Wildcats Roll Past Retrievers in Season Opener

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Fueled by a balanced attack that was highlighted by 20 kills from Shaylee Myers and double-double performance from Ava LeGrand, K-State opened the 2025 season with a straight-set victory – 25-20, 25-16, 25-15 – at the K-State Invitational at Morgan Family Arena Friday night.

After four lead changes, the Cats scored five consecutive points led by kills from Jordyn Williams and Myers to close Set 1 and set the tone for the sweep.

In a back-and-forth opening frame that featured four lead changes, the Wildcats seized momentum with a 5-0 scoring run led by kills from Jordyn Williams and Myers, to take Set 1 and set the tone for the sweep.

With a career-high 32 assists from LeGrand, the Wildcats produced a .310 team hitting percentage with 43 kills on 100 swings. The Cats' defense limited the Retrievers to a .076 hitting percentage behind eight blocks, while holding a 43-40 edge in digs.

LeGrand notched her fourth career double-double, as the senior setter handed out a match- and career-high 32 assists to go with a team-high 12 digs. The Papillion, Nebraska product was also credited with four blocks with two aces.

Myers, a native of Lincoln, Nebraska, eclipsed the 20-mark for just the second time in her career and fell three short of matching her career-best set her freshman season against Missouri in 2022. The senior outside hitter/opposite hit at a .462 clip with just two errors on 39 swings.

In addition to LeGrand, Brenna Schmidt totaled four blocks followed by Jordyn Williams with three, while freshman Caleigh Ponn eclipsed the 10-dig mark in her collegiate debut.

FROM THE CATS
Jason Mansfield, K-State Head Coach
Overall Statement…
"I thought we started well, and then kind of let them back in. I thought we did a good job of finishing the first set and then being more patient in the second set and letting things happen and staying aggressive at the same time. But I'm just proud of how we played. I thought the crowd was incredible tonight, and it's so great to start the match, start the season at home."

On playing at home…
"It's so great. We started the season on the road last year. We played the first four matches on the road. And so, it's just so great to be at home and the crowd again, the crowd really showed up tonight, and we fed off their energy. And we've been waiting a long time to play a match again in the arena. So, it's wonderful to get a win, but it's also even better to get a win at home and feel like we have the crowd behind us and kind of feed off them."

SET-BY-SET
Set 1 – K-State 25, UMBC 20

Myers led all players with seven kills, hitting at a .429 clip with just one error on 14 swings to go along with five digs.
The Cats' defense held the Retrievers to a .049 hitting percentage behind four total blocks, including led by two apiece from LeGrand, Schmidt, and Williams.

Set 2 – K-State 25, UMBC 16

Myers tallied a set-high six kills in the second set on 16 swings with one error (.312), followed by three kills from Fox.
Williams registered two blocks, including a solo stop, while Ponn led the back row with six digs.

Set 3 – K-State 25, UMBC 15

K-State quickly jumped out to a 10-2 lead and held on to put the third set away.
The Wildcats hit an incredible .636 in Set 3 behind seven kills from Myers, who posted a .778 hitting percentage with no errors, and nine assists from LeGrand.

INSIDE THE BOX

K-State swept past UMBC – 25-20, 25-16, 25-15 – Friday night at Morgan Family Arena.
The Cats hit .310 (43 kills, 12 errors) against the Retrievers .076 (32 kills, 24 errors).
Myers led all players with 20 kills, hitting at a .462 clip on 39 swings, and was followed by Clinton with seven kills.
LeGrand handed out 32 assists to go with 12 digs to register – the first double-double of the season.
As a team, K-State totaled eight blocks led by four from LeGrand and Schmidt and three from Williams.
In addition to LeGrand, Ponn reached the 10-dig mark, that included a match-high six in the second set.
Two players reached double-digit kills from UMBC – Brown (11), Dobbs (10) – while Frankovich posted four blocks.
Friday's match saw 10 tie scores and just four lead changes.

BEYOND THE BOX

K-State has won six consecutive sets against UMBC.
Under Mansfield, K-State moves to 2-1 in season openers.
K-State is 15-12 at Morgan Family Arena since its opening in 2023.
Caleigh Ponn, Lauren Schneider and Alex Klukvin each made their collegiate debuts in the nightcap.
Myers played in her 70^th career match and turned in her second 20-kill match of her career (Last: 23 vs. Missouri, Sept. 7, 2022).
LeGrand registered the first double-double of the season for the Cats and fourth of her career.

UP NEXT
K-State will conclude the K-State Invitational Sunday against Delaware at 1 p.m. at Morgan Family Arena.

– k-statesports.com –

How to follow the Cats: For complete information on the K-State Volleyball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.

Next Event

Team Stats

Shaylee Myers

Aniya Clinton

Ava LeGrand

Brenna Schmidt

Players Mentioned

Alex Klukvin

Ava LeGrand

Shaylee Myers

Caleigh Ponn

Brenna Schmidt

Lauren Schneider

Jordyn Williams

Players Mentioned

Alex Klukvin

Ava LeGrand

Shaylee Myers

Caleigh Ponn

Brenna Schmidt

Lauren Schneider

Jordyn Williams

Kansas State University Athletics