Kansas State University Athletics
Sunday, August 31
Manhattan, Kan.
1 p.m.
Kansas State University
2-0,0-0Big 12
3
vs
0
Delaware
0-2,0-0CUSA
1
2
3
F
Delaware
13
17
20
0
Kansas St.
25
25
25
3
Cats Sweep Delaware, Capture K-State Invitational Title
Aug 31, 2025 | Volleyball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Three Wildcats tallied double-figure kills Sunday afternoon, as K-State swept past Delaware, 25-13, 25-17, 25-20, to cap an undefeated opening weekend and claim the K-State Invitational title at Morgan Family Arena.
Playing in front of the season's first sellout crowd, the Wildcats' (2-0) clicked for a team .387 efficiency and put down 50 kills with nine errors, led by Shaylee Myers and Aniya Clinton each with 15 and Jordyn Williams with 11. Defensively, K-State limited the Blue Hens (0-2) to a .087 hitting percentage (28 kills, 19 errors).
Myers was named the tournament MVP after leading all players with 35 kills on the weekend, hitting at a .431 clip with four attack errors. Joining her on the K-State Invitational All-Tournament Team were Clinton and setter Ava LeGrand.
As a team, the Wildcats posted a .350 hitting percentage over the two matches, backed by 71 assists (11.83 per set) from LeGrand, who also tied for the weekend high with nine blocks and added 20 digs. Williams and Brenna Schmidt each contributed nine blocks of their own.
The trio helped lead a defense that out-blocked opponents 18.0-8.0 and owned a 93-76 edge in total digs, paced by freshman libero and defensive specialist Caleigh Ponn. The true freshman recorded 21 digs (3.50 per set) to lead a back row that limited teams to a combined .081 hitting percentage, while Symone Sims added 16 digs and led with five aces.
K-State Invitational Champion
Kansas State
All-Tournament Team (Name, Position, Team)
Shaylee Myers, OH/OPP, K-State – MVP
Aniya Clinton, OH/OPP, K-State
Ava LeGrand, S, K-State
Dylan Norris, OH, Delaware
Cadence Nguyen, L, Delaware
Jalynn Brown, OH, UMBC
Hannah Howard, L, UMBC
SET-BY-SET
Set 1 – K-State 25, Delaware 13
Jason Mansfield, K-State Head Coach
Overall Statement…
"I thought we improved since the other the other night. So I love that, the offense was really good. I think we passed extremely well, and we were able to run the offense and kind of sense a bunch of people and Aniya [Clinton] and Shaylee [Myers] were incredible today."
On Shaylee Myers impressive performance at the start of the season…
"She's been playing like this for a couple years, so it's just really about her confidence. And I'm really glad that she got two matches under belt where she played like she's been playing in practice. She's been playing really well and playing free, and so hopefully she knows how great she can be."
On what Caleigh Ponn has done to earn a spot on the rotation her freshman year…
"From day one, she's been herself and who she is, and what she's great at is competing. She's a great ball control player, great passer, great defender, playing right back to defense for their first match their life and figuring that out. But she just helps us in a variety of ways, but really insert yourself, with some older athletes and been playing really well."
On all tournament picks…
"Shaylee just had just a phenomenal weekend and was definitely the best attacker in the tournament. And so just happy for her, and happy that she just is going for it. She's aggressive, she's hitting the shots she needs to hit. And then Ava just really good, especially today, started the ball around and kind of running the offense. But she did that, on Friday night as well. So happy that we're setting more than just a couple of people, and we're trying to get more people involved. So I thought Ava did a great job there. And then Aniya kind of started slow and just really caught fire and started taking a really good swing, and I love the way that she finished. We, just need both outside hitters to be pretty aggressive."
On the defenses performance today…
"I think the frustrating part is that we missed a bunch of serves. And so, we just didn't give our defense enough chances to do it. But we work on it, and we have all the confidence in the world in our six servers, but I think our core defense, it starts there. Can we fly around? Can we shoot the ball off the ground? Can we transition and try to get a swing? So that was the identity of last year's team, and I feel like that's the identity of this routine as well. And then you add great blockers on the front row, you have an opportunity to stick really good blockers in the front row, and we have a great opportunity for a great defensive team. So that's how we're gonna win matches, and it's gonna hopefully going to be an efficient offense and really make a difficult one."
UP NEXT
K-State returns to Morgan Family Arena to host the second Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Classic on September 3-5, as the Cats welcome NC State (3-0) and Nevada (1-2).
– k-statesports.com –
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on the K-State Volleyball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
Playing in front of the season's first sellout crowd, the Wildcats' (2-0) clicked for a team .387 efficiency and put down 50 kills with nine errors, led by Shaylee Myers and Aniya Clinton each with 15 and Jordyn Williams with 11. Defensively, K-State limited the Blue Hens (0-2) to a .087 hitting percentage (28 kills, 19 errors).
Myers was named the tournament MVP after leading all players with 35 kills on the weekend, hitting at a .431 clip with four attack errors. Joining her on the K-State Invitational All-Tournament Team were Clinton and setter Ava LeGrand.
As a team, the Wildcats posted a .350 hitting percentage over the two matches, backed by 71 assists (11.83 per set) from LeGrand, who also tied for the weekend high with nine blocks and added 20 digs. Williams and Brenna Schmidt each contributed nine blocks of their own.
The trio helped lead a defense that out-blocked opponents 18.0-8.0 and owned a 93-76 edge in total digs, paced by freshman libero and defensive specialist Caleigh Ponn. The true freshman recorded 21 digs (3.50 per set) to lead a back row that limited teams to a combined .081 hitting percentage, while Symone Sims added 16 digs and led with five aces.
K-State Invitational Champion
Kansas State
All-Tournament Team (Name, Position, Team)
Shaylee Myers, OH/OPP, K-State – MVP
Aniya Clinton, OH/OPP, K-State
Ava LeGrand, S, K-State
Dylan Norris, OH, Delaware
Cadence Nguyen, L, Delaware
Jalynn Brown, OH, UMBC
Hannah Howard, L, UMBC
SET-BY-SET
Set 1 – K-State 25, Delaware 13
- K-State led by as much as 12 in the opening frame with the help of a 12-2 scoring run.
- Williams recorded set-point with her sixth kill of the match.
- Wildcats registered five blocks in Set 1, while Delaware had none.
- Behind the Cats five blocks, K-State's defense limited Delaware to a .061 hitting percentage in Set 1 and produced a team .536 clip.
- Williams hit a perfect 1.000 with six kills, followed by Myers hitting .455 with five kills.
- K-State out-blocked Delaware in Set 2, 3.0-0.0, limiting the Blue Hens to a .065 hitting percentage with an 18-13 edge in dig production.
- Myers led all players with eight kills on 12 swings with no errors in the set, hitting at a .667 clip, while Clinton added five kills.
- The Wildcats produced a season-high 18 kills on 41 swings (.439) with three errors in Set 2.
- Clinton led both sides with nine kills in the final set, hitting .750 on 12 attempts with no errors.
- LeGrand dished out 13 assists to guide an offense that hit .297.
- Six players combined for K-State's 20 digs in Set 3, led by Ponn (5), while four Wildcats tallied a block and held Delaware to a .125 attack percentage.
- K-State defeated Delaware in straight sets Sunday – 25-13, 25-17, 25-20.
- The Cats totaled 50 kills (nine errors, 106 swings) and hit at a .387 clip, against the Blue Hens 28 kills (.087).
- Defensively, the Cats out-blocked Delaware, 10.0-2.0, and held a 50-35 advantage in dig production.
- Clinton and Myers each registered 15 kills and combined for 63 of the Wildcats' 106 attempts. Williams followed with 11 kills – her second career 10-kill match since joining K-State in 2024.
- LeGrand handed out a 39 assists to go with a match-high five blocks.
- Clinton posted her first collegiate double-double performance – 15 kills, 12 digs.
- Three players reached double-figure digs led by Clinton (12), followed by Ponn (11) and Sims (10).
- K-State totaled 10 team blocks (2 solo, 16 assists), with both blocks coming from Williams (2 solo, 3 assists). In addition to LeGrand and Williams, Schmidt totaled five blocks.
- K-State served up five aces – Sims (4), Myers (1).
- The match featured 14 tie scores and seven lead changes, that included six lead changes in Set 2. Set 1 had no tie scores or lead changes.
- Sunday marked the first meeting between the two squads.
- Three players earned All-Tournament recognition – Shaylee Myers (MVP), Aniya Clinton and Ava LeGrand.
- K-State improves to 16-12 when playing at home under head coach Jason Mansfield, who boasts a 10-9 non-conference career record.
- LeGrand's 39 assists set a new career-high for the senior setter to go along with a career-high five blocks. LeGrand currently has nine total blocks on the year – she entered the season with 15 career blocks.
- Myers
- Clinton reached her first collegiate double-double with a career-high 12 digs, surpassing her previous best by five.
- K-State is off to a 2-0 start for the 31st time in program history – second under Mansfield.
- In her collegiate debut, Ponn led the Wildcats in total digs (21) and digs per set (3.50) during opening weekend.
Jason Mansfield, K-State Head Coach
Overall Statement…
"I thought we improved since the other the other night. So I love that, the offense was really good. I think we passed extremely well, and we were able to run the offense and kind of sense a bunch of people and Aniya [Clinton] and Shaylee [Myers] were incredible today."
On Shaylee Myers impressive performance at the start of the season…
"She's been playing like this for a couple years, so it's just really about her confidence. And I'm really glad that she got two matches under belt where she played like she's been playing in practice. She's been playing really well and playing free, and so hopefully she knows how great she can be."
On what Caleigh Ponn has done to earn a spot on the rotation her freshman year…
"From day one, she's been herself and who she is, and what she's great at is competing. She's a great ball control player, great passer, great defender, playing right back to defense for their first match their life and figuring that out. But she just helps us in a variety of ways, but really insert yourself, with some older athletes and been playing really well."
On all tournament picks…
"Shaylee just had just a phenomenal weekend and was definitely the best attacker in the tournament. And so just happy for her, and happy that she just is going for it. She's aggressive, she's hitting the shots she needs to hit. And then Ava just really good, especially today, started the ball around and kind of running the offense. But she did that, on Friday night as well. So happy that we're setting more than just a couple of people, and we're trying to get more people involved. So I thought Ava did a great job there. And then Aniya kind of started slow and just really caught fire and started taking a really good swing, and I love the way that she finished. We, just need both outside hitters to be pretty aggressive."
On the defenses performance today…
"I think the frustrating part is that we missed a bunch of serves. And so, we just didn't give our defense enough chances to do it. But we work on it, and we have all the confidence in the world in our six servers, but I think our core defense, it starts there. Can we fly around? Can we shoot the ball off the ground? Can we transition and try to get a swing? So that was the identity of last year's team, and I feel like that's the identity of this routine as well. And then you add great blockers on the front row, you have an opportunity to stick really good blockers in the front row, and we have a great opportunity for a great defensive team. So that's how we're gonna win matches, and it's gonna hopefully going to be an efficient offense and really make a difficult one."
UP NEXT
K-State returns to Morgan Family Arena to host the second Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Classic on September 3-5, as the Cats welcome NC State (3-0) and Nevada (1-2).
– k-statesports.com –
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on the K-State Volleyball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
Team Stats
UD
KState
Kills
28
50
Errors
19
9
Attempts
104
106
Hitting %
.087
.387
Points
31.0
65.0
Assists
27
47
Aces
1
5
Blocks
2
10
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
OH/OPP
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH/OPP
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballK-State VB | Recap vs Nevada
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Friday, September 05
MATCH REPLAY | VB vs Nevada
Friday, September 05
K-State VB | Recap vs NC State
Thursday, September 04