Cougars End Wildcats’ Winning Streak Sunday

Sunday, September 27

Manhattan, Kan.

2:30 p.m.

Kansas State University

9-1,1-1Big 12

Houston

8-5,1-1Big 12

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Houston	25	25	15	25	3
Kansas St.	23	21	25	20	1

Box Score (PDF)

Sep 27, 2026 | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State volleyball saw its nine-game winning streak come to an end Sunday, after Houston secured a four-set victory, 25-23, 25-21, 15-25, 25-20, at Morgan Family Arena.

Houston (8-5, 1-1 Big 12) held a 58-48 advantage in kills, hitting at a .282 clip with a match-leading 22 kills from Sydney Jones. K-State (9-1, 1-1 Big 12) was led by Addison Massey's 18 kills, her sixth consecutive match in double figures, while senior Fuka Sekita recorded her 500^th dig of her NCAA career.

FROM THE CATS
JASON MANSFIELD, K-STATE HEAD COACH
Opening statement…
"Congratulations to Houston. We saw on film that they were going to be a physical team, especially offensively, and they came to play. We challenged the girls before the match that this was going to be a tough match. They played [Kansas] extremely well a couple days ago. Probably should have won two of the three sets that they lost. I think we found out this week that the Big 12 is going to be tough every single match. We've played two really physical teams, and we can't get down 0-2, and fight our way back, even though we did a great job of that a couple days ago. We'll learn from it and move on."

On the conversation in the locker room after taking the first loss of the year…
"Just really trying to focus on how we can prepare them better. I think as coaches, you want to prepare them the best that you can and not put them in situations where we're struggling to slow them down, or we're struggling to score. We haven't really been that type of team this season, and so for it to happen in back-to-back matches is something that we have to figure out a way to prepare them better for. Whether it's in film, whether it's in practice, whether it's different concepts, but these teams are playing really, really well in the first and second set, and we played well enough to be in the first set, and we gave ourselves a chance late to maybe sneak one out. So, it's not that we're playing terribly, but we're really struggling to slow the other team down in back-to-back matches here."

On what needs to change moving forward…
"We got to make plays. We talked about it the whole season. It doesn't matter who we play against. There are plays to be made in every match, and we made a lot of them, but we got to make more of them, and that's really what it comes down to. But I agree with [Addison Massey], I think that we have to turn up our competitiveness. Not just how we celebrate or how excited we get but how aggressive we are, how we do what we need to do to win points and then ultimately win matches but we're not making enough plays and the other team is more aggressive than us for longer stretches of time. We have to fix that."

On the selflessness and leadership shown by players like Fuka Sekita and Addison Massey…
"[Addison Massey] and [Fuka Sekita] are at the top of the list of character, connect, and compete, our three values. They want to help our team win. And that's what makes them great, is they want to do whatever it takes to help us win, and they've done that for the whole season so far. I think we have a group of people that have the opportunity to be that way, that are selfless. But again, I just keep thinking of the word compete. We have to figure out a way to compete better than we did in the last two matches, even though I love the last three sets we played against UCF, but we'll figure it out. We're learning and growing."

FUKA SEKITA, SENIOR LIBERO
On what needs to change moving forward…
"I think in the fourth set and second set they pushed us, but we tried to stay connected. But as [Addison Massey] just said, the mentality is more important than skills because we know we have a lot of girls who're talented on this team, and we already have experienced that against good teams from Houston, now UCF and of course the preseason too. So just yeah, have a mentality to beat other teams."

On reaching the landmark of having 500 career NCAA digs…
"I didn't know that I had 500 digs, but I'm just focusing on how I can help the team. I think the result is that I just had 500 digs, and of course I cannot have that record by myself because of the blocking and the coaching staff, the scouting report and everything. So, I'm just glad to be here and play with these great people. I'm just going to keep trying to dig and dig and pass everything."

ADDISON MASSEY, FRESHMAN PIN
On what needs to change moving forward…
"I think we need to change our mentality and be more aggressive and not get tight and scared. We need to keep swinging, even if we're down."

On her 18-kill performance…
"Honestly, I don't really care about how many kills I get. I just want to put it down because if I'm successful, that means my team is successful. But honestly, if someone else gets 18 kills, I'm going to be way more happy because if they're successful too, then we win."

SET-BY-SET
Set 1 – Houston 25, K-State 23

Trailing 15-8, the Wildcats trimmed the deficit behind 7-4 scoring run to bridge the gap to one.
K-State scored three straight points, including a block and kill by Cadence Lundgren, make it 19-18.
Tied 20-20, Houston scored five of the final eight points to put the set away.
Houston hit at a .342 clip (18 kills, 5 errors, 38 swings), led by a set-high nine from Sydney Jones and 15 assists by Kalei Edson.
Seven players contributed a kill for K-State, with Addison Massey and Ellah Derrer combining for seven.
K-State out-blocked Houston, 5-2, with three blocks by Reagan Fox and Derrer.

Set 2 – Houston 25, K-State 21

After back-and-forth action, Houston broke away with a 7-1 run to pull ahead, 10-5, and held off the Wildcats late rally to take a 2-0 match lead.
The two squads exchanged eight service errors in Set 2.
Houston limited K-State to a .156 hitting percentage in Set 2, forcing six errors with 11 kills on 32 swings.
The Cougars hit .345 (14 kills, 4 errors, 29 swings), and held a 11-9 edge in dig production, while the two squads were event matched in blocks with two apiece.

Set 3 – K-State 25, Houston 15

Momentum shifted in Set 3, as K-State jumped out the gate with an 11-5 advantage – its largest lead of the match – before scoring five straight points to stretch the lead into double figures.
The Wildcats held off the Cougars and put the set away behind a kill from Avery Stones and pair of attack errors.
K-State hit at an impressive .458 efficiency in Set 3, with just one error on 24 attacks (12 kills), while the defense held Houston to a .065 hitting percentage, forcing nine errors.
Massey led all players in the set with five kills on nine swings (.556).

Set 4 – Houston 25, K-State 20

Houston bounced back with a 15-9 lead in Set 4.
The Wildcats pulled within three, 20-17, but were unable to overcome the deficit, as Houston secured the win behind a 5-3 closing run.
K-State was held to a .138 hitting percentage (10 kills, 6 errors, 29 attempts) in the final set, as the Cougars held a 3-0 edge in total blocks and 9-6 advantage in dig production.
Sydney Jones and Kamille Gibson combined for 11 of Houston's 15 kills in the final set, with the team producing a .385 hitting percentage.

INSIDE THE BOX

Houston won in four sets in Manhattan – 25-23, 25-21, 15-25, 25-20.
Three Cougars reached double-digit kills: Jones (22), Kamille Gibson (14), Noema Despaigne (13).
Houston forced 18 attack errors and held a 43-38 edge in dig production, led by 11 from Mattie Casale.
The Wildcats out-blocked Houston, 8-7, with five total blocks from Ellah Derrer and four by Skylar Brady.
Massey produced a team-high 18 kills while Avery Stones was next with seven kills. The duo combined for 62 swings.
Emerson Van Lannen dished out a team-high 24 assists, pacing an offense that hit .246 (48 kills, 122 attempts).
Sekita led the Cats with 10 digs, while Massey followed with eight.
In total, there were just 10 tie scores and only two lead changes, both coming in the first set.
Both teams combined for 22 service errors.

TEAM NOTES

Houston took the lead in the all-time series, 6-5, while K-State owns a 3-2 advantage in matches played in Manhattan.
K-State's 9-0 start to the season finished as the second-best start to a season in school history.
It is just the second time this season K-State has trailed in team kills (at Creighton, September 18).
K-State boasts a 9-1 Set 4 record.

PLAYER NOTES

Massey turned in her sixth consecutive match with double-digit kills and has registered 10 or more in all but one this season.
Sekita recorded the 500^th NCAA career dig, totaling 139 this season.
Van Lannen earned her sixth career match with 20 or more assists.

UP NEXT
K-State will return to Morgan Family Arena to host BYU (9-1, 1-0 Big 12) on Thursday, October 1 before facing Utah (10-3, 2-0 Big 12) on Saturday, October 3. Both matches can be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

– k-statesports.com –

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