Kansas State University Athletics
LeGrand Has ‘Joy for the Game’
Sep 17, 2025 | Volleyball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
The next test comes on Friday at 6 p.m. That's when Kansas State faces No. 25 North Carolina in Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in the UNC Tournament. K-State is off to a blazing start at 5-1 and every win has been an emphatic shutout victory. Friday night will be a different monster — a nationally-ranked Power 4 opponent on the road.
But there is no trepidation in the voice of K-State senior setter Ava LeGrand as she leaves the court after practice on Monday.
"We have a lot of confidence," she says. "The level of play is going to be different. It's going to be harder, but with the Big 12 season starting in two weeks, it's a really exciting time, and it'll help prepare us. Winning creates a lot of momentum. North Carolina is a really great team. They're going to be really fun team to play."
K-State has Jordyn Williams — she leads the Big 12 with a .524 hitting percentage. And K-State has Shaylee Myers — she leads the Big 12 with 4.94 kills per set. And K-State has Brenna Schmidt — she ranks third in the Big 12 with 1.39 blocks per set. But in the middle of it all is 5-foot-10 LeGrand, who arrived at K-State as a freshman in 2022 and has built herself into one of the best setters in the Big 12. She ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 0.50 service aces per set and she ranks sixth in the Big 12 with 10.44 assists per set.
At times, she's been downright unstoppable.
"A lot of times, people compare the setter to the quarterback, and that's pretty true," LeGrand says. "The passer starts the offense, and I'm the mediator between the pass to the attack. I take a lot of pride in that. I put my hitters into the best situation. It takes a lot mentally and emotionally as well. I do blocking, digging, serving, attacking sometimes, and setting, and I hype up my hitters. I take a lot of pride in leadership. There's a lot that the setter has to do. Balancing all those roles is my goal. I'm grateful for the opportunity."
Exactly what makes LeGrand different?
"I do a lot of little things that other setters don't do. I have a really good serve and a better block. When we're scouting teams, a lot of times the setters are a liability on the block or on defense."
Not LeGrand. In particular, she points to Myers and Schmidt for making her look good on the court.
"Shay puts in so much work and has been such a great player since before she got here," she says. "I used to play her in high school, and she was so great. She's even better now. You look at her numbers and they speak for themselves. She hits over .300 every single match. She has crazy numbers.
"Brenna is so locked in. I can set her from anywhere and she's ready to go. That's really shown. I told her the other day in practice, 'I'm so proud of you.' It's really helped our team. She's always been such a great player and great blocker and great defender."
LeGrand says, "I don't really look at stats," but she has been solid across the board — eight points against UMBC, 12 digs against UMBC, 39 assists against Delaware, five blocks against Delaware, and four aces against Northern Colorado. But there's more to her progression than numbers.
"I try to be as prepared as I can," she says. "Confidence comes from preparation for me. I work on my breathing, my visualizing, and I come in and get in as many reps as possible, and I watch as much film as possible, and try to be as focused as I can in practice through aches and pains, and I give it my all, whatever I have, and that's what keeps me going. On defense, for example, I don't know if I can get that ball unless I try, so I have that mentality for practice all the time – 'Why not? Go out and give it your all.' I try to be the best leader I can. I smile and I have joy for the game. That translates. I want to be that person for my teammates.
"They can always look over, and I'm smiling."
Somewhere in the stands at K-State women's volleyball games, LeGrand's family is typically up there smiling, too.
"I'm not exaggerating," she says. "My parents come to everything. I didn't want to go to school on a coast. I really liked being around my family. My grandparents also come to literally everything. They drive everywhere."
They're close. And very athletic.
A High School All-American First Team 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.
"Sports have always been a part of my life," LeGrand says. "I grew up doing it. I always wanted to be like my older sisters. My sister committed to USC when I was 12, and I was so proud of her. She was one of the hardest workers I knew. It showed me that it's possible and feasible. I knew it'd take a lot of work."
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.
"(Swanson) committed to K-State and had been there for a semester, and K-State was the only school I'd been to," she says. "Mom and I made a road trip to see my top schools. I came to K-State and really liked it, but I didn't want to go here because I didn't want to be one of those girls who follows her boyfriend, but now I'm very grateful. I wouldn't change it."
As Swanson and the K-State football team prepares to face UCF next Saturday in Manhattan, LeGrand and the K-State women's volleyball team prepares for No. 25 North Carolina on Friday and East Carolina on Saturday before hosting Arizona in their Big 12 opener on September 26 at Morgan Family Arena.
"Every year, you want to win the Big 12," LeGrand says. "As a group, we want to establish a culture for this program that our freshmen can continue. We really want to go to the NCAA Tournament and attack it."
And expect LeGrand to help lead every step of the way.
The next test comes on Friday at 6 p.m. That's when Kansas State faces No. 25 North Carolina in Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in the UNC Tournament. K-State is off to a blazing start at 5-1 and every win has been an emphatic shutout victory. Friday night will be a different monster — a nationally-ranked Power 4 opponent on the road.
But there is no trepidation in the voice of K-State senior setter Ava LeGrand as she leaves the court after practice on Monday.
"We have a lot of confidence," she says. "The level of play is going to be different. It's going to be harder, but with the Big 12 season starting in two weeks, it's a really exciting time, and it'll help prepare us. Winning creates a lot of momentum. North Carolina is a really great team. They're going to be really fun team to play."
K-State has Jordyn Williams — she leads the Big 12 with a .524 hitting percentage. And K-State has Shaylee Myers — she leads the Big 12 with 4.94 kills per set. And K-State has Brenna Schmidt — she ranks third in the Big 12 with 1.39 blocks per set. But in the middle of it all is 5-foot-10 LeGrand, who arrived at K-State as a freshman in 2022 and has built herself into one of the best setters in the Big 12. She ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 0.50 service aces per set and she ranks sixth in the Big 12 with 10.44 assists per set.
At times, she's been downright unstoppable.
"A lot of times, people compare the setter to the quarterback, and that's pretty true," LeGrand says. "The passer starts the offense, and I'm the mediator between the pass to the attack. I take a lot of pride in that. I put my hitters into the best situation. It takes a lot mentally and emotionally as well. I do blocking, digging, serving, attacking sometimes, and setting, and I hype up my hitters. I take a lot of pride in leadership. There's a lot that the setter has to do. Balancing all those roles is my goal. I'm grateful for the opportunity."
Exactly what makes LeGrand different?
"I do a lot of little things that other setters don't do. I have a really good serve and a better block. When we're scouting teams, a lot of times the setters are a liability on the block or on defense."
Not LeGrand. In particular, she points to Myers and Schmidt for making her look good on the court.
"Shay puts in so much work and has been such a great player since before she got here," she says. "I used to play her in high school, and she was so great. She's even better now. You look at her numbers and they speak for themselves. She hits over .300 every single match. She has crazy numbers.
"Brenna is so locked in. I can set her from anywhere and she's ready to go. That's really shown. I told her the other day in practice, 'I'm so proud of you.' It's really helped our team. She's always been such a great player and great blocker and great defender."
LeGrand says, "I don't really look at stats," but she has been solid across the board — eight points against UMBC, 12 digs against UMBC, 39 assists against Delaware, five blocks against Delaware, and four aces against Northern Colorado. But there's more to her progression than numbers.
"I try to be as prepared as I can," she says. "Confidence comes from preparation for me. I work on my breathing, my visualizing, and I come in and get in as many reps as possible, and I watch as much film as possible, and try to be as focused as I can in practice through aches and pains, and I give it my all, whatever I have, and that's what keeps me going. On defense, for example, I don't know if I can get that ball unless I try, so I have that mentality for practice all the time – 'Why not? Go out and give it your all.' I try to be the best leader I can. I smile and I have joy for the game. That translates. I want to be that person for my teammates.
"They can always look over, and I'm smiling."
Somewhere in the stands at K-State women's volleyball games, LeGrand's family is typically up there smiling, too.
"I'm not exaggerating," she says. "My parents come to everything. I didn't want to go to school on a coast. I really liked being around my family. My grandparents also come to literally everything. They drive everywhere."
They're close. And very athletic.
A High School All-American First Team 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.
"Sports have always been a part of my life," LeGrand says. "I grew up doing it. I always wanted to be like my older sisters. My sister committed to USC when I was 12, and I was so proud of her. She was one of the hardest workers I knew. It showed me that it's possible and feasible. I knew it'd take a lot of work."
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.
"(Swanson) committed to K-State and had been there for a semester, and K-State was the only school I'd been to," she says. "Mom and I made a road trip to see my top schools. I came to K-State and really liked it, but I didn't want to go here because I didn't want to be one of those girls who follows her boyfriend, but now I'm very grateful. I wouldn't change it."
As Swanson and the K-State football team prepares to face UCF next Saturday in Manhattan, LeGrand and the K-State women's volleyball team prepares for No. 25 North Carolina on Friday and East Carolina on Saturday before hosting Arizona in their Big 12 opener on September 26 at Morgan Family Arena.
"Every year, you want to win the Big 12," LeGrand says. "As a group, we want to establish a culture for this program that our freshmen can continue. We really want to go to the NCAA Tournament and attack it."
And expect LeGrand to help lead every step of the way.
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