MANHATTAN, Kan. (K-State Athletics) – Just a week after their upset over Baylor, the Wildcats secured their second victory over a ranked opponent as K-State blew past #25 Iowa State in straight sets Wednesday at Morgan Family Arena, 25-20, 25-16, 25-18.
The Wildcats’ (10-6, 4-3 Big 12) held the nationally ranked foe to a .110 hitting efficiency, pushing their win streak over the Cyclones (13-4, 4-2 Big 12) out to four.
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Senior Mackenzie Morris guided the back row with 21 digs, marking her 25th career match with 20 or more digs. The Dallas, Texas product now ties Lauren Matthewson (2007-10) in 20-dig matches.
Aniya Clinton, a redshirt-sophomore from Midland, Texas, reached double-digit kills as she generated a match-high 12 followed by Aliyah Carter (9) and Shaylee Myers (7).
Setters Izzi Szulczewski and Loren Hinkle dished out 29 of the Cats’ 32 assists in the 6-2 offense.
Two Cyclones reached double figures led by Maya Duckworth with 12 followed by Lilly Wachholz (10), while middle blocker Jordan Hopp hit .500 with three blocks.
FROM THE HEAD COACH
Head Coach Jason Mansfield
On defeating the team’s second ranked opponent…
“Last week marked a big step forward for our team, both in training and with the impressive victory against Baylor on the road. This win boosted our confidence, confirming that we can stand strong against great teams. Although we played really well in the first two sets, they came out ready to play in the third, but we found a way to win the final set. I believe the expectations have risen. Even against Iowa State, a consistently strong team, we scouted thoroughly and proved that we can compete with anyone when we play our game. Achieving this at home and maintaining such consistency was pretty special.”
On achieving an 8-0 record when winning the first set…
“For a while, there were talks about improving our performance in the first set. Instead of just talking about it, we shifted our focus to doing it. The goal is to consistently perform well from the beginning; we aim to avoid going down 0-1 and strive to play at our best. It’s an impressive stat and motivates us. We’re committed to keep it going.”
On the offensive performance…
“We’ve seen a glimpse of what we can be offensively. Certainly in the Baylor match, but TCU and West Virginia as well. When we’re running the 6-2 with three attackers in the front row, we effectively control the ball, making us a tough offense to stop. I thought we had really good performances from all of our attackers tonight and both setters played a crucial role in setting them up.”
On the opponent’s hitting percentage…
“I’ve said it before, I believe Steve Astor, our associate head coach, is the best defensive coach in the country. He puts us in great positions to be successful. Our players are really good at following game plans, understanding the tendencies of the other team, and what we need to do to try to slow them down. It’s about making plays, and tonight, the players executed not only the game plan but also adapted to unexpected situations.”
SET-BY-SET
Set One – K-State 25, Iowa State 20
After back-and-forth action, the Cyclones broke away with a four-point lead and held on until momentum shifted with a kill by Kadye Fernholz.
Clinton laid down the hammer after a service reception played right into the redshirt-sophomore’s zone, tying the set 19-19.
With the set tied at 20-all, the Cats used a perfect 5-0 closing run behind four straight serves from Gregorski.
Clinton and Bolding combined for eight of the Wildcats’ 12 kills with Bolding producing a 1.000 hitting efficiency with a pair of blocks. K-State produced a match-high .276 attack percentage.
Set Two – K-State 25, Iowa State 16
ISU led off with a 5-0 run before back-to-back kills from Myers and Carter ignited a 6-0 run to grab the lead.
The Wildcats took hold of a 6-1 scoring run to push their lead out to four, 13-9, until the Cyclones added four consecutive points to the board to level the field.
K-State quickly responded after putting together a 5-1 run to keep momentum with the Cats.
Clinton kept pace in the second, hitting .300 with five kills. The Cats’ defense held the Cyclones to a .071 hitting efficiency led by five kills from Wachholz.
Set Three – K-State 25, Iowa State 18
K-State kept its foot on the gas as the Wildcats backed an attack from Myers, leading to a back-to-back service aces from Carter to grab a quick lead.
The Wildcats led by as much as eight in the final set led by Carter with five kills (.364) followed by Myers with four.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Wildcats defeated Iowa State in straight sets, 25-20, 25-16, 25-18
- K-State beat their second ranked opponent in a week.
- Wednesday’s match saw 15 tie scores and just seven lead changes.
- Cats hit .248 (37 kills, 12 errors)
- Clinton turned in a match-high 12 kills (.348)
- Gregorski and Carter had two service aces.
- Szulczewski (18) and Hinkle (11) combined for 29 of the Cats 32 assists.
- Morris collected a match-high 21 digs (7.0 per set)
- Myers turned in four blocks followed by Bolding and Clinton each with three.
BEYOND THE BOX
- The Wildcats are 4-3 in league play and 2-2 vs. ranked foes.
- At home, K-State moved to 4-4
- K-State is 7-3 in three-set matches this season.
- Cats are 9-1 when out-blocking a team.
- Morris registered her 25TH career match with 20 digs or more, tying second overall.
- Iowa State leads the all-time series 59-44 – Cats lead 25-22 at home.
- K-State is 4-1 in the last five meetings with a four-match win streak.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Wildcats set out to Orlando, Fla., for the first-ever Big 12 matchup against UCF (14-2, 5-0 Big 12), on Saturday, Sept. 14. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. CT at The Venue.
