MANHATTAN, Kan. (K-State Athletics) – K-State volleyball made history Friday night as the Wildcats breezed past #8 BYU for the second consecutive night at Morgan Family Arena to secure the season series, 25-21, 25-22, 25-21.
With the program’s first-ever straight-set win over a Top 10 opponent Thursday, the Wildcats added another momentous event to their resume as they became the first squad to ever record two Top 10 sweeps. Friday’s victory marked the third season overall in school history, and first season since 2003, with two Top 10 victories.
Two Wildcats reached double figure kills to lead K-State (13-8, 7-5 Big 12) to its fourth upset of the season with redshirt-freshman Aniya Clinton and senior Aliyah Carter combining for 33 of team’s 44 kills.
Clinton, who hit an incredible .455 clip, registered 16 kills on 33 swings with just one error while Carter had a match-high 17 kills with nine digs.
Junior setter Izzi Szulczewski paced a 5-1 offense that hit .266 on the night with 37 assists to go with six digs and an ace. Liz Gregorski and Mackenzie Morris each served up a pair of aces.
Morris led the back row with 12 digs followed by freshman Symone Sims with a career-high 11.
K-State out-blocked BYU 8.0-6.0 led by Sydney Bolding with a match-high five along with five kills (.455).
BYU (18-5, 7-4 Big 12) was held to a .184 hitting percentage led by Erin Livingston with 12 kills.
FROM THE HEAD COACH
Head Coach Jason Mansfield
On if this is what he signed up for at K-State…
“Absolutely. From day one, I told this group we could be great and that we could not only compete with anyone, but we could beat anyone. After the Nebraska match, I went to the locker room and the girls were disappointed because we could have made more plays, and if you’re disappointed losing to a team like Nebraska, then the expectations are high. Not from me, but from them. So that’s how we’ve tried to keep things the whole season. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs as far as wins and losses, but the point is to get better, to grow as a group and individually as the season goes on. So I’m really proud of them. I knew this was possible. We have opportunities coming up where we could try to do it again.”
On the attention that the program has received after two straight Top 10 sweeps…
“We never talk about rankings, or at least I don’t. I’m sure the girls probably do, but every week we try to figure out how we can beat the next team. I’ve said this before, but Steve Astor is the best defensive coach in the country, and he prepares us every week to slow down the other team. He’s very unique. He coached at Pepperdine and has played BYU the last three seasons, so our game plan was awesome against them, and the girls obviously executed it. I think we have to have wins like this in order for the perception of the program to be what we know it to be, which is that we have great players, and we have the capability to play with anyone.”
On the biggest adversity that the team faced…
“We knew it was going to be a different match, and it was. [BYU] played better and they certainly played really good defense, scrapping for every point. Each set was a battle tonight. So I think the challenge was it’s going to be different. The biggest question was can we handle the big moments towards the end and make plays, and that’s exactly what they did. I think the challenge for us was just knowing that they were going to be better, and so that we needed to be better as well, and we were.”
On what this means for the team moving forward…
“It should give us a lot of confidence. First off, let me say this, for Aniya Clinton to have 29 kills and one error in two matches is exceptional, and the one error is a ball that Aliyah Carter should have covered, so I’m sure Aniya will give her a hard time about that. Just unbelievable swing after unbelievable swing, and I’ve said this before about Aniya, she’s fearless. We saw that all the way back in Portland the first weekend she had an opportunity to play. This girl is special, and she has a chance to be one of the best outside hitters in the country this year. So I think Aniya and Aliyah taking a lot of swings for us was the right move, and they’re really feeding off each other. Our team is so confident because they’re just going for it. Symone coming in that last three matches has really solidified our serve receive. She had 11 digs tonight and is still figuring out how to play a brand-new position back there at right-back, which I don’t think she’s played before. Her serves are getting better. I love our lineup right now. I think that we’re really athletic. Again, we’re fearless. We’re going for it. With Izzi in the 5-1, and I just love the momentum that we have right now, and we got to keep it up. It’s going to be tough, going on the road against our rival. [KU] is playing really well right now, but we’ll prepare for them. We’re proud of this team.”
SET-BY-SET
Set One – K-State 25, BYU 21
After a pair of lead changes, the Cougars grabbed hold of a 19-17 lead before K-State fought its way to level the score at 21-all.
A service ace by Morris handed the Cats a 22-21 edge to force a timeout from BYU. The Wildcats added three straight points to the board behind serves from Morris to claim the set.
K-State’s defense limited the Cougars to hit .091 as the Cats forced seven errors with the help of four blocks and 23 digs. Bolding led at the net with three stops while Sims collected seven digs in the back row.
Szulczewski dished out all 12 assists to pace the 5-1 offense that hit .205.
Set Two – K-State 25, BYU 22
The Cats picked up where they left off in the second as they used a 4-0 opening run to jump out to a seven-point margin.
BYU put together a 4-1 scoring run to bring the score within three, 13-10, but a solo stop from Schmidt ended the threat.
At set point for K-State, BYU posted three straight points to the board to bridge the gap to two, 24-22, but Carter connected on a pass from Szulczewski to nail the final point.
The Cats hit a match-high .342 (18 kills, five errors) with Carter and Clinton combining for 13 kills. Clinton hit a .462 clip while Szulczewski and Morris each registered an ace.
Set Three – K-State 25, BYU 21
The third set saw a battle between the two squads with neither team taking a substantial lead until K-State pieced together a 4-1 run to take a 15-11 lead, forcing a Cougars timeout.
An overturned call ruled in favor of BYU led to a 5-0 scoring run to cut K-State’s lead to one, 19-18. A service error snapped the Cougars run was followed by an ace from Bolding to push the lead back out to three.
With the Cats leading 23-21, Clinton came up with back-to-back kills to deliver the final blow. The Cougars challenged the final point, but ultimately stayed in favor of the Cats to secure the upset.
Carter and Clinton teamed up for five kills each with Clinton turning in a set-high five digs.
INSIDE THE BOX
- The Cats swept the Cougars, 25-21, 25-22, 25-21
- K-State hit .266 (44 kills, 15 errors)
- The match had 12 tie scores with just four lead changes.
- Gregorski and Morris each served up a pair of aces.
- Carter recorded 17 kills followed by Clinton with 16
- Clinton and Bolding each finished with a .455 efficiency.
- Bolding turned in five blocks while Clinton had three.
- Szulczewski dished out 37 assists with six digs.
- K-State out-blocked the Cougars, 8.0-6.0.
- BYU was limited to .184 (36 kills, 15 errors)
- Livingston was the only player to reach double figures with 12 kills (.154)
BEYOND THE BOX
- First season K-State recorded two sweeps over Top 10 program
- Thursday’s match marked the first sweep over a Top 10 program in school history
- Third season with two Top 10 wins (1999, 2003)
- The Cats are on a nine-set winning streak
- Jason Mansfield picked up his second Top 10 victory as a head coach.
- K-State is 11-1 when winning the first set.
- The Cats are 4-2 against ranked opponents, 2-1 at home vs. Top 25 teams.
- K-State is 6-4 when playing at home this season, 4-2 in conference.
- K-State is 10-3 in three-set matches.
- The Cats tied the series with the Cougars, 3-3
- With 3,044 in attendance, K-State has reach capacity in four matches this season
WHAT’S NEXT
The Wildcats will face No. 14 Kansas (15-4, 6-3 Big 12) in the annual Dillons Sunflower Showdown in Lawrence on Nov. 3-4. K-State leads the all-time series 67-58-1 and is 31-19 in Lawerence. First serve of the series opener is scheduled for 6:30 followed by a 3 p.m. start Saturday. The conference series can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
