Wildcats Serve Up 12 Aces in Win Over UNC

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Highlighted by a season-best 12 service aces, K-State defeated Northern Colorado in straight sets, 25-21, 25-20, 25-21, at The Thunderdome Classic to return to the win column.

The Wildcats (5-1) wrapped up the event with a 1-1 record, while the Bears fell to 2-6 overall on the year. It marked K-State's first match with double-digit service aces since 2023, while the Wildcats also tallied their second 10-block performance of the season, having now out-blocked opponents in five of their first six matches.

FROM THE CATS
JASON MANSFIELD, K-STATE HEAD COACH
Overall comments…
"I love this bounce back win for us, we showed a lot of character as a group coming into the gym today ready to compete and play our style of volleyball. Our serving was relentless all match, our blockers did a great job lining up and slowing them down and I thought we flied around on defense. Shaylee [Myers] was incredible again for us offensively, her connection with Ava [LeGrand] has been so good in every match this season for us."

SET-BY-SET
Set 1 – K-State 25, Northern Colorado 21

Tied 3-3, K-State used a 9-3 scoring run to take Set 1. The run was highlighted by back-to-back service aces from Ava LeGrand. The Wildcats finished the set with six aces.
The Wildcats produced a .206 efficiency with 14 kills on 34 attempts and seven errors, led by seven kills from Shaylee Myers. The senior hit .600 in Set 1, while LeGrand dished out 10 assists.
The set win quickly ended the Wildcats 3-set losing streak and handed the Cats their first set win on the road.

Set 2 – K-State 25, Northern Colorado 20

After trailing 14-11, the Wildcats fought their way back to level the set at 18-all, backed by three kills from Aniya Clinton. Tied 19-19, K-State pieced together a 6-1 closing run to secure the set win.
Senior middle blocker Brenna Schmidt tallied three blocks in the set, leading a defense that out-blocked UNC, 4.0-1.0.

Set 3 – K-State 25, Northern Colorado 21

Five different Wildcats tallied a kill in Set 3, led by Aniya Clinton with four and followed by Myers with three.
As a team, K-State hit .208 (10 kills, 5 errors) paced by nine assists from LeGrand. Myers and LeGrand each served up two aces.

INSIDE THE BOX

The Wildcats swept Northern Colorado – 25-21, 25-20, 25-21 – improving to 5-1 overall on the year.
Five different players recorded a service ace, led by a career-high four from LeGrand and followed by Myers with three.
LeGrand totaled 28 assists on the night and added seven digs, while Symone Sims led both squads with nine.
Myers put down 15 kills, hitting .481 on 27 swings with two errors while Clinton added eight.
Cadence Lundgren led at the net with six total blocks – the most by a Wildcat this season – as K-State out-blocked UNC, 10.0-5.0.
UNC held a 32-29 edge in dig production with 10 different players tallying a dig and led by Brynn Reines with seven.
Alayana Tessena tallied 11 kills and hit .333, as she was the only other player to reach 10-kills in the match.

BEYOND THE BOX

With the sweep, the Wildcats tie the all-time series with UNC, 2-2-1. Both of K-State's victories were played in neutral territory.
K-State matched its season-best five aces in Set 1, that included two from LeGrand. The Wildcats ended the night with 12.
The Cats 12 service aces marked the first match with 10 or more service aces since Sept. 11, 2023, vs. TCU (W, 3-2).
True freshman Cadence Lundgren made her first collegiate start.
K-State has only played in three-set matches this season, marking the only season starting off the year with five consecutive three-set matches.
Myers turned in her 27^th career match reaching the 10-kill mark – her fifth match of the season with 15 or more kills.

UP NEXT
K-State wraps up its non-conference slate next weekend, when the Wildcats compete at Carmichael Arena, home of the North Carolina Tar Heels (5-0), in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Wildcats will face the Heels on Friday, September 19, followed by Saturday's non-con finale against East Carolina (7-0).

– k-statesports.com –

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Team Stats

Shaylee Myers

Aniya Clinton

Brenna Schmidt

Reagan Fox

Players Mentioned

Aniya Clinton

Ava LeGrand

Cadence Lundgren

Shaylee Myers

Brenna Schmidt

Symone Sims

Players Mentioned

Aniya Clinton

Ava LeGrand

Cadence Lundgren

Shaylee Myers

Brenna Schmidt

Symone Sims

Kansas State University Athletics