Wildcats Close Non-Conference Slate in North Carolina

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State will wrap up its 2025 non-conference schedule in Week 4, as the Wildcats head to the East Coast this weekend for matches against North Carolina and East Carolina at Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill, N.C.

The Wildcats (5-1) open the weekend Friday against the 25th-ranked Tar Heels (6-1) before closing non-conference play Saturday against the Pirates (7-1). First serve for both matches are set for 6 p.m.

Friday's match against the Tar Heels will be streamed on ACC Network and 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).

MATCH #7
K-STATE (5-1, 0-0 BIG 12) at #25 NORTH CAROLINA (6-1, 0-0 ACC)
Friday, September 19 // 6 PM CT // Carmichael Arena (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Live Stats // ESPN+ // Tickets

MATCH #8
K-STATE (5-1, 0-0 BIG 12) vs. EAST CAROLINA (7-1, 0-0 AMERICAN)
Saturday, September 20 // 6 PM CT // Carmichael Arena (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Live Stats

K-STATE AT A GLANCE

K-State is off to a 5-1 start for the second time under third-year head coach Jason Mansfield — the first since 2023.
All six of the Wildcats' matches in 2025 have come in sweep fashion, marking just the second time in program history K-State has opened a season with six consecutive three-set matches — first since 2014.
The Cats' defense, which leads the Big 12 in blocks per set (3.06), has held opponents to a .146 hitting efficiency, while the offense is hitting at a .291 clip on 13.78 kills per set.
Senior middle blocker Jordyn Williams leads all Big 12 players with a .524 hitting percentage, followed by Shaylee Myers at .386.
Myers, the Big 12 leader in kills per set (4.94) and points per set (5.42), has reached double-digit kills in all but one match this season, including a season-high 20 against UMBC. The senior has tallied 10 or more kills in 28 career matches since her freshman season in 2022.
Redshirt junior Aniya Clinton ranks second on the team in kills per set (3.33), while five other players are averaging at least one.
Under Mansfield, the Wildcats are 6-13 against teams ranked in the AVCA Top 25 poll, including a program-record five Top 25 wins in 2023.

SCOUTING #25 NORTH CAROLINA

The Tar Heels (6-1) are coming off a 3-1 victory over Appalachian State on Tuesday, extending their winning streak over the App State to 28. With the win, UNC remains undefeated at home with a perfect 4-0 record.
UNC enters the weekend ranked 25^th in the latest AVCA Top 25 Poll, marking the program's 94^th appearance in the Coaches Poll and second consecutive season.
The Tar Heels suffered their first loss on Friday in a five-set heartbreaker against South Carolina (25-23, 16-25, 21-25, 25-20, 13-15). They managed to force a fifth set after dropping Set 2 and 3, and leveled the score 13-13 before USC scored the final two sets.
Two players are averaging over three-points a set – Safi Hampton (3.85, Hailey Pearce (3.19).
Hampton's 3.58 kills per set leads the offense and ranks eighth overall in the ACC, while Zoe Behrendt paces the team with 5.62 assists per set to go along with five service aces.
Defensively, sophomore Jackie Taylor totals 31.0 blocks (1.24 per set) while senior Maddy May libero is tallying 3.41 digs per set.

INSIDE THE SERIES

UNC leads the all-time series 2-0 since its start in 1994, while Friday marks the first matchup between the two squads in Chapel Hill.
In their last meeting in 2024, North Carolina defeated K-State in four sets, 26-28, 25-13, 25-23, 25-22, to take the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Classic tournament title at Morgan Family Arena.
UNC (6-1) held K-State to a season-low .109 attack efficiency, as the Tar Heels totaled 14.0 blocks, that included 10 from now sophomore Jackie Taylor.

    Match Results
    10/2/1994 – UNC 3, K-State 2
    9/15/2024 – UNC 3, K-State 1

SCOUTING EAST CAROLINA

East Carolina (8-1) picked up a five-set victory Tuesday against Wake Forest, 25-20, 11-25, 19-25, 25-18, 19-17, in its home opener.
Freshman outside hitter Sydney Buchanan 13 kills and junior right side Allie Huff recorded 11 kills for the Pirates (8-1) who defeated Wake Forest (4-5) for the first time since Oct. 18, 1980.
Offensively, the Pirates are hitting .263 as a team, while limiting opponents to a .161 efficiency.
Three players are tallying over two kills a set, led by Ellie Pate (3.44) and followed by Huff (2.85) and Buchanan (2.55), while middle blocker Carlia Northcross is hitting a team-best .422.
Northcross along with Kai Bailey are averaging over one block per set, as the duo combine for 90. Bailey, a 6-foot-2 middle blocker, leads at the net with nine solo blocks while libero Brooklyn Allison records 4.32 digs per set.
ECU is 4-1 when playing at a neutral location, suffering its lone loss in a five-setter against Liberty (11-25, 35-33, 23-25, 25-22, 14-16) last weekend, despite having four players in double figures for kills.
Saturday marks the first match between the Cats and Pirates in the program's history.

LAST TIME OUT

The Wildcats swept Northern Colorado – 25-21, 25-20, 25-21 – improving to 5-1 overall on the year.
Five different players recorded a service ace, led by a career-high four from LeGrand and followed by Myers with three.
LeGrand totaled 28 assists on the night and added seven digs, while Symone Sims led both squads with nine.
Myers put down 15 kills, hitting .481 on 27 swings with two errors while Clinton added eight.
Cadence Lundgren led at the net with six total blocks – the most by a Wildcat this season – as K-State out-blocked UNC, 10.0-5.0.
UNC held a 32-29 edge in dig production with 10 different players tallying a dig.
The Cats 12 service aces marked the first match with 10 or more service aces since Sept. 11, 2023, vs. TCU (W, 3-2).
True freshman Cadence Lundgren made her first collegiate start.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

K-State started off its 2025 road schedule 1-1 last weekend at The Thunderdome Classic, that included a loss as a true visiting team against UC Santa Barbara.
On the road, the Wildcats averaged 11.00 kills per set and are hit .180 while opponents hit at a .265 efficiency. Myers produced a .397 hitting percentage on the road in Santa Barbara, tallying 5.00 kills per set.
Sims led the defense with 2.83 digs per set while Lundgren totaled 10 blocks (2.00 per set).
K-State served up 13 aces over the first week on the road, that included a season-best 12 against Northern Colorado (Sept. 12). LeGrand led the squad with five, including a career-high four vs. the Bears.
K-State is 460-441-2 all-time when playing on the road, and 237-298 record in true road matches.

SHINING IN PURPLE

True freshman Cadence Lundgren, a middle blocker from Bozeman, Montana, made her first collegiate start on Saturday.
She made an immediate impact in Week 3 by leading the Big 12 as the only player in the league to average over two blocks per set (2.00).
In just five sets of action, she tallied 10 total blocks, including a pair of solo stops and a season-high six in a sweep over Northern Colorado.
Lundgren is a key piece of a K-State defense that paces the Big 12 and ranks seventh nationally with 3.06 blocks per set, while also holding opponents to a .146 hitting efficiency, the third-best mark in the conference.

MYERS MAGIC

Senior outside hitter/opposite Shaylee Myers from Lincoln, Nebraska, continued her dominant start to the season with 30 kills across two matches in Week 3, recording 15 in each outing.
She finished the week ranked fourth in the Big 12 in kills per set (5.00) while producing 15 or more kills in all but one match this season.
Myers has been remarkably efficient, hitting .386 – the second-best mark on the team – and leads the league in points per set (5.42), a mark that also ranks ninth nationally.
Her 4.94 kills per set stand fifth in the country, underscoring her role as one of the top offensive threats in Division I.

DEFENSIVE CATS

K-State is the Big 12 leader in blocks pers et (3.06), as the only team in the league averaging over three blocks a set, while the team is third in opponent hitting percentage (.146).
The Wildcats have outperformed opponents in terms of dig production in all matches this season, that includes two matches reaching the 10-block mark.

K-State has held its opponents under a .200 hitting efficiency in all but one match this season, while holding opponents under .100 in three wins.
Symone Sims orchestrates the back row, totaling 55 digs on the year and averaging 3.06 per set. She is followed by three players averaging two a set – LeGrand (2.67), Clinton (2.17) and Ponn (2.11).
Three different Wildcats turn in at least one block a set, led by freshman Cadence Lundgren (1.57). Schmidt (1.39) and Williams (1.31) follow Lundgren, while the senior duo are first and second on the team in total blocks, combining for 42.
K-State led the Big 12 in digs per set last season (16.75), while the defense finished second in the category in 2023 (15.24).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

The Wildcats are undefeated when leading in kills, digs, attack percentage, and are 4-0 when hitting above .200 with three victories hitting north of .300. ........................
Additionally, the Cats are 5-0 when they have limited their opponents to a hitting efficiency under .200. In three of those wins, opponents hit under .100.
K-State has out-blocked opponents in all four matches, totaling a season-high 10 against Delaware and Northern Colorado.
This season, the Cats post a perfect 5-0 record when wearing their white uniforms, that includes three victories with long sleeve jerseys and one in short sleeves.
The Wildcats are 13-17 when playing on the road in the Mansfield era, that includes a 5-2 edge when playing at a neutral location.

YEAR THREE OF THE MANSFIELD ERA

Jason Mansfield, who was appointed as the ninth head coach on Dec. 27, 2022, enters his third season at the helm of the Kansas State volleyball program.
In year one, K-State achieved a record-breaking five top-25 wins with victories over No. 3 Texas, No. 8 BYU (twice), No. 18 Baylor, and No. 25 Iowa State.
K-State handed Texas – the 2022 and 2023 NCAA National Champion – its only loss in conference play in its final season in the Big 12.

AROUND THE BIG 12

Three members of the Big 12 Conference remain undefeated with BYU (10-0), Colorado (9-0) and West Virginia (9-0)
Six schools rank in the latest AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll – No. 8 Arizona State, No. 9 TCU, No. 16 BYU, No. 17 Kansas, No. 20 Utah, No. 21 Baylor – while Colorado is receiving votes.
TCU's Evan Hendrix (offensive) and Samara Coleman (rookie) were joined by Kansas' Ryan White (defensive) as the Big 12 Volleyball Players of the Week for the third week of the season.

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Players Mentioned

Aniya Clinton

Cadence Lundgren

Shaylee Myers

Symone Sims

Jordyn Williams

Kansas State University Athletics