednesday night – 19-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-14, 14-16.
UCF finished with a .201 hitting percentage (61 kills, 28 errors, 164 swings).
Two players produced double-digit kills with Myers leading all players with 22.
Clinton added 15 and Jordyn Williams had nine.
LeGrand turned in her 15^th double-double of the year with 47 assists and 13 digs, while Clinton had 16 digs for her eighth double-double
Sims tallied a match-leading 23 digs – her 10^th match eclipsing the 20-dig mark. Ponn logged 10 digs.
UCF out-blocked K-State, 14.0-8.0, with six players registering a block led by Thompson producing a match-high eight blocks.

BEYOND THE BOX

With the loss, K-State moves to 3-4 in the all-time series vs. UCF, with a 2-1 edge in matches played in Manhattan.
K-State ties seventh in the Big 12 standings with an RPI of 34.
Myers turned in her 11^th match of the season eclipsing the 20-kill mark, tying second all-time in the single-season records.
With her 23 digs, Sims becomes the fifth player in school history to record 20 or more digs in 10-plus matches in a single season.
K-State honored five seniors Wednesday night: Myers, LeGrand, Schmidt, Williams, and Clinton.
UCF is just the second team this season to defeat K-State in five sets.
K-State is 5-2 in five-setters in 2025.
K-State finished the season with an 8-5 record at home.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats close out the regular season Saturday at No. 21 Iowa State (22-5, 12-4 Big 12). Saturday's match is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum and can be seen on ESPN+ and ESPN app.

The Wildcats are seeking an at-large bid to the 2025 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship, as they enter the final match of the regular-season with an RPI of 34. The Big 12 – the nation's top conference in RPI – has 11 teams inside the top 50 in RPI.

The field of 64 tournament – 31 automatic bids with 33 at-large teams – will be revealed by the selection committee on Sunday, November 30 at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.

– k-statesports.com –

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Team Stats

Shaylee Myers

Aniya Clinton

Jordyn Williams

Reagan Fox

Players Mentioned

Aniya Clinton

Reagan Fox

Ava LeGrand

Shaylee Myers

Caleigh Ponn

Brenna Schmidt

Symone Sims

Jordyn Williams

Players Mentioned

Aniya Clinton

Reagan Fox

Ava LeGrand

Shaylee Myers

Caleigh Ponn

Brenna Schmidt

Symone Sims

Jordyn Williams

Kansas State University Athletics