Key Word: Trust

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Kansas State racked up points and Nevada couldn't do anything about it. You could see it in their eyes, and you could feel it inside Morgan Family Arena that the end was near. And then it finally happened. At 1:14 p.m. Friday, Nevada had one last shot to fend off match-point, but an ace by freshman Caleigh Ponn capped a ceremonious win for the dominant Wildcats to become victorious for a fourth straight match.

Zero is the number. Zero. That's how many sets opponents have won against K-State in the early stages of this 2025 season. K-State beat Nevada 25-19, 25-15 and 25-13 in a match that began at 12:00 p.m. and lasted a little longer than a lunch break. Oh, there will be fights. There will be battles. In the coming months, there will be marathon sets and matches that seem to carry over into the next day.

But here's what we know: With the sweep of Nevada, K-State extended its season-opening dominance to 12 straight set victories, its longest set-win start in history. The Wildcats have yet to allow an opponent more than 21 points in a set and are holding foes to an overall .088 hitting percentage. K-State and Iowa State are the only two Big 12 Conference programs to not lose a single set in 2025. The Wildcats' 4-0 record marks their best start since the inaugural season of the Jason Mansfield era in 2023.

"We have to be successful for teams to fear us or really respect us," Mansfield said. "That's what we have to do. We're playing really good volleyball and have been consistently good over time, and that's what's been lacking in this program. There's been really, really highs and a lot of lows, and we want to be way more consistent than that. This group is trying to be more consistent night in and night out.

"We're off to a good start."

The second floor of the Morgan Family Arena features a winding hallway with more than a dozen large canvas color prints of K-State volleyball key players and key moments through the years hanging upon the walls. But the walls could tell plenty stories of frustration as well — matches that have slipped away. Anchored high upon the north end of the Morgan Family Arena are two purple banners. One reads: "Conference Champions 2003" and the other reads "Sweet 16 Appearances 2000, 2003, 2011."

K-State, picked eighth in the 2025 Big 12 Preseason Coaches' Poll, would like to improve its standing this year and dream higher.

"We want to prove it to ourselves," senior outside hitter Shaylee Myers said. "We don't hang onto what we're preseason ranked because we know who we are and who we can be. Everybody is ready and that's really special about our team. We can count on everybody. I don't know if success has set in. We want to keep getting better.

"We have to keep being our best selves."

Accompanying K-State's string of success is the striking nature of how these Wildcats have seemingly gelled so well since the start of the season against UMBC on August 29. The Wildcats have played four matches in a span of nine days. They appear anything but fatigued. They're a senior-laden bunch with a few juniors and six talented true freshmen. And they'll tell you this all started back in the spring and then picked back up during summer workouts and then in practice leading toward this third season under Mansfield.

"I'm not surprised," senior setter Ava LeGrand said. "I'm more proud. We could've taken it all for granted. Everyone has been prepared and dialed in. The whole season, I've been more proud than surprised.

"Our one word is 'Together.' Sometimes we might not play out of our minds, but we're there for each other no matter what. As a team we've been able to lean on each other and help each other."

The key word for Mansfield: "Trust."

"It's trust, no doubt," he said. "The coaching staff and player to player, the 11 returners who started in January trying to build that trust have done a phenomenal job and the six freshmen who have come in love volleyball and are so excited. The biggest thing is we're continuing to build that trust. You also have to play well, and we're making a lot of good plays over and over and over again."

There was a time, Mansfield pointed out, when he could just feel that something was different on this squad compared to last year's squad, which missed out on the NCAA Tournament. That defining moment arrived during the first set of this season.

"We're just competing," he said. "The first set of our first game against UMBC, a close game, they were playing well, and we weren't playing well, and we had every reason to fold and not finish that first set, and we finished it. That was a huge statement. Last year, we lost a lot of those sets. We found ways to lose those sets. The other team played well, we had to make plays, and we didn't make plays, and were suddenly down 1-0.

"I love that we didn't fold. That really set the tone not just for that match but for the season."

This season moves forward, as all seasons do, with new challenges, and with an influx of talented opposing teams awaiting the Wildcats. K-State's first road match of the season arrives on Thursday when it faces UC Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara, California. The Wildcats then play Northern Colorado in Santa Barbara on Friday. Then the Wildcats play North Carolina on September 19 and East Carolina on September 20 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Then comes the grind of the Big 12 schedule, which thankfully starts with back-to-back home matches against Arizona and Arizona State in Manhattan on September 26 and September 28.

It'll be different than UMBC, Delaware, NC State and Nevada — K-State's first four opponents this season — but Mansfield hoped this fast start might set the foundation for success.

He just maybe didn't anticipate four consecutive shutouts and matches that last about as long as a lunch break.

"I was hopeful these first four matches that we'd have a good chance to win, but you never know," Mansfield said. "I'm just really proud of the girls for being consistent. They all really want to prove a lot to themselves and each other that we can be the type of program we want to be. This is as good of a start as we're going to get and now, we go on the road and play four really tough opponents, including two of them on their home floor. It's a test. We want to be road warriors within the conference.

"This is where it starts. The environments and teams are going to be different and it's going to be tough."

Fortunately for K-State, these Wildcats have proven pretty tough as well.

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Ava LeGrand

Shaylee Myers

Caleigh Ponn

Related Videos