Sekita Breaks 20-Year-Old Record, Cats Sweep CSUN

Friday, September 4

Manhattan, Kan.

6:30 p.m.

Kansas State University

3-0,0-0Big 12

CSUN

1-3,0-0Big West

Team	1	2	3	Final F
CSUN	26	18	23	0
Kansas St.	28	25	25	3

Sep 04, 2026 | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Fuka Sekita's dominating 24-dig performance, including 13 in the final set, lifted K-State to a straight set victory (28-26, 25-18, 25-23) over Cal State Northridge Friday night at Morgan Family Arena.

With the win, K-State starts off the season 3-0 for the second straight year and for the third time under fourth-year head coach Jason Mansfield, while CSUN falls to 1-3.

The senior libero's 24 digs set a school record for the most digs in a three-set match during the rally-scoring era, surpassing Angie Lastra's 23 digs on Oct. 13, 2007, at Iowa State. Sekita, a native of Hyogo, Japan, becomes just the third player in school history to eclipse the 23-dig mark, joining Loren Hinkle, who also achieved the feat in 2019 against Texas Tech. In addition to her record-breaking performance, Sekita also recorded her 400^th career NCAA dig, reaching the milestone with her 14^th dig of the night.

FROM THE CATS
JASON MANSFIELD, K-STATE HEAD COACH
On what to take from tonight into Sunday's match…
"Yeah, what a blessing to be in close sets. Starting with Oklahoma, pretty much every match that we've played, we've been in really close sets. We've won most of them, which says a lot about our team. But it's so great to be in those situations and have to fight and have to make plays and be present. I'm really proud of the girls for just making plays and making plays enough to win those close sets. The first set we had 23 kills. That's kind of unheard of, but we made 11 hitting errors, and that's why it was 28-26. So just think overall, our offense has a chance to be really special. We're passing well. We got good setters. We got good attackers. But we have to be smarter. I just think that was the lesson. It's great to win in three. I'm certainly proud of the girls for finishing the third set off. But it was a good team that played really well the first two sets, and we struggled to slow them down, and we struggled to play clean volleyball, and that's kind of why I think they were more in the match than maybe they needed to be. We're a work in progress. We're not quite there. There's a lot of great things that are happening, but I love our fight.

FUKA SEKITA, SENIOR LIBERO
On what your mind set was going into this weekend…
"I feel like we prepared for all the stuff the coaches have, all the scouting things and how we defend and everything. For me, defensive wise, I have so much confidence to see the ball because how well we have scouted and practiced. So it was not easy, but we had good confidence."

On being a leader…
"Me personally, I tell them I got your back. I'm gonna pass. I'm gonna give the perfect pass, so they're gonna get the score. I have confidence in passing the ball. So for me, I'm talking to the others like I got you. So yeah, that's how I'm leading the team for me personally."

On breaking a 20-year-old school record…
"I'm so happy to break the record but it's definitely not only my thing, especially the last set. The blockers did a really great job, so that's why I can see the ball clearly and easily. So, this record is not only my stuff. I want everybody to think that this record is a team thing because I cannot have done this by myself. I appreciate all the girls from the team, and I'm so glad that I have a record. This is my first time to have a record, so I'm just so happy. But I'm not done. I want to keep pushing myself and go for more."

EMERSON VAN LANNEN, JUNIOR SETTER
On your mindset to finish the game and get the win…
"We work a lot with our sports psychologists on things like mindset. So, I think when we're in those tough situations, everybody wants the ball. Nobody's afraid of it. Everyone's like, 'Give me the ball. I want this kill. Give me the ball. Serve it to me.' And I think that we're super confident in that way."

SET-BY-SET
Set 1 – K-State 28, CSUN 26

K-State scored four consecutive points to open the match, utilizing the run to expand to a 13-8 lead.
CSUN rallied to level the score at 17-all before the Wildcats rallied behind back-to-back kills from Massey.
The Matadors overcame a three-point deficit, 23-20, and forced set-point with a kill from Katie Koler.
The two squads went point-for-point until K-State broke through a 26-26 tie with kills from Reagan Fox and Massey, both connecting on passes from Emerson Van Lannen.
Force-set point
K-State held a 23-12 advantage in total kills in Set 1, while CSUN hit at a set-high .243 with a 5-1 edge in blocks.
Set 1 featured eight tied scores and four lead changes.

Set 2 – K-State 25, CSUN 18

Behind strong serves from Koler, CSUN came out the gates with a 7-0 lead forcing a timeout from K-State.
The Cats snapped the run and erased the deficit with seven straight points highlighted by a pair of service aces from Emerson Van Lannen, who entered the match as the Big 12's ace leader.
Tied 8-8, K-State took its first lead of the set with an ace from Caleigh Ponn, starting off a 7-2 run.
The Wildcats stretched their lead 20-14, before putting together a 5-3 closing run to complete the comeback.
Paced by nine assists from Van Lannen, K-State hit .290 with 16 kills on 31 attempts with seven errors, while CSUN hit .292 (9 kills, 2 errors, 24 swings).
Six players contributed a kill for K-State, led by six from Massey.

Set 3 – K-State 25, CSUN 23

After back-and-forth action, the score was tied 15-15 before the Wildcats scored five consecutive points behind strong serves from Massey.
CSU managed to avoid match-point three times to bridge the gap to one, 24-23, but the 16^th kill form Massey secured the sweep.
Sekita dominated in the final set, totaling 13 digs – the most in any set this season by K-State and opponents.
The scored was tied on eight occasions in Set 3 with three load changes.

INSIDE THE BOX

K-State defeated CSUN in straight sets – 28-26, 25-18, 25-23.
The Cats hit at a .214 team efficiency (52 kills, 25 errors, 126 attempts) while CSUN hit .179 (32 kills, 13 errors, 106 swings).
CSUN held a 9-3 advantage in total blocks, led by six from Iye Okolo – the Big West Defensive Player of the Week.
K-State held a 51-42 advantage in total dig production that included a season-high 24 from Sekita.
Eight players contributed at least three kills in the match, led by a match-leading 16 from Massey (.306) on 36 swings.
The offense was paced by 30 assists from Van Lannen to go with nine digs and three aces.
Ponn added three aces and three digs.
Cadence Lundgren recorded a team-high .385 hitting percentage with seven kills and two errors on 13 swings.
Hailey Brockway was the only other player from Friday's contest to reach the 10-kill mark.
Match day starters: Fox, Brady, Van Lannen, Massey, Lundgren, Derrer and Sekita.

TEAM NOTES

K-State recorded season-highs in kills (52), assists (49) and digs (51).
In three matches, the Cats have hit above .200 in each match along with five or more service aces.
The Wildcats 2.30 service aces per set leads the Big 12 conference with Colorado following at 2.08.
K-State registered its 25^th victory in Morgan Family Arena, posting a 25-17 overall record in the home of Wildcat volleyball.
Six programs around the Big 12 remain undefeated with Baylor, Colorado, UCF, Utah, BYU and K-State.
Under Mansfield, K-State has started 3-0 in three of the four seasons (2023, 2025, 2026).

PLAYER NOTES

Sekita's 24 digs set the record for the most digs in a three-set match during the rally-scoring era, surpassing Angie Lastra's 23 digs on October 13, 2007, at Iowa State.
Sekita becomes just the third player in school history to eclipse the 23-dig mark, as Loren Hinkle achieved the feat in 2019 against Texas Tech.
Massey put down a season-high 16 kills, marking her third consecutive game reaching the 10-kill mark.
Van Lannen leads the league in service aces (10) and aces per set (1.00), while she set a career-high in total assists (30).
Skylar Brady made her first collegiate match start.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats will wrap up their non-conference home schedule against Drake (1-2) on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Morgan Family Arena. Tickets are available for all K-State volleyball home matches and can be purchased by visiting kstatesports.com/tickets and call (800) 221-CATS.

– k-statesports.com –

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