K-State Pulls Off Reverse Sweep at UCF for Ninth Straight Win
Sep 25, 2026 | Volleyball
ORLANDO, Fla. – K-State volleyball continues its perfect season, as the Wildcats overcame a 2-0 deficit and dealt UCF its first home loss of the season Friday night at The Venue, 18-25, 22-25, 26-24, 25-13, 15-10.
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With the win, K-State (9-0, 1-0 Big 12) extended its winning streak and earned its first Big 12 opening-match victory since 2019, while it marked the first win over UCF (8-3, 0-1 Big 12) in Orlando in the series history. The Wildcats are now one of just six undefeated teams remaining in Division I, alongside Nebraska (11-0), Harvard (9-0), Michigan State (10-0), Pitt (10-0), and Washington (9-0).
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In the first five-set match of the year, three Wildcats reached double-digit kills, highlighted by a match-leading and season-high 22 from freshman Addison Massey. Sophomore Sydney Maue put down a career-high 12 kills, while freshman Skylar Brady had 11.
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Libero Fuka Sekita turned in her first double-double of the season with a match-high 15 digs and 10 assists. Massey added 11 digs for her second double-double of the year. Â Lauren Latham posted a team-high 20 assists with seven digs. Ellah Derrer led all players with a match-high eight blocks, including her fifth career solo block. Â
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FROM THE CATS
JASON MANSFIELD, K-STATE HEAD COACH
Overall statement…Â
"I've only played five set matches here in my career, so I knew that it was going to be a battle. After the first two sets, I wasn't sure if we were going to have enough to fight back. But how we responded in the third set, and I just knew if we could find a way to win that third set, I liked our chances, and it's exactly what happened. [UCF] is a really good team. I got to give them a lot of credit. I think they're a tournament team and very well coached. The stats are very even for the match, which is incredible. Just really proud of our girls for never giving up and continuing to find ways to solve the problems."
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On Maue's career night…
"[Maue] has been waiting for a match like this. She's been practicing so well and has been so consistent every day in practice. She hits really great shots, and I knew this was coming at some point. I'm really happy for her. She took some big swings for us, especially in big moments. We just need to be the type of offense that can set anyone at any given time, and I think that hopefully this gives her a lot of confidence moving forward."
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On Latham's career-high performance…
"Lauren [Latham] just continues to just be so steady. I'm so impressed with how she has played in matches after obviously not playing very much last year. I love it when these younger players are just themselves on the court. There's nothing better than seeing them in these different environments and tough matches against good teams, just be themselves and make plays. She continues to do that."
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On Sekita's double-double performance…
I think she would tell you that she didn't have a great start. But competitors find ways to rebound when they're not playing their best. I think she started to get her groove in the second set, and then played spectacularly from there. She's a great out-of-system setter and one of the best I've ever coached. Obviously, we got to take good swings, especially by Addison [Massey], Skylar [Brady] and Sydney [Maue] off of her. She's a special player. We just got better at passing as the match went and she was a big part of that."
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On Addison Massey continuing to outdo herself…
"[Massey] just continues to be herself. She is just being aggressive all the time, and she's so good at responding to mistakes. She's never too high, she's never too low. She gets emotional in between plays, but then she refocuses really well. It wasn't her best passing performance. I think that's something that she would probably beat herself up over. But offensively, she took big swings. I think their block got to her a little bit. She tried to do a little bit too much at times. She needs to attack the court a little bit more, but she took big swings, and she's going to have to do that for us all year.
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On Massey's eight kills in Set 1…
"It was crazy looking at the stat sheet because we weren't passing well, we weren't playing great defense, and she literally was kind of the only one keeping us afloat. It's got to feel good for her to start well offensively against any team, really, but a team that's that big and that good defensively. I think it gave her confidence and kind of carried her through the rest of the match. She's special. There's no defense that can stop her, except for her. So as long as she keeps taking the swing she needs to take, she's really difficult to slow down."
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SET-BY-SET
Set 1 – UCF 25, K-State18
Set 2 – UCF 25, K-State 22
Set 3 – K-State 26, UCF 24
Set 4 – K-State 25, UCF 13
Set 5 – K-State 15, UCF 10
INSIDE THE BOX
TEAM NOTES
PLAYER NOTES
UP NEXT
The Wildcats return to Morgan Family Arena on Sunday as they welcome the Houston Cougars (7-4, 0-0 Big 12). Sunday's match is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT, and can be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Â
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With the win, K-State (9-0, 1-0 Big 12) extended its winning streak and earned its first Big 12 opening-match victory since 2019, while it marked the first win over UCF (8-3, 0-1 Big 12) in Orlando in the series history. The Wildcats are now one of just six undefeated teams remaining in Division I, alongside Nebraska (11-0), Harvard (9-0), Michigan State (10-0), Pitt (10-0), and Washington (9-0).
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In the first five-set match of the year, three Wildcats reached double-digit kills, highlighted by a match-leading and season-high 22 from freshman Addison Massey. Sophomore Sydney Maue put down a career-high 12 kills, while freshman Skylar Brady had 11.
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Libero Fuka Sekita turned in her first double-double of the season with a match-high 15 digs and 10 assists. Massey added 11 digs for her second double-double of the year. Â Lauren Latham posted a team-high 20 assists with seven digs. Ellah Derrer led all players with a match-high eight blocks, including her fifth career solo block. Â
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FROM THE CATS
JASON MANSFIELD, K-STATE HEAD COACH
Overall statement…Â
"I've only played five set matches here in my career, so I knew that it was going to be a battle. After the first two sets, I wasn't sure if we were going to have enough to fight back. But how we responded in the third set, and I just knew if we could find a way to win that third set, I liked our chances, and it's exactly what happened. [UCF] is a really good team. I got to give them a lot of credit. I think they're a tournament team and very well coached. The stats are very even for the match, which is incredible. Just really proud of our girls for never giving up and continuing to find ways to solve the problems."
Â
On Maue's career night…
"[Maue] has been waiting for a match like this. She's been practicing so well and has been so consistent every day in practice. She hits really great shots, and I knew this was coming at some point. I'm really happy for her. She took some big swings for us, especially in big moments. We just need to be the type of offense that can set anyone at any given time, and I think that hopefully this gives her a lot of confidence moving forward."
Â
On Latham's career-high performance…
"Lauren [Latham] just continues to just be so steady. I'm so impressed with how she has played in matches after obviously not playing very much last year. I love it when these younger players are just themselves on the court. There's nothing better than seeing them in these different environments and tough matches against good teams, just be themselves and make plays. She continues to do that."
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On Sekita's double-double performance…
I think she would tell you that she didn't have a great start. But competitors find ways to rebound when they're not playing their best. I think she started to get her groove in the second set, and then played spectacularly from there. She's a great out-of-system setter and one of the best I've ever coached. Obviously, we got to take good swings, especially by Addison [Massey], Skylar [Brady] and Sydney [Maue] off of her. She's a special player. We just got better at passing as the match went and she was a big part of that."
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On Addison Massey continuing to outdo herself…
"[Massey] just continues to be herself. She is just being aggressive all the time, and she's so good at responding to mistakes. She's never too high, she's never too low. She gets emotional in between plays, but then she refocuses really well. It wasn't her best passing performance. I think that's something that she would probably beat herself up over. But offensively, she took big swings. I think their block got to her a little bit. She tried to do a little bit too much at times. She needs to attack the court a little bit more, but she took big swings, and she's going to have to do that for us all year.
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On Massey's eight kills in Set 1…
"It was crazy looking at the stat sheet because we weren't passing well, we weren't playing great defense, and she literally was kind of the only one keeping us afloat. It's got to feel good for her to start well offensively against any team, really, but a team that's that big and that good defensively. I think it gave her confidence and kind of carried her through the rest of the match. She's special. There's no defense that can stop her, except for her. So as long as she keeps taking the swing she needs to take, she's really difficult to slow down."
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SET-BY-SET
Set 1 – UCF 25, K-State18
- The Knights started off the Big 12 opener with six straight points, after winning a challenge to keep the run alive.
- Three kills from Addison Massey headlined a 5-1 scoring run and trimmed the Knights' lead to two, 9-7.
- Behind six strong serves from Natasha Casey, the Big 12 leader in total aces, UCF extended its lead into double figures, 18-8.
- UCF hit at a .333 clip (13 kills, 4 errors, 27 attempts), while the defense held K-State to nine kills with six errors for a .120 hitting percentage (25 swings).
- Massey totaled eight of K-State's nine kills in Set 1.
Set 2 – UCF 25, K-State 22
- Down 13-7, K-State scored six consecutive points to flip momentum, highlighted by Emerson Van Lannen's 21st ace of the season.
- A block from Ellah Derrer and Massey brought the set within one, 18-17, before the Wildcats leveled the score with a kill from Sydney Maue.
- The Wildcats took their first lead of the match behind a kill from Reese Resmer.
- UCF quickly erased the deficit and rallied for a 6-2 closing run to secure the set win.
- K-State had 12 kills in Set 2 but recorded 10 attack errors for a .056 hitting percentage, as UCF held a 4-2 edge in total blocks along with a 12-7 advantage in dig production.
- Eight different players contributed a kill for K-State in Set 2.
Set 3 – K-State 26, UCF 24
- With the score tied 9-9, Massey put down her 13th kill to push K-State ahead.
- The two squads went back-and-forth before consecutive kills by Massey knotted the score at 19-all.
- Tied 24-24, the Wildcats were awarded set-point on a kill from Skylar Brady before an attack error forced the fourth set.
- The Wildcats hit at a .343 clip in Set 3 (17 kills, 5 errors, 35 swings), led by seven kills from Massey.
Set 4 – K-State 25, UCF 13
- K-State opened Set 4 with a 9-4 advantage highlighted by a service ace from Derrer and three kills by Maue. Â
- The Wildcats capitalized on a 9-2 scoring run and stretched their lead into double figures, 17-7, with an ace by Fuka Sekita.
- An ace by Derrer and sneak attack from setter Lauren Latham pushed the Wildcats to a set victory and forced Set 5.
- Both squads were evenly matched in total kills with eight, while UCF recorded 10 attack errors to hit -.059. Â
Set 5 – K-State 15, UCF 10
- UCF jumped out the gate with a 5-3 lead but was answered with a 5-1 scoring run to shift momentum in favor of the Wildcats.
- Brady connected on a pass from Latham to hand the Cats a two-point lead and force a timeout from UCF.
- With the Wildcats leading 12-6, UCF battled with a 4-1 scoring run but was unable to overcome the deficit as K-State completed the reverse sweep with a kill from Reagan Fox.
- K-State recorded a .389 hitting percentage in Set 5, putting down nine kills with two errors on 18 attempts, led by four kills from Massey.
INSIDE THE BOX
- K-State defeated UCF in five sets – 18-25, 22-25, 26-24, 25-13, 15-10.
- The team hit .215 on 134 swings, while UCF hit .206 on 141 attempts.
- Both squads were evenly matched in kills (55), attack errors (26), service aces (6) and total blocks (11).
- Eight Wildcats contributed a kill with three reaching double digits.
- Massey led all players with a career-high 22 (.239), followed by Maue (12) and Brady (11).
- Kiki Horne posted a team-high 16 kills for UCF and Avah Armour added 15.
- Derrer produced a match-leading eight blocks (1 solo, 7 assists) and match-high three service aces.
- Latham paced the offense with 20 assists, while Van Lannen and Sekita combined for 23.
- Two Wildcats had double-doubles – Massey (22 kills, 11 digs), Sekita (15 digs, 10 assists).
- The match featured 28 tie scores and 11 lead changes – all coming in the final four sets.
TEAM NOTES
- K-State has won seven of 11 challenges this season.
- With the win, the Cats tied the all-time series, 4-4, while UCF boasts a 3-1 advantage in matches played in Orlando.
- Seven of the nine matches in the series have gone to four or more sets.
- UCF's five aces in Set 1 are the most K-State has allowed in a set all season.
- K-State won the Big 12 opener for the first time since 2019, moving to 3-7 over the last 10 seasons.
- It is the program's first reverse sweep since Oct.5, 2024, vs. Iowa State.
- K-State's 9-0 start is the program's best start to a season since going 12-0 in 2012.
- Just six Division I programs remain undefeated in 2026 – K-State (9-0), Nebraska (11-0), Harvard (9-0), Michigan State (10-0), Pitt (10-0), and Washington (9-0).
PLAYER NOTES
- Massey turned in her fifth straight match with 15 or more kills, reaching double digits in eight of nine matches this season.
- She has registered a double-double in two of the last three matches and is the only K-State player with multiple double-doubles this season.
- Van Lannen has 22 service aces in 2026 and is 15 short of cracking the rally-scoring era single-season leaderboard.
- Latham set career highs in assists (20) and digs (7).
- With 12 kills, Maue recorded her first match reaching double figures at K-State, while surpassing her career-high 10 at Arkansas (vs. Mississippi, Nov. 7, 2025).
- Sekita is seven digs shy of achieving her 500th dig in her NCAA career.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats return to Morgan Family Arena on Sunday as they welcome the Houston Cougars (7-4, 0-0 Big 12). Sunday's match is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT, and can be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Â
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– k-statesports.com –
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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.
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– k-statesports.com –
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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.
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