K-State Faces San Diego in Opening Round of NCAA Tournament

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State is set for its first postseason appearance since 2021, as the Wildcats will take on eighth-seeded San Diego Friday at 4:30 p.m. CT in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Division I Championship at Bob Devaney Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.

K-State (17-9, 10-8 Big 12), which earned its 19^th bid into the NCAA Tournament and first under third-year head coach Jason Mansfield, is 15-18 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and has reached the Regional Semifinal (Sweet 16) three times.

Friday's contest marks the second meeting between the Wildcats and Toreros (25-4, 18-0 WCC) in the postseason, first facing each other in the second round of the 1997 NCAA Tournament. USD leads the all-time series 2-0, with the squads last meeting in 2010.

Nebraska (30-0, 20-0 Big Ten), the No. 1 overall national seed, will host Long Island (15-17, 10-4 NEC) following the Wildcats and Toreros match with the winners facing each other on Saturday, December 6 at 7 p.m. First and second round matches will be streamed on ESPN+.

The NCAA Championship will take place at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., December 18 and 21.

MATCH #27
K-STATE (17-9, 10-8 BIG 12) vs. (8) SAN DIEGO (25-4, 18-0 WCC)
Friday, December 5 // 4:30 PM CT // Bob Devaney Center (Lincoln, Neb.)
Live Stats // ESPN+ // NCAA Bracket

FIRST SERVE

K-State is set for its first postseason appearance since 2021, as the Wildcats will take on eighth-seeded San Diego Friday at 4:30 p.m. CT in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Division I Championship at Bob Devaney Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Nebraska (30-0, 20-0 Big Ten), the No. 1 overall national seed, will host Long Island (15-17, 10-4 NEC) following the Wildcats and Toreros match with the winners facing each other on Saturday, December 6 at 7 p.m.
First and second round matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
The NCAA Championship will take place at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., December 18 and 21.

FOLLOW THE CATS

Friday's contest will broadcast on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
Live stat links can be found on the K-State volleyball schedule page on kstatesports.com, while fans can find live game updates all season long on the Wildcats social media pages (@KStateVB).

POSTSEASON NOTES

K-State earned its first postseason bid since 2016, when the Cats faced Florida State in the opening round in Lincoln.
During Sunday's NCAA Selection Show, K-State was the third overall team called into the 64-team bracket.
The Wildcats were the part of the first eight left out of the field in 2023, which featured a season of five Top 25 wins, including a sweep of then-No. 3 Texas.
In its history, K-State has made the NCAA Tournament 19 times, advancing to the Regional Semifinal three times.
K-State is 15-18 overall in the tournament, that includes a 12-6 record in the opening round.
The Wildcats have now been sent to Lincoln, Nebraska for their first-round match six times in the school history (all since 2011).

K-STATE AT A GLANCE

K-State, which matched a program-record five Top 25 wins in 2025, is set for its first postseason appearance since 2021 when the Wildcats take on eighth-seeded San Diego in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship.
The Wildcats were one of 10 Big 12 teams to receive a bid into this year's 64-team field.
The bid marks the program's 19^th trip to the tournament and first under third-year head coach Jason Mansfield.
The Cats are coming off a straight-set victory at then-No. 21 Iowa State on Saturday, closing out the year 17-9 overall with a 10-8 mark in Big 12 play.
Shaylee Myers, who was named a unanimous All-Big 12 First Team Selection Tuesday, led the match with 16 kills at Iowa State.
Ava LeGrand turned in her team-leading 16^th double-double, dishing out 29 assists with 14 digs, while Clinton led the back row with 16 digs.
LeGrand and Aniya Clinton each received All-Big 12 Second Team recognition, the first of their respective careers.

SCOUTING (8) SAN DIEGO

San Diego, which drew the No. 8 seed in the Nebraska quadrant of the 64-team bracket, finished with a perfect 18-0 league record to earn its 13^th West Coast Conference title.
The Toreros ended the regular season 25-4 overall.
The Toreros earned their 27^th bid to the NCAA Tournament with Sunday's selection and first since 2022, where they advanced to the National Semifinal (Final Four) against top-seeded and national champion Texas.
USD is 25-26 overall in the tournament, including 16-10 in the opening round.
The Toreros took home four of the WCC five major awards alongside four 2025 All-WCC First Team selections, one All-WCC Second Team Selection, two All-WCC Honorable Mentions, and one All-WCC Freshman Team nod.
Jennifer Petrie was recognized as the 2025 WCC Coach of the Year, junior outside hitter Nemo Beach was named the 2025 WCC Player of the Year, senior Olivia Bennett was chosen as the 2025 WCC Libero of the Year, and sophomore Kylie Munday was selected as the 2025 WCC Setter of the Year.
USD clinched the WCC title on November 20, before solidifying a perfect 18-0 record with a four-set win over Gonzaga to cap the regular season.
Beach posted a double-double against Gonzaga with 13 kills and 11 digs, while Kennedy Osunsanmi added 11 kills.
Five players have reached triple digit kills led by Beach's 467 kills (3.99/set), while the Toreros have a .271 team hitting percentage.
Isabel Clark adds 3.22 kills per set (377 total) and Munday leads the offense with 47 total service aces.
The defense is led by Bennett's 440 digs (3.76/set), while Kali Engeman and BayLea Sparks each have over 100 blocks on the year.

INSIDE THE SERIES

San Diego leads the all-tie series 2-0, with both matches set in at neutral sites.
The two squads first met during the 1997 NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles, California.

ALL-BIG 12

Senior Shaylee Myers' unanimous selection to the 2025 All-Big 12 First Team highlighted K-State's three all-conference honors, as the league office announced its yearly award winners Tuesday.
In addition to Myers, senior Ava LeGrand and redshirt junior Aniya Clinton each earned Second Team recognition.
It marks the first time the trio has been named to the All-Big 12 Team, as Myers and Clinton were previously selected to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
In total, seven players have collected nine All-Big 12 honors under third-year head coach Jason Mansfield.
K-State was one of seven schools from the Big 12 to have at least three players selected to the All-Big 12 teams, while it marked the school's fourth consecutive season with multiple selections.

RPI RANKINGS

The Big 12 conference is the No. 1 conference in terms of RPI with 10 teams within the Top 50 of the RPI rankings, including five in the top-25.
K-State, which entered the tournament with an RPI of 34, is 6-7 against the RPI's top-50 (11-2 against No. 51+), with a perfect 8-0 record vs. No. 100+.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

For the first time since 2018, K-State posts seven true road match victories in a season as it holds a 7-4 record.
The Wildcats' road/neutral record of 9-4 (.692) is currently their best in the Mansfield era and best since 2014 (13-5).

20-KILL LEADERBOARD

With her 22 kills, Shaylee Myers became the first Wildcat since 2011 – and just the third in program history – to reach 20 or more kills in 11 matches in a single season.
She joins Kaitlynn Pelger, who posted 11 in 2011, while Dawn Cady holds the record with 14 set in 1999. Myers also added a match-high three aces.

Myers has tallied 12 20-kill performances in her career at K-State.
Liz Wegner-Busch (1998-2001) holds the K-State record for 20-kill matches in a career with 28.

MILESTONE WATCH
Shaylee Myers

Myers needs three kills to earn her 1,000^th career kill.
She would be the 20^th player in school history to reach 1,000 career kills, and only second player to do so in the last seven years.

Ava LeGrand

LeGrand needs five assists to reach her 1,000^th assist of the year – the first 1,000-assist season of her career.

Aniya Clinton

Clinton needs 17 kills to reach her 800^th career kill

Caleigh Ponn

Ponn needs 11 digs to reach her 200^th career dig in her true freshman campaign.

LAST TIME OUT

K-State swept past #21 Iowa State Saturday to end the regular season – 25-16, 25-15, 25-19
The Wildcats hit at a .233 team efficiency (42 kills, 15 errors, 116 swings), while limiting Iowa State to a .043 hitting percentage (26 kills, 21 errors, 116 swings.
Two players registered double-doubles in the win, as LeGrand dished out 29 assists with 14 digs while Myers had 16 kills and 10 digs.
The defense tallied 10.0 blocks – the teams seventh match in double figures.
Five different Wildcats contributed a block, led by five from Clinton and Williams.
K-State recorded 63 digs, as four players reached the 10-dig mark led by 16 from Clinton.
Myers was the only player in the match to reach double-figure kills (16).
K-State out-served ISU, 6-2, with Clinton and LeGrand each posting two.
Caleigh Ponn added 10 digs for her eighth match in double figures.

THE BIG 12 SENDS 10

The Big 12 will be represented by 10 programs in the 2025 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship, which is the most of any conference.
The 10 selections for the NCAA Tournament are the most in Big 12 history, surpassing the previous high of eight in 2001.
Arizona State was chosen as a No. 2 seed while Kansas was selected as a No. 4 seed and will both host the first two rounds.
BYU, Colorado and Iowa State received No. 5 seeds while Baylor and TCU were tabbed with No. 6 seeds. Arizona, Kansas State and Utah rounded out the Conference's selections with at-large bids.
This is the fifth consecutive season that the Conference has had at least five teams make the field and the seventh time in Big 12 history that the Conference has had seven or more bids to the national tournament.

K-State Faces San Diego in Opening Round of NCAA Tournament

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Players Mentioned

Aniya Clinton

Ava LeGrand

Shaylee Myers

Caleigh Ponn

Kansas State University Athletics

K-State Faces San Diego in Opening Round of NCAA Tournament

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Players Mentioned

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Caleigh Ponn

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