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| Attendance 2015 |
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average 2,033 – 12/20/15
#18 in NCAA Division I
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Headlines 2015 |
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Feb., 2016 Five Wildcats Selected for National Team Open Tryout
Katie Brand, Macy Flowers, Kersten Kober, Brooke Sassin and Bryna Vogel will participate in the annual U.S. Women's National Team Open Tryout February 19-21 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Katie has been involved with this two times previously. (announcement)
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Feb., 2016 Suzie Fritz extends her contract to 2020
It's very good to report that Coach Fritz has added some years to her contract. She's been head coach for almost 15 years, and was an assistant for Jim McLaughlin from 1997 to 2000. Her career record is now at 295-168. (announcement)
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Jan. 29, 2016 Dawn Cady Sullivan to the K-State Athletics Hall of Fame
Congratulations to Dawn, our outstanding outside hitter from 1996 to 1999, who was named an AVCA Second-Team All-American after her senior season... K-State's first All-American! Of course, she was also First-Team All-Big 12 that year. She had been selected as AVCA National Player of the Week in September 1999.
Dawn is #1 in single-season kills (622), #3 in career kills (1,611), #2 in kills per set (3.99), #5 in digs per set (3.11) and #4 in career points (1,804).
Currently the associate head coach at Iowa State, she joins Lauren Goehring as the second Volleyball player in the K-State Athletics Hall of Fame.
(K-State Sports Extra)
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Dec. 16, 2015 Katie Brand: AVCA Honorable Mention All-American
For the second straight year, the AVCA has selected junior setter Katie Brand as an Honorable Mention All-American. By the way, here's a Records Book that shows how many times each school has captured one of their awards. Here's the good news from K-State, and from the Big 12 Conference.
Katie frequently logs double-doubles, and is usually in the top two or three in digs, in addition to always leading in assists. I know we're all very happy that she's on our side!
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Dec. 10, 2015 Kersten Kober: Big 12 Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Kersten's our first Volleyball athlete to receive this great honor, which goes to a junior or senior who, among other things, must have played in 60% of matches, and have at least a 3.200. Kersten has a 4.000 and she always plays, so no problem. In addition, she's been selected as Academic All-District 7 First Team, so she's one notch away from a possible Academic All-American selection this month. Here's the word from K-State and the Big 12 Conference.
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Dec. 8, 2015 Katie Brand does it again: AVCA All-Region First Team
For the second straight year, the AVCA has selected junior setter Katie Brand to its First Team All-Midwest Region team. This, of course, is no surprise to any of us, but very nice and well-deserved. It's the last step before AVCA All-American! Watch for news on that on Dec. 16. There's no doubt that Katie's receiving recognition because of her versatility... countless assists, and a steady supply of digs. Katie led the Big 12 with 20 double-doubles, which supports my point on versatility. Here's the report from K-State. |
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Nov. 30, 2015 All-Big 12 Honors for Brand + Sassin + Reininger + Schultejans + Flowers!
This will be no surprise to anyone who's been paying attention: Katie Brand is First Team All-Big 12 for the second consecutive year. For the season to date, Katie has 1143 assists, 128 kills, 320 digs and 41 blocks. Her versatility has been invaluable to the team, which might explain why she played in every set this season. Best of all, we get to keep her one more year!
Outside hitter Brooke Sassin saved us from disaster this season, as All-American OH Kylee Zumach's season ended in the second match. Brooke is Second Team All-Big 12. She has 360 kills, 310 digs and 400 points! Currently she is 4th in the Big 12 in kills, and 4th in points, in overall play. The aforementioned numbers led to 15 double-doubles, which is 2nd-most in the Big 12. She's played in every set.
Middle blocker Katie Reininger, who also played in every set, has also been extremely valuable to her team's success, and joins Brooke as Second Team All-Big 12. She has 95 block assists, and six single blocks. Rhino has 265 kills, second highest on the team. Her season hitting percentage is an impressive .282. I consider her a great motivator and leader.
Outside hitter Alyssa Schultejans was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team. She was a steady contributor through the season, entering postseason play with 255 kills, 298 points, 92 digs and 25 service aces. Her kills total is 3rd-best among conference freshmen.
Middle blocker Macy Flowers joins Alyssa on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team. Injured in the purple-white exhibition, she was unavailable in 14 matches, returning to play on October 3. Macy has 91 kills and 62 blocks. In conference games, Macy is 4th in the Big 12 in blocks, at 1.24/set. This is the best blocking stat for a Big 12 freshman since our friend Megan Kroeker played in 2005. It's great to know that we'll have Alyssa and Macy for three more years.
Here are links to the reports from K-State and our pals at the Big 12.
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Nov. 30, 2015 K-State's headed to the NCAA tournament!
You read it here eventually... The Cats will play Wichita State, whoever that is, in Lincoln on Friday, December 4 at 4:30 p.m.
Here's the NCAA's announcement of the tournament field and details. Of course, you'll want to see the interactive bracket and printable bracket.
You may remember that K-State beat Wichita State in the first round in 2011, then stunned the volleyball world by beating Nebraska on their court, thereby punching their ticket to Hawaii. (2011 bracket)
The latest NCAA RPI has Kansas State at 44... obviously within the top 64. I don't know all the factors that are considered in tournament selection, but who cares? We're in! Here are links to the announcements from K-State and the Big 12.
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Nov. 18, 2015 K-State sweeps a very good Iowa State team, and takes 3rd place in the Big 12
Get comfortable. There's lots of good news to report. Our pals the Cats avenged an earlier sweep by ISU with a critical 25-23, 25-20, 25-18 victory. In the process, K-State has nudged Iowa State out of 3rd place. I'm not a volleyball expert, but what I saw in this match was K-State's determination. They kept rallies going, they didn't panic or fold if they got behind, and they strung points together.
Before going farther, let's document the fact that K-State outdid Iowa State in every statistical category in the box score. OK... there was a tie on referee challenges, but who cares?
Our offense was nicely balanced. Brooke Sassin and Bryna Vogel had 10.5 points, and Bryna hit a blistering .467. Katie Reininger had 10 points, with excellent .300 hitting. Alyssa Schultejans added 9.5 points and seven kills. Katie Brand (with .500 hitting) and Macy Flowers (with five kills and five block assists) each had 7.5 points. Overall, the Cats hit .203 to the Cyclones' .111. Six service aces provided some valuable momentum, with Vogel and Kober contributing two each. Katie Brand had 34 assists.
Coach Fritz was pleased with the defensive effort. KSU outblocked ISU, 10.5 to 4.0!! The Cats had 60 digs, to Iowa State's 54. The Cats held ISU to under .200 hitting, and most important, held them to –.048 in set three. Kersten Kober had an outstanding 19 digs... 6.3 per set. The Big 12 digs leader averages 6.02 per set. Kersten is #3 in the Big 12 after this match, with 5.02 per set. Bryna Vogel logged 16 digs... excellent work, for 5.33 per set. Bryna is #10 in the Big 12 in digs. K-State leads the Big 12 in digs, averaging 17.33 per set.
So... K-State now holds 3rd place in the Big 12 race, behind the #5 and #9 teams in Division I (who shall not be named). This victory brightens the outlook for the NCAA tournament. If the Cats get two more wins, their chances look very good to me. As of Nov. 15 (therefore prior to tonight's win), the Cats' RPI was at 48 in Division I. Other fun facts are the Big 12 winning streak of six... the best since 2003, and winning eight of the last nine matches.
How about a shoutout to our 4.000 Cat, libero Kersten Kober! She had a mishap that left her almost motionless on the court for several minutes, as she was examined for a possible head or neck injury, but suddenly hopped up, shook it off and played the reminder of the match, and she did great!
Here are the official match highlights and box score.
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Nov. 17, 2015 Seven Named Academic All-Big 12
K-State announced today that seven Cats: Katie Brand, Kersten Kober, Mattie Batchelder, Katie Reininger, Brooke Sassin and Bryna Vogel, are All-Big 12 First Team, and Devin Fairfield made the Second Team. We'll find out soon if Brand and Kober are selected as Academic All-Americans.
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Nov. 16, 2015 Q & A with Katie Brand
Kelly McHugh-Stewart visits with our superstar setter, in video and print versions of her Sports Extra. We are so lucky to have Katie on our side, and we're keeping her for another year!
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Nov., 2015 Elle Sandbothe signs a national letter of intent
Cat fans will be excited when they read this release from K-State Volleyball.
Elle's a 5' 11" middle blocker from Lee's Summit, and was named All-Conference and All-State in Missouri. Suzie Fritz said, "She has a special charisma about her; it draws people in." Club coach Mark Ethridge said, "Elle is super-athletic with a lighting-fast arm swing. She is competitive, highly energetic and brings out the best in her teammates."
Elle's first name is pronounced like Ellie. Her last name is pronounced in three syllables, like SAND-bow-thee.
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Nov. 12, 2015 Rachel Stark of Minneapolis signs a national letter of intent
When I read in the release from K-State that, "the 6-foot outside hitter lettered in volleyball for the last three years at Washburn," I thought, "What? Why are we signing a senior?" She is a senior. She's from Minneapolis. No, not Minneapolis, Kansas. Washburn High School. No, not Kelsey Chipman's Washburn Rural. She's from Washburn High School in Minneapolis, MN. Her high school coach says, "She's a pure athlete." Rachel hit .385 in her senior season, and was ranked a Top 20 player in Minnesota.
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Nov. 11, 2015 Cats get by OU in five sets for their fifth straight victory.
My, oh my. 25-23, 29-27, 21-25, 23-25, 15-11 tells the story pretty well, without any words. The Cats retained 4th place in the Big 12, keeping NCAA tournament hopes alive. OU (now 8-15, 2-9) was looking for something positive from a disappointing season. Most Cat fans, myself included, came in expecting to make short work of them, after sweeping them 25-16, 25-21, 25-19 on their court. That may have been part of the problem. Add to that a determined, tenacious performance by Oklahoma. Their play was impressive.
Brooke Sassin led in points, with 18.5. Bryna Vogel, hitting .278, had 17 points. Alyssa Schultejans had 16, and Katie Reininger and Katie Brand, who hit .538, had 10 points. Oklahoma outhit the Cats, .180 to .156, but because of good results in sets one (.255) and two (.306), the Cats slightly outscored OU, 87 to 83. Katie Brand had 60 assists. The problem in offense came in sets three and four, when K-State hit .000 in both.
K-State led slightly in blocks, 15 to 14, and in digs, 87 to 80. Macy Flowers led with eight block assists, and Katie Reininger had seven. Kersten Kober had 25 digs, followed by Brooke Sassin with 16, Bryna Vogel and Devan Fairfield with 14, and Katie Brand with 11.
The Cats dug in in set five, which was looking hopeless, by scoring eight straight points, for the 15-11 win in the set. Ultimately, there were 44 tied scores, and 15 lead changes. The Cats clearly shocked OU in set five. The Sooners had been all smiles, and were doing a fair amount of dancing in time outs. Coming off holding the Cats to .000 hitting in the previous two sets, it would be difficult to blame them much, but the Cats' late surge took them by surprise.
There have been seven Wildcat victories in the last eight contests. I'll end with shout outs to Alyssa Schultejans, who willed the Cats to victory in set five, and to the Pride of Wildcat Land, who stormed the court during "halftime" for their annual surprise concert. It was awesome, as usual.
The Cats have a week to prepare for Iowa State, 9-3. Wins over ISU and Baylor would put us at 18 wins, and offer a chance at the NCAA tournament. Of course, managing those two wins, plus ending home court play with a win over KU would really make a case for a trip to the tournament.
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Nov. 9, 2015 Alyssa Schultejans: Big 12 Rookie of the Week
Alyssa led all Big 12 freshmen last week in kills (3.33), points (3.67) and aces (0.33) per set, reports K-State. She's become known for her aces, and she's top of the list on aces by Big 12 freshmen. Here's the announcement from the Big 12. I'm sure Alyssa has great things in store for the next three seasons!
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Nov. 5, 2015 Katie Brand, Kersten Kober: Academic District 7 First Team
Kersten Kober has a 4.000 GPA at KSU, and Katie Brand has a 3.56. Our outstanding players made the CoSIDA Academic District 7 First Team this week, which qualifies them to be considered for Academic All-American later this month. Katie is two-time Academic All-Big 12, and Kersten was named to the 2014 Academic All-Big 12 First Team. Read full details from the Big 12 and K-State. You'll see that the release from the Big 12 only names these two, as they're the only honorees from the Big 12!
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Nov. 2, 2015 Macy Flowers: Big 12 Rookie of the Week
Macy had 21 kills (3.0/set) and .347 hitting last week's two matches. In a sweep at West Virginia on October 28, she matched her career-high in kills with 11, and hit .476. Against TCU, the she had 10 kills and five blocks. She averaged 3.42 points per set.
Here are the announcements from K-State and the Big 12.
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Nov. 2, 2015 Cats' stats in the Big 12
Where do the Cats rank in Big 12 competition at this point? Considering the level of competition this season, their numbers look good, although hitting % remains a challenge.
HITTING PERCENTAGE S Kills Errs Total Pct
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1. Texas............... 31 440 121 1015 .314
2. Kansas.............. 33 480 132 1197 .291
3. Iowa State.......... 34 492 180 1326 .235
4. Oklahoma............ 35 476 189 1263 .227
5. Baylor.............. 31 388 157 1017 .227
6. TCU................. 39 484 184 1378 .218
7. Kansas State........ 34 480 192 1339 .215
OPPONENT HITTING PCT S Kills Errs Total Pct
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1. Texas............... 31 370 188 1076 .169
2. Kansas.............. 33 400 185 1157 .186
3. Iowa State.......... 34 444 181 1316 .200
4. Kansas State........ 34 456 189 1306 .204
ASSISTS S No. Avg/S
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1. Kansas.............. 33 452 13.70
2. Iowa State.......... 34 458 13.47
3. Texas............... 31 415 13.39
4. Kansas State........ 34 449 13.21
KILLS S No. Avg/S
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1. Kansas.............. 33 480 14.55
2. Iowa State.......... 34 492 14.47
3. Texas............... 31 440 14.19
4. Kansas State........ 34 480 14.12
BLOCKS S Solo Asst Total Avg/S
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1. TCU................. 39 13 215 120.5 3.09
2. Texas............... 31 13 130 78.0 2.52
3. Kansas.............. 33 8 136 76.0 2.30
4. Iowa State.......... 34 13 125 75.5 2.22
5. Kansas State........ 34 11 128 75.0 2.21
SERVICE ACES S No. Avg/S
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1. Iowa State.......... 34 49 1.44
2. Texas............... 31 34 1.10
3. Kansas State........ 34 36 1.06
DIGS S No. Avg/S
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1. Iowa State.......... 34 601 17.68
2. Kansas State........ 34 571 16.79
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Oct. 31, 2015 Cats defeat a very good TCU team in four sets
We begin with a reminder that TCU swept #2 Texas three days ago. Although TCU's numbers tonight weren't super-high, they appear to be a team that doen't make many mistakes, and digs well. K-State prevailed in four sets, 25-23, 25-17, 21-25, 25-22.
Brooke Sassin led with 16 points and 15 kills. Although she hit a modest .128, she was a big factor in tonight's victory. Her work tonight moves her up to #3 in kills in Big 12 in conference matches, at 3.29 per set.
Looking at the box score, the Cats' scoring was fairly balanced, which made us less predictable. Bryna Vogel had 14 points and 12 kills. Alyssa Schultejans followed closely with 13.5 points and 13 kills. Macy Flowers, finally able play after an injury, is having a great start. She had 12.5 points from 10 kills, and was second in blocks. Katie Brand had 11 points, and was most efficient in hitting, at .333. Katie had three service aces. She also had 48 assists over four sets... obviously 12 per set. For perspective, the Big 12 assists leader, who shall not be named, averages 11.79 assists per set. Big picture, the Cats were outhit by TCU, .202 to .180, but led in points, 74 to 67, and led in kills, 60 to 51.
Now, to defense... I kept saying to my friends, "Watch what Kersten Kober is doing." Kersten collected 25 digs, or 6.25 per set! The current Big 12 leader averages 6.38 per set, and Kersten's currently #3 in the Big 12, with 4.82 digs per set, so this was a big night. We would not have won without her. But... other Cats were in there digging, too. Bryna Vogel had 17, Katie Brand had 13, Brooke Sassin had 11 and Devan Fairfield had 10. (Thanks to Devan for throwing a t-shirt to my area.) TCU led in blocks at 14, to the Cats' nine.
At first glance, looking at the numbers, one wonders how we won this, as TCU led in hitting, .202 to .180, and they hit .400 in set one. Ultimately, the Cats' slight lead in points, 74 to 67, was part of it. Although TCU was a bit more efficient, the Cats had 60 kills to their opponents' 51, and took more swings, 183 to 163. Sideouts went to the Cats, 70% to 64%. TCU led decisively in blocks, 14 to nine. I guess I'd describe the victory by saying that the Cats never gave up. They would get a nice lead in a set, then TCU would chip away at it, but the Cats never seemed to lose their composure. They just hung in there, and got it done! "We played exceptionally well and exceptionally hard," said K-State head coach Suzie Fritz. "There were spontaneous plays – it was like ping-pong – and we adjusted well to a majority of them. We got our hands on a ton of balls as well."
This was a very important win for the Cats. They beat a team that came in riding high, which now matches the Cats in Big 12 record, 6 - 4. I'm calling this important because this is the Cats' fifth win in the past six matches. They're now tied for 4th in the Big 12, behind #2 Texas and #10 KU (who have a combined season record of 40 - 3).
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Oct. 28, 2015 Cats sweep West Virginia for their fourth straight win
It was a 25-17, 25-20, 25-22 sweep of the Morgantown Mountaineers tonight, with K-State improving to 13-8, 5-4, and West Virginia at 5-16, 0-8.
I generally start these write-ups with offense. Where better to start than Katie Reininger, who led (with Macy Flowers) with 11.5 points? Rhino was error-free in 16 attempts, registering 10 kills and hitting a spectacular .625!! Macy Flowers also had 11 kills, and hit an outstanding .476! Brooke Sassin was excellent, as always. She had 11 kills and 11 points, hitting .348. Katie Brand, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, had 36 assists! The Cats outhit WVU, .306 to .179.
Brooke Sassin had a big night on defense, leading with 13 digs, and libero Kersten Kober had 11 digs. Brooke had her 10th double-double of the season. The Cats were outblocked by WVU, 4.0 to 7.0.
Sports Information reports that Katie Reininger has a .465 hitting percentage and 3.08 kills per set over the last four matches.
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Oct. 26, 2015 Katie Brand: Big 12 Defensive Player o' the Week
Count us as not surprised. In the Texas Tech match on Saturday, Katie had a team-high 14 digs, and a team-high five block assists. Against Texas on Oct. 21, Katie had a team-high 15 digs, and three block assists. So... that's 29 digs this past week for the leader of our offense.
Our awesome setter, as of today, is 7th in the Big 12 in digs per set, at 3.00. In her regular duties of setting, she's 4th in the Big 12 in assists, with 10.93 per set. In her spare time, Katie collects double-doubles. The latest, her 13th of this season (and the most in the Big 12), went in the books vs. Texas Tech. She has 44 in her career. Did we mention that Katie hit .600 vs. Texas the other day?
Here are the announcements, from K-State and the Big 12.
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Oct. 24, 2015 Cats sweep Texas Tech in Lubbock
Kansas State prevailed in three, 25-20, 26-24, 25-19, with strong offense early and excellent defense late. The Cats improved to 12-8, 4-4 and Tech is now at 13-9, 2-6.
Rhino led on offense, with 12 kills, hitting an awesome .440 and collecting 15 points. Brooke Sasson was close behind, with 14.5 points from solid .270 hitting. She had nine kills. It's great to have Macy Flowers in action, after being sidelined with an injury for an extended time. She had 11.5 points, from nine kills and excellent .375 hitting. Alyssa Schultejans added 8.5 points, from seven kills. We're happy to see Sami Flattum getting on the court. The Cats outscored TTU 63 to 49, and led in hitting percentage, .246 to .178. Katie Brand had 41 assists, and along with her team-high 14 digs, she recorded another double-double, and leads the Big 12.
On defense, K-State had 10 blocks to Tech's six, and held them to .178 hitting for the match. Macy Flowers and Katie Brand each had five block assists, followed by Katie Reininger with four block assists + one single block. While Tech hit well in the first two sets, they were held to a very modest .024 in set three.
Next up for the Cats is WVU on Oct. 28, at 5:00. By the way, WVU didn't play OU today. The Sooners' flight out of Dallas was canceled because of the crazy rain in Texas, and they couldn't find a way to get there. They'll make up that game a month from now.
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Oct. 21, 2015 Texas sweeps a determined K-State
Cat fans left without a victory, but having seen a competitive match, as Texas won in three, 25-16, 25-21, 25-16.
Scoring was unusually even. Brooke Sassin led with 8.5 points, Katie Brand had 7.5, with six from Katie Reininger, Macy Flowers and Alyssa Schultejans. Katie Brand hit .600, in part from some very impressive surprise hits at the net. Texas surpassed the Cats in hitting, .246 to .073.
Katie Brand led with 15 digs, Brooke Sassin had 11 and Kersten Kober had 10. Macy Flowers led with three blocks. The Cats edged Texas in total blocks, seven to six.
Fans have no idea why we're playing in the coliseum. Attendance was only 1,850... behind our season average of 1,999, and seriously behind our 2014 season average of 2,366. I am highly irritated by this decision, and Athletics is not being forthcoming as to the reason.
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Oct. 16, 2015 K-State sweeps Oklahoma
Good things happened in the Cats' 25-16, 25-21, 25-19 sweep of OU, dropping them to 1-5, 7-11 this season. It was a good night for both offense and defense. The Cats opened strong, hitting .452 in the first set.
Brooke Sassin led in points, with 13.5, and in kills, with 11. She hit a solid .286. (Brooke's now 3rd in the Big 12 in kills, with 3.54/set, and she's 4th in points.) Katie Reininger had 13 points and nine kills, and was extremely efficient, with .571 hitting. Bryna Vogel recorded a triple-double, if we count points. She had 12 points and 11 kills, from .625 hitting, and she led with 12 digs! The Cats together hit an excellent .366, to the Okies' .135. Katie Brand had 35 assists. She is 2nd in the Big 12 in assists, at 11.12/set.
K-State surpassed OU in blocks, 13 to 3, and in sideouts, 75% to 57%. Katie Reininger led in blocks, with four.
Up next for the Cats: #2 Texas, 15-1, at 6 P.M. on October 21 in the Octagon o' Doom
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Oct. 10, 2015 K-State sweeps West Virginia
This was a close match (25-20, 25-20, 25-23), but some good things happened at Bramlage Coliseum this afternoon. In addition to the W, it was awesome to see ~60 former players back for a team reunion, including several from the 2003 Big 12 championship team: Lauren Goehring, Lisa Martin, Cari Jensen and Vali Hejjas were among them. (sorry, I don't know their married names) Other heroes from recent years included Kelsey Chipman, Megan Farr, JuliAnne Chisholm, Charissa Dugan, Dakota Kaufman, Izabela Grot, Alex Muff, Courtney Traxson, Gina Madonia, Chelsea Keating, Tristan McCarty, Taylor Johnson and Natali Jones. From farther back, we saw Linsey Luther and Liz Wegner.
On offense, Alyssa Schultejans led with 14 points, hitting .308. Katie Reininger had 9.5 points. Katie Brand and Macy Flowers had 9 points, with .636 hitting from Katie and Macy! The Cats hit .245 to the Mountaineers' .194. Alyssa Schultejans led with 12 kills, and Katie Brand, Katie Reininger and Macy Flowers had 8.
On defense, Brooke Sassin led with 11 digs, Kersten Kober had 10 and Brynna Vogel had 6. West Virginia had 7 blocks, to K-State's 5. Katie Reininger led in block assists, with 3.
All the above factored into continuing K-State's undefeated record in Bramlage Coliseum.
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Oct. 5, 2015 Kersten Kober: Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week
Kersten is the Cats' first Player of the Week this season. As shown just below, she's leading the Big 12 in digs in conference matches, but this recognition comes from her 37 digs at TCU on Oct. 3... the third-highest total in program history. (K-State release) (Big 12 Announcement) Kersten's regularly listed on the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll.
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Oct. 5, 2015 Congrats to Kersten Kober, Big 12 Digs Leader...
DIGS (Minimum 1.00 per set)
Player Team Cl S No. Avg/S
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1. Kober, Kersten...... KSU JR 12 77 6.42
2. Foust, Carlie....... TTU SR 11 65 5.91
3. Nolan, Caitlin...... ISU SR 10 57 5.70
4. Wait,Cassie......... KU JR 10 50 5.00
5. McCoy, Cat.......... UT SO 9 38 4.22
6. Brusek, Jana........ BU SO 10 37 3.70
7. Sunstrum, Sutton.... TCU SR 15 54 3.60
8. Migliazzo, Taylor... OU SR 13 44 3.38
9. Vogel, Bryna........ KSU SO 12 40 3.33
10. Mikals, Sarita...... TCU JR 15 44 2.93
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Oct. 3, 2015 Cats at TCU: So close!
How close? Kansas State scored one more point than TCU, but lost 2-3 in Fort Worth tonight, after dropping the first two sets 23-25, 19-25. After the break, Kansas State won the next two, 25-21, 25-17.
Brooke Sassin led in offense, with 18 kills and 20.5 points. Bryna Vogel hit .333, for 13.5 points. It was great to have Macy Flowers available again. She added 13 points, hitting an awesome .360. Katie Reininger had 11.5 points. Katie Brand had 57 assists. TCU slightly outhit the Cats, .217 to .198.
On defense, Kersten Kober had a career-high 37 digs... the most for a Cat in a road match since 1987. She's currently 5th in the Big 12 in digs. Bryna Vogel had 15 digs, and Katie Brand had 12. TCU outblocked the Cats, 8 to 5.
Kansas State hit an awesome .394 in set one, to TCU's .382, but had a close loss, 23-25. Again, the match was so close. TCU had sideouts of 64%, to the Cats' 63%. Kansas State had 67 kills, to TCU's 64, but TCU had slightly fewer errors.
And again, the Cats ended with one more point than the Froggies. TCU sealed the deal with a 15-9 set five, hitting .368 to Kansas State's .080.
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Sep. 29, 2015 Cats to Host 2 More Matches in Bramlage Coliseum
Bad news, K-State Volleyball fans: The October 10 and 21 matches will be played in the Coliseum. Who knows what the excuse is. I, for one, am not pleased in the least. Furthermore, it's too bad that all the players returning for the Volleyball program reunion on the October 10 weekend won't be witnessing a match in our beloved Ahearn Field House.
My best guess is this is a marketing stunt, thinking that more fans might be drawn in because of being in the area before or after Football that afternoon.
I guess it makes no difference to Athletics that my friends and I paid for specific seats, located together in Ahearn. My experience during the Varney's Invitational earlier this month was that anyone who wished was taking a seat in the so-called reserved area for chairback season ticket holders.
I have told John Currie in person that Ahearn Field House is my favorite place in the world, and I want Volleyball to be played there... not that my opinion counts for anything, but others do share that opinion.
(link)
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Sep. 26, 2015 Cats sweep Baylor
K-State got back to their winning ways, with a 25-20, 25-10, 25-23 sweep. I noticed during the match that we seemed to be low on errors, and the box score confirms that. The Cats hit an impressive .388, to Baylor's .287. There were only three service errors. Sideout percentages were the best of the season, averaging 77%.
Katie Reininger had an awesome day on offense, leading with 14 points from .579 hitting, in a balanced evening for team offense. Alyssa Schultejans and Brooke Sassin each added 11 points, with solid hitting of .278 and .280. (Brooke is #4 in Big 12 points, with 4.07 per set.) Bryna Vogel had 9.5 points, with excellent .333 hitting. Add to all this 7 team service aces.
Katie Brand had 8 points and 32 assists, hitting a spectacular .700. Katie had no hitting errors. She had 32 assists, for 10.6 per set. She's #2 in Big 12 assists, with 11.09 per set. She leads the Big 12 in total assists.
Kersten Kober led with 15 digs, with 40 for the Cats and 34 for Baylor. The Cats and Baylor were even in total blocks, at 7.0. There were no single blocks. Zsofia Gyimes led with 5 block assists, and Brooke Sassin had 4... each with one error. Kersten is currently #5 in Big 12 digs, with 4.20 per set.
The Cats really stepped up their game in set 2, hitting an awesome .481, with a sideout percentage of 90%. The set score was 25-10.
This match was the annual Pack the House promotion. Cat fans performed well, with 2,400 in attendance. The season average had been 1,714... #21 in Division I. This came on a weekend with no home Football, and many students left town. The season average attendance is now 1,885, which will bring K-State up three or four notches when the numbers come out on Monday.
I want to give a shout out to Kylee Zumach, @Tallgirlkylee, who had a knee operation three days ago. She was behind the bench to cheer for the Cats, and was extending a crutch to greet each player who subbed out. We're sure missing having our All-American OH on the court this season, and wish her all the best for recovery.
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Sep. 9 , 2015 How about those Cat stats!
Kansas State, 5-1 and RV in the AVCA poll, has some nice standings in the latest Big 12 Team Stats. Hitting Percentage: 2nd, Assists: 2nd, Kills: 2nd, Service Aces: 3rd, Digs: 2nd.
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July 29, 2015 Wildcats Earn Fifth Straight AVCA Team Academic Award
The AVCA has once again recognized Kansas State for academic excellence, now for the 2014-15 year. This is #12 in 14 years for the Cats. Kersten Kober and Gina Madonia recorded a 4.000 for spring semester. (link)
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Apr. 9, 2015 Coach Fritz Impressed by Military Leadership
Along with Fort Riley's 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, Coach spent a day in Ft. Irwin, California, learning how American soldiers prepare for war at the United States Army's National Training Center (NTC). (K-State Sports Extra)
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Apr. 1, 2015 Cats capture 6 of 8 sets vs. UMKC, Havoc
Kansas State had a strong outing in their first spring competition in Kansas City. Brooke Sassin led in kills. (link)
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Mar. 30 , 2015 Cats' spring schedule announced
I'd been watching for this. It's disappointing that there won't be any home action, but some of our players will play in their home towns. For example, Katie Brand's going home to Grand Island, and Sheridan, Dallas and Kali are from the Kansas City area. (link)
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Feb. 16, 2015 Three Wildcats to Take Part in U.S. National Team Tryout
Katie Brand, Kylee Zumach and Kersten Kober will join 235 other players in Colorado this weekend for the tryout. Read more.
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Jan. 28, 2015 Meet Alyssa Schultejans
Brian Smoller sat down with Alyssa, a 6' 2" outside hitter, who left Silver Lake H.S. a semester early to come and train with the Cats. (YouTube)
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Jan. 23, 2015 Best wishes to Coach Jeff Hulsmeyer
Florida State tweeted congratulations today to Coach Hulsmeyer, who's taking the position of associate head coach. Jeff was with us for six seasons, and will certainly be missed by everyone. Here's Florida State's announcement.
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Jan. 20, 2015 Kansas State Volleyball: Outsmarting the Competition
Of the 20 Volleyball Cats, 15 made the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll, and Kersten Kober got another 4.000! Here's the release from Sports Information. Kersten, Katie Brand, Taylor Johnson, Chelsea Keating and Gina Madonia made the first team. The other Cats on the honor roll are Mattie Batchelder, Kali Eaken, Devan Fairfield, Sami Flattum, Dallas Gardner, Natali Jones, Brookelyn Langhaim, Mary Alice O'Reilly, Brooke Sassin and Sheridan Zarda.
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Dec. 17, 2014 Katie Brand and Kylee Zumach: AVCA Honorable Mention All-Americans
Katie and Kylee, our AVCA Midwest Region First-Team honorees, are honorable mention All-Americans, the coaches' organization announced today. Here's the release from K-State. They have made tremendous contributions all season, and we're fortunate that they will play together for two more seasons!
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