Wildcats Cruise Past Drake Sunday

Sunday, September 6

Manhattan, Kan.

1 p.m.

Kansas State University

4-0,0-0Big 12

Drake

2-3,0-0MVC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Drake	17	13	20	0
Kansas St.	25	25	25	3

Sep 06, 2026 | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

MANHATTAN, Kan. – In the final home match of its non-conference schedule, K-State rolled to a straight-set victory over Drake (25-17, 25-13, 25-20), to claim the Wildcat Classic title at Morgan Family Arena Sunday afternoon.

With the sweep over Drake (2-3), K-State stretched its winning streak to four, while winning 12 of 13 sets this season as the only team in the Big 12 with just one set loss. It marks the Wildcats second consecutive 4-0 start and third under fourth-year head coach Jason Mansfield.

WILDCAT CLASSIC CHAMPION
Kansas State

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Addison Massey, PIN, K-State – MVP
Regan Fox, PIN, K-State
Fuka Sekita, L, K-State
Emerson Van Lannen, S, K-State
Jasmine Dulan, DS/L, Drake
Lisa Melenciano, OH, Drake
Katie Quick, S, Drake
Hailey Brockway, OH, CSUN
Annie Gilmore, OH, CSUN

FROM THE CATS
JASON MANSFIELD, K-STATE HEAD COACH
Opening statement…
"I really enjoyed our team today. I thought that we started a little flat, but I thought we got better kind of as the match went on. It's a really good Drake team. They played well yesterday. We knew in scouting they were going to be difficult to stop, especially number 13, [Lisa Melenciano], she had a great match. I felt like we got better as the match went on. Our offense got better. Felt more connected as the match went on. So really proud of our performance, and I thought our offense was really good."

On hosting a home tournament for the second season in a row to start the season…
"It's two years in a row of hosting the first two weekends and being 4-0. The goal is to win, obviously, and I thought we did a great job in all four matches of being really focused on who we're going to play and trying to play our style and continue to stack good weeks of practice on top of each other. So I think that's great. But it's going to be fun to get on the road, play some other teams, bond a little bit, and try to be road warriors."

On K-State's identity through the first four games of the year…
"I do think that we have an identity of really aggressive offense, balanced offensively. We have some really talented players that maybe get set a little bit more, but I thought we were more balanced today than we have been in the last couple matches, and that's exactly who we want to be. We want to be balanced offensively. And then defensively, I just think that we're a really scrappy team that flies around. Fuka [Sekita] being at the top of that list, the energy that she provides our team defensively. It just feeds off to other people. I thought our serve and block, especially in the first set, I think we had a lot of blocks in the first set, it was a great way to start the match."

On the depth of the team this season and the importance that depth has for a successful team…
"I think it's really important. I'm very impressed with how much the girls are working every single week to improve. We're young in a lot of spots, but we're very talented, and they're practicing extremely well. And you have to do it in practice before you get opportunities to do it on the court, and so they're doing it in practice. And there's lots of girls that deserve opportunities to see what they can do when they put their jersey on and play in front of a couple thousand people. So I've been impressed. They're definitely working through some nerves, which is expected, and we'll have some different nerves once we start traveling and playing some opponents on the road, but I think a strength of this team is that we're going to have depth, and if someone's struggling, that somebody can come in and help us be the team that we want to be."

On the support from K-State fans after playing in a packed arena…
"It's special. I think the first season, because the arena was new, it was expected that people wanted to come check it out, and I thought we had a good team and a good season with some big time wins. I think the crowd and the fan base has grown over the last four years, and I think that the work that we've done in the spring, watching them play a little bit, and seeing that this team has a chance to be special, and I think they've seen that in these first four matches, and there's nothing better on a Sunday at 1 o'clock to have the arena jumping like that after a late football game. But I do think it shows the belief that a lot of people have in this program, and how much fun we are to watch. And so hopefully that continues."

REAGAN FOX, SENIOR PIN
On the final home weekend before Big 12 play…
"I just think the culture that the fans have created in Morgan Family Arena just helps us with the wins this season. We really feel them this year, and I think this game specifically just we were connecting on all cylinders, so we got the job done quick and clean. We love our fans and hope they keep showing up for us. It means a lot."

On differences seen from this roster compared to past teams…
"I think Jason and I have like worked super closely on like what we want this culture to be, especially having a bunch of young girls come in, and I think the biggest thing that stands out is just our competitiveness. If we're down, we're finding ways to get back. We've been down 0-7 in these a few of these past few matches, and we fought our way back. So, I think our fight is commendable."

SET-BY-SET
Set 1 – K-State 25, Drake 17

Tied 7-7, K-State broke away with a 9-1 scoring run behind seven strong services from Caleigh Ponn and three blocks by Cadence Lundgren.
Drake snapped the streak with a kill by Carolyn Maser and scored six of eight to bridge the gap to four, 18-14.
Leading 20-15, the Wildcats pieced together a 5-1 closing run to put Set one away,
K-State hit at a .175 team efficiency with 11 kills on 40 attempts and just four errors, while the defense held Drake to a .000 hitting percentage, as the Bulldogs recorded as many kills as errors (11).
Emerson Van Lannen paced the offense with five assists to go with six digs, while Lundgren registered a set-high four blocks (1 solo, 3 assists).

Set 2 – K-State 25, Drake 13

The Wildcats immediately picked up where they left off, jumping out to a quick 9-2 lead that included five kills and ace by Van Lannen – the Big 12 leader in aces per set.
K-State recorded five consecutive kills to stretch its lead into double figures before back-to-back kills from Avery Stones and Skylar Brady made it an 18-6 score.
Four players contributed three kills each in Set 2, as K-State hit at a .433 efficiency with 16 kills and three errors on 30 attempts.
Drake produced a .269 hitting percentage, led by five kills from Lisa Melenciano.

Set 3– K-State 25, Drake 20

Fox capped Set 3 with five kills and no errors to hit at a set-high.714, while Ellah Derrer added four.
K-State hit .500 (17 kills, 1 error, 32 swings), against Drakes .237 (14 kills, five errors, 38 attempts).
Caroline Smith produced a set-high seven kills and hit at a .500 clip.

INSIDE THE BOX

K-State swept past Drake Sunday – 25-17, 25-13, 25-20.
The Wildcats hit at a season-high .353 clip with 44 kills on 102 swings with eight errors, while holding Drake to a .155 hitting percentage (34 kills, 18 errors, 103 attempts).
Fox hit at an incredible .556 efficiency with a team-leading 12 kills on 18 swings with two errors.
Van Lannen dished out a match-high 18 assists with no set errors and added seven digs with one kill.
K-State out-blocked Drake, 10-3, led by four from both Lundgren and Reese Resmer, as each tallied one solo stop and three assists.
Fuka Sekita and Addison Massey each recorded 11 digs to lead the defense.
Massey contributed nine kills followed by Stones with eight.
Three Wildcats recorded a service ace in the win – Ponn, Van Lannen, Massey.
Sunday's match featured just six tie scores and two lead changes.

TEAM NOTES

K-State leads the all-time series 24-7, including a current five-match winning streak.
Over the last 10 meetings, the Wildcats are 9-1 against the Bulldogs.
Mansfield is 3-2 in play challenges this season after winning a challenge that reversed a score in favor of K-State.
K-State is the only team in the Big 12 with just one set loss and is one of two schools to remain undefeated (Colorado).
Under Mansfield, K-State is off to a 4-0 start of the third season during his tenure.
K-State improves to 26-17 overall when playing at Morgan Family Arena, that includes an 11-5 record in non-conference matches.
In four matches, K-State's defense has not allowed opponents to hit over .200.
Since August 30, the Wildcats have won eight consecutive sets.

PLAYER NOTES

Fox achieved career highs in kills (12) and hitting percentage (.556). She ranks second overall in the league with a .444 hitting percentage.
Fuka Sekita turned in her fourth consecutive 10-dig match, totaling 35 overall on the weekend.
Massey recorded a season-high 11 digs, marking her first match with 10 or more digs.

UP NEXT
K-State will set out to Reno, Nevada for its first road test of the season, taking on Weber State (4-1) in the Nevada Tournament opener on Friday, September 8 at 8 p.m. MT, before meeting Nevada (0-5) on Sunday, September 13 at 3 p.m. Both matches will be played at the Virginia Street Gym.

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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