Thursday, October 15
Manhattan, Kan.
6:30 p.m.
Kansas State University
9-6,1-6Big 12
0
vs
3
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Kansas
12-4,5-1Big 12
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Kansas St. | 20 | 15 | 23 | 0 |
Wildcats Suffer Straight-Set Loss Thursday Night
Oct 15, 2026 | Volleyball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – No. 17 Kansas handed K-State a straight-set loss in the season's first Dillons Sunflower Showdown Thursday night at Morgan Family Arena, 25-20, 25-15, 25-23. Â
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K-State (9-6, 1-6 Big 12) was limited to a .149 hitting percentage with 25 kills, while Kansas (12-4, 5-1 Big 12) racked up 50 kills and hit at a .340 clip. Taylor Stanley led all players with 16 kills, while Grace Nelson added 10 as the only two players to reach double-digit kills.
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FROM THE CATS
JASON MANSFIELD, K-STATE HEAD COACH
Opening statement…Â
"Congrats to [Kansas]. They were the more aggressive team from the beginning, and they continued it pretty much throughout the whole match. Their serving was really aggressive. They definitely got to our passers early, and their offense was really good. They took really aggressive swings. They challenged our defenders, and we just didn't step up to the challenge."
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On the fight that K-State showed in the third set…Â
"This is something that this team has been doing for about a month now where we're getting down, and they're showing good fight in the third set, and so I expect that from us. I expect us to play with some grit and some determination, and some pride. I just wish it would happen earlier. I thought we found something against Colorado to go up 2-0 that I really liked, and we're still searching for that."
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On what he told the team after a rough second set…
"I think they know that we're not playing the way that we want to play, and so I don't think there's a lot that needs to be said. I think we made a couple adjustments personnel-wise. I thought those players responded well, but I mean ultimately, it's just about making plays, and this isn't the first time where we lost the first set and then kind of played worse in the second set, and that's a problem. And we're not competing in those moments, and so there wasn't a lot said, but I like the response by our team."
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On the long break between games…
"I mean we just got to get back to playing the style of volleyball in which we want to play. I mean, every single aspect of the game can be better tonight. And so, we got to get back to work, and we got to figure out ways to be better. We have got to figure out ways to be more connected. Whatever lineup is out there, people have to play well together. We're going to have lots of opportunities for the rest of the season to play good teams and to compete and figure out how we're going to be better."
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SET-BY-SET
Set 1 –  #17 KU 25, K-State 20
Set 2 – #17 KU 25, K-State 15
Set 3 – #17 KU 25, K-State 23
INSIDE THE BOX
TEAM NOTES
PLAYER NOTES
UP NEXT
K-State will take on Cincinnati (8-7, 1-4 Big 12) on October 22 at Fifth Third Arena. The Cats will return to Morgan Family Arena on October 25 to host Texas Tech (8-9, 0-5 Big 12).
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K-State (9-6, 1-6 Big 12) was limited to a .149 hitting percentage with 25 kills, while Kansas (12-4, 5-1 Big 12) racked up 50 kills and hit at a .340 clip. Taylor Stanley led all players with 16 kills, while Grace Nelson added 10 as the only two players to reach double-digit kills.
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FROM THE CATS
JASON MANSFIELD, K-STATE HEAD COACH
Opening statement…Â
"Congrats to [Kansas]. They were the more aggressive team from the beginning, and they continued it pretty much throughout the whole match. Their serving was really aggressive. They definitely got to our passers early, and their offense was really good. They took really aggressive swings. They challenged our defenders, and we just didn't step up to the challenge."
Â
On the fight that K-State showed in the third set…Â
"This is something that this team has been doing for about a month now where we're getting down, and they're showing good fight in the third set, and so I expect that from us. I expect us to play with some grit and some determination, and some pride. I just wish it would happen earlier. I thought we found something against Colorado to go up 2-0 that I really liked, and we're still searching for that."
Â
On what he told the team after a rough second set…
"I think they know that we're not playing the way that we want to play, and so I don't think there's a lot that needs to be said. I think we made a couple adjustments personnel-wise. I thought those players responded well, but I mean ultimately, it's just about making plays, and this isn't the first time where we lost the first set and then kind of played worse in the second set, and that's a problem. And we're not competing in those moments, and so there wasn't a lot said, but I like the response by our team."
Â
On the long break between games…
"I mean we just got to get back to playing the style of volleyball in which we want to play. I mean, every single aspect of the game can be better tonight. And so, we got to get back to work, and we got to figure out ways to be better. We have got to figure out ways to be more connected. Whatever lineup is out there, people have to play well together. We're going to have lots of opportunities for the rest of the season to play good teams and to compete and figure out how we're going to be better."
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SET-BY-SET
Set 1 –  #17 KU 25, K-State 20
- After back-and-forth action, K-State jumped out to a 10-8 lead behind consecutive kills from Skylar Brady.
- The Jayhawks erased the deficit and responded with a 9-2 scoring run, before the Wildcats capitalized on a pair of errors to pull within three, 19-16.
- KU scored six of the final 10 points to secure the set win, finishing the set with a .353 hitting percentage and totaling 17 kills on 34 swings (5 errors).
Set 2 – #17 KU 25, K-State 15
- KU quickly took charge with an 8-4 lead in Set 2, highlighted by a 4-0 scoring run and held on to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
- The Wildcats were held to a .031 hitting percentage in Set 2 and limited to just six kills, as the Jayhawks defense forced five errors with 17 digs and a pair of blocks.
- Â Three players contributed at least four kills, led by a set-high five from Grace Nelson.
Set 3 – #17 KU 25, K-State 23
- Both squads went point-for-point with neither team grabbing a substantial lead, until Resmer recorded her second ace of the match and of her collegiate career, to hand K-State a three-point lead, 17-14.
- Tied 23-23, KU capitalized on a pair of attack errors to put the match away.
- Â Set 3 featured 16 tied scores and four lead changes.
INSIDE THE BOX
- KU defeated K-State in three sets – 25-20, 25-15, 25-23.
- The Jayhawks hit .340 (50 kills, 15 errors, 103 attempts), while K-State was limited to a .149 hitting percentage (25 kills, 12 errors, 87 attempts).
- KU's Stanley led all players with 16 kills followed by Nelson with 10.
- Reese Messer dished out 40 assists, while Stanley and Logan Bell each had two aces.
- Fuka Sekita and Nelson had 10 digs apiece.
- Addison Massey led the Wildcats with eight kills and Skylar Brady had six.
- Resmer had two aces for K-State and led the Cats with three blocks.
- KU had 15 service errors in Thursday's contest.
TEAM NOTES
- K-State leads the all-time series 68-64-1 dating back to the series start in 1974.
- The Wildcats boast a 30-25 advantage in matches played in Manhattan, while they are 1-6 against the Jayhawks in the Mansfield era.
- Four of K-State's six losses have been against top-50 teams – all against ranked opponents.
- In 2026, K-State has hit under .200 in four of 15 matches this season.
PLAYER NOTES
- Sekita turned in her 12th match with 10 or more digs of the year, leading the Cats in digs in 12 of 15 matches.
- Brady has led the team in blocks in two of the last four matches.
UP NEXT
K-State will take on Cincinnati (8-7, 1-4 Big 12) on October 22 at Fifth Third Arena. The Cats will return to Morgan Family Arena on October 25 to host Texas Tech (8-9, 0-5 Big 12).
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– k-statesports.com –
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How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Volleyball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
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– k-statesports.com –
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How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Volleyball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
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Players Mentioned
Team Stats
KU
KState
Kills
50
25
Errors
15
12
Attempts
103
87
Hitting %
.340
.149
Points
59.0
31.0
Assists
47
24
Aces
7
3
Blocks
2
3
Game Leaders
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
3
Aces
2
Blocks
3
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