From K-State Athletics
K-State’s Gloria Mutiri and Elle Sandbothe were each selected to the All-Big 12 Second Team while Mutiri also earned a unanimous spot on the Big 12’s All-Rookie Team, the conference office revealed Monday.
Mutiri, a 6-foot-2 freshman opposite, finished the season second on the Wildcats with 271 kills and 2.77 kills per set average while hitting .263. For much of the season, she led the Cats in kills and kills per set in conference-only matches, as she finished with 164 kills (2.69 per set) in league play.
The Sand Springs, Oklahoma, native collected 192 digs (1.96 per set) as she primarily played six rotations in her initial campaign for K-State while picking up three double-doubles. She was third on the team with 67 total blocks to go with 15 service aces.
Mutiri, who was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week on September 17, is the first unanimous all-rookie selection since Macy Flowers in 2015. She is the second Wildcat to earn multiple honors, joining Kylee Zumach who was named to the first team and all-freshman team in 2014.
Sandbothe finished the regular season as K-State’s leader with a career-best 72 total blocks (0.94 per set). The junior middle blocker set career highs in kills (157), kills per set (2.04) and hitting percentage (.284). Her .284 hitting efficiency was second-highest on the team.
In league-only matches, Sandbothe averaged 1.94 kills per set while hitting .242 with a team-high 41 total blocks. The Lee’s Summit, Missouri, product was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team in 2016 and is a two-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection.
The duo makes 48 All-Big 12 selections under head coach Suzie Fritz, who just completed her 18th season at the helm of the Wildcats.
The annual postseason awards, which are voted on by the league’s head coaches, were released with the conclusion of the regular season. K-State finished the 2018 season with a 15-12 mark (5-11 Big 12), Fritz’s 14th winning season as head coach.
