K-State Volleyball Previews Season at Annual Media Day
Aug 11, 2026 | Volleyball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Fourth-year head coach Jason Mansfield and student-athletes Reagan Fox, Cadence Lundgren, Caleigh Ponn, Avery Stones, and Emerson Van Lannen met with members of the media Tuesday afternoon at Morgan Family Arena in preparation for the 2026 season.
With seven returning letterwinners from their 2025 squad that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, K-State officially begins the regular season August 28-30, hosting the annual K-State Invitational. The Wildcats welcome Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Campbell for a three-match weekend in Manhattan. The 18-match Big 12 slate begins September 24 on the road at UCF in Orlando, Florida, before K-State hosts Houston in its conference home opener on September 27.
The Wildcats' 26-match schedule features 11 opponents that qualified for last season's NCAA Tournament, including nine from the Big 12 Conference, which led the nation with 10 overall tournament qualifiers. Seven 2026 opponents were featured in Monday's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 Preseason Poll, with four Big 12 schools receiving votes, including K-State.
K-State capped a historic season with the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2021. The Cats defeated San Diego in the first round, marking their first postseason victory since 2016.
A full video of Tuesday's press conference can be found here.
JASON MANSFIELD, HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
"Really excited about the start of the season. The last couple weeks have been a lot of fun, a lot of good competition, and just trying to figure out how to be a team. We have a bunch of new players and new athletes in our program that are going through this for the first time. So there's a lot of excitement, and there's a lot of new. But yeah, really excited to get started and compete in a couple days."
On returning seven letterwinners…
"It starts obviously with the five up here and the things they've added to our program the last couple years. They all helped us be really successful last season, on and off the court, in matches, and in practice. So I think it's great to have players back to understand kind of what we went through last year to get to the tournament to win a match, and I think they're hungry to kind of go beyond that. And they're also teaching the younger players what we're trying to do, how we're trying to do it, and they've been great."
On goals for the season…
"They've set goals with [Anne Weese], and I think goal setting is great. But ultimately what are we going to do to try to get there? I learned in my first year that you know every match matters. And therefore, every practice, every prep session, whether it's film, whether it's practice, it all matters. So that's really what we can control is how consistent we are in those spaces, and that's really the lesson I learned kind of the hard way, the first season of not making the tournament and whatever the narrative was for that season. It just was a learning lesson for me of it's not really important to focus on you know those things, but it is good to have those goals and aspirations. That's what this program is trying to achieve. You know that's what we talked to each one of these girls about when it when it came to recruiting them. But you know when we're getting down to it, there's a process that needs to happen."
REAGAN FOX, SENIOR PIN
On the group of outside/opposite hitters…
"I think we're a group that pushes each other a lot, and we all get along. Obviously, there will always be a little bit of internal competition, but I think it's making us all better, and with the new girls coming in, I think they're very physical. Especially on paper, they're very young, but to me, it looks like they've been doing this for a couple years now. They have the shots, they have the physicality, they have the jump. I'm really excited to see them against somebody other than our own team."
On describing the feeling of K-State volleyball is entering the season…
"I keep describing it as like fiery and fresh, because I think every day has been so competitive. We're all walking away drenched in sweat. Not one person didn't contribute in practice every single day. So those would probably be the two words I would describe this. And I love coming every day and competing, it's something like you're kind of itching to do now, and I just think it's a great environment."
CADENCE LUNDGREN, SOPHOMORE MIDDLE BLOCKER
Stepping in as a freshman during a tough stretch last season…
Obviously, coming in as a freshman, I was definitely nervous and excited at the same time. But halfway through, I definitely had some big shoes I had to fill, especially with the injuries in those two senior middle blockers. I had a big role that I had to uphold, and like [Caleigh] said, it was just a huge growth year for me. I got to learn off the court, on the court, and it was just a really special moment for me being able to have that level of experience that early too. And I just took away a lot of just playing at that level. I mean, it's completely different from what I'd grown up playing, and so being able to just like learn fast and then being able to apply to the end game was just it was huge for me."
CALEIGH PONN, SOPHOMORE LIBERO
Surprising additions to the roster…
"I think Addison [Massey]. She's a freshman this year and she's just been incredible energy source for us. She plays really, really well. She's worked really hard in the spring, and obviously so far during the fall. And I think I'm excited to see what she gives and just kind of how she responds to seeing the all the fans here, and kind of how she can move forward and be really, really good volleyball player. Because as of right now, she's killing it and everything off the court as well."
What she learned in 2025 to bring into the upcoming season…
I learned a lot last year. I think with the group that we had and it mainly being senior led, it was a really good opportunity for me to just learn from older people. And coming in as a freshman, my teammates really helped me with like the Big 12 play and it being a lot faster and just kind of how to like be good mentally and physically on the court. So, I've learned a lot with Jason, the girls that are here and the girls that were there last year, and just really like taking it day by day and just going to each match like with an open level head and just ready to compete and see how well I can do. And it was a lot of fun last year, and I'm excited for this new year to come."
AVERY STONES, SOPHOMORE PIN
On ways to improve from the 2025 season…
I feel like there are a lot of different areas for improvement. We do a really good job of journaling before practice. Jason has a big emphasis on that, on just finding different skills to progress through. So, I don't think that there's one specific skill. I feel like I just try to find specific areas throughout each skill that I try to work on, and I would say there are multiple areas that I've improved on in each skill over the past spring."
EMERSON VAN LANNEN, JUNIOR SETTER
On the excitement behind the upcoming season…
"Yeah, I definitely agree with Reagan. Fun and fresh is definitely like the word that we're using. The girls are young, and we're kind of just having a lot of fun with it. Like we are taking it seriously, but when it comes to competition, we're just going all out, and we're having fun, and the vibes are definitely up."
– 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.
With seven returning letterwinners from their 2025 squad that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, K-State officially begins the regular season August 28-30, hosting the annual K-State Invitational. The Wildcats welcome Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Campbell for a three-match weekend in Manhattan. The 18-match Big 12 slate begins September 24 on the road at UCF in Orlando, Florida, before K-State hosts Houston in its conference home opener on September 27.
The Wildcats' 26-match schedule features 11 opponents that qualified for last season's NCAA Tournament, including nine from the Big 12 Conference, which led the nation with 10 overall tournament qualifiers. Seven 2026 opponents were featured in Monday's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 Preseason Poll, with four Big 12 schools receiving votes, including K-State.
K-State capped a historic season with the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2021. The Cats defeated San Diego in the first round, marking their first postseason victory since 2016.
A full video of Tuesday's press conference can be found here.
JASON MANSFIELD, HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
"Really excited about the start of the season. The last couple weeks have been a lot of fun, a lot of good competition, and just trying to figure out how to be a team. We have a bunch of new players and new athletes in our program that are going through this for the first time. So there's a lot of excitement, and there's a lot of new. But yeah, really excited to get started and compete in a couple days."
On returning seven letterwinners…
"It starts obviously with the five up here and the things they've added to our program the last couple years. They all helped us be really successful last season, on and off the court, in matches, and in practice. So I think it's great to have players back to understand kind of what we went through last year to get to the tournament to win a match, and I think they're hungry to kind of go beyond that. And they're also teaching the younger players what we're trying to do, how we're trying to do it, and they've been great."
On goals for the season…
"They've set goals with [Anne Weese], and I think goal setting is great. But ultimately what are we going to do to try to get there? I learned in my first year that you know every match matters. And therefore, every practice, every prep session, whether it's film, whether it's practice, it all matters. So that's really what we can control is how consistent we are in those spaces, and that's really the lesson I learned kind of the hard way, the first season of not making the tournament and whatever the narrative was for that season. It just was a learning lesson for me of it's not really important to focus on you know those things, but it is good to have those goals and aspirations. That's what this program is trying to achieve. You know that's what we talked to each one of these girls about when it when it came to recruiting them. But you know when we're getting down to it, there's a process that needs to happen."
REAGAN FOX, SENIOR PIN
On the group of outside/opposite hitters…
"I think we're a group that pushes each other a lot, and we all get along. Obviously, there will always be a little bit of internal competition, but I think it's making us all better, and with the new girls coming in, I think they're very physical. Especially on paper, they're very young, but to me, it looks like they've been doing this for a couple years now. They have the shots, they have the physicality, they have the jump. I'm really excited to see them against somebody other than our own team."
On describing the feeling of K-State volleyball is entering the season…
"I keep describing it as like fiery and fresh, because I think every day has been so competitive. We're all walking away drenched in sweat. Not one person didn't contribute in practice every single day. So those would probably be the two words I would describe this. And I love coming every day and competing, it's something like you're kind of itching to do now, and I just think it's a great environment."
CADENCE LUNDGREN, SOPHOMORE MIDDLE BLOCKER
Stepping in as a freshman during a tough stretch last season…
Obviously, coming in as a freshman, I was definitely nervous and excited at the same time. But halfway through, I definitely had some big shoes I had to fill, especially with the injuries in those two senior middle blockers. I had a big role that I had to uphold, and like [Caleigh] said, it was just a huge growth year for me. I got to learn off the court, on the court, and it was just a really special moment for me being able to have that level of experience that early too. And I just took away a lot of just playing at that level. I mean, it's completely different from what I'd grown up playing, and so being able to just like learn fast and then being able to apply to the end game was just it was huge for me."
CALEIGH PONN, SOPHOMORE LIBERO
Surprising additions to the roster…
"I think Addison [Massey]. She's a freshman this year and she's just been incredible energy source for us. She plays really, really well. She's worked really hard in the spring, and obviously so far during the fall. And I think I'm excited to see what she gives and just kind of how she responds to seeing the all the fans here, and kind of how she can move forward and be really, really good volleyball player. Because as of right now, she's killing it and everything off the court as well."
What she learned in 2025 to bring into the upcoming season…
I learned a lot last year. I think with the group that we had and it mainly being senior led, it was a really good opportunity for me to just learn from older people. And coming in as a freshman, my teammates really helped me with like the Big 12 play and it being a lot faster and just kind of how to like be good mentally and physically on the court. So, I've learned a lot with Jason, the girls that are here and the girls that were there last year, and just really like taking it day by day and just going to each match like with an open level head and just ready to compete and see how well I can do. And it was a lot of fun last year, and I'm excited for this new year to come."
AVERY STONES, SOPHOMORE PIN
On ways to improve from the 2025 season…
I feel like there are a lot of different areas for improvement. We do a really good job of journaling before practice. Jason has a big emphasis on that, on just finding different skills to progress through. So, I don't think that there's one specific skill. I feel like I just try to find specific areas throughout each skill that I try to work on, and I would say there are multiple areas that I've improved on in each skill over the past spring."
EMERSON VAN LANNEN, JUNIOR SETTER
On the excitement behind the upcoming season…
"Yeah, I definitely agree with Reagan. Fun and fresh is definitely like the word that we're using. The girls are young, and we're kind of just having a lot of fun with it. Like we are taking it seriously, but when it comes to competition, we're just going all out, and we're having fun, and the vibes are definitely up."
– 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.
Players Mentioned
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