Courtesy of Kansas State Athletics
MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Wildcats set a single-season program record Wednesday night with its fifth victory over a ranked opponent this year, as K-State downed the No. 3 Texas Longhorns in straight sets at Morgan Family Arena, 25-22, 25-22, 25-21.
In front of its fifth sold out crowd of 3,044, K-State (14-10, 8-7 Big 12) registered its fourth straight victory over a ranked opponent at home with the program's first win over UT since 2003, snapping a 39-match losing streak.
The Wildcats handed the reigning national champions their first Big 12 loss of the season, while K-State also became just the second team this season to sweep the Longhorns (18-4, 13-1 Big 12) alongside then ranked-No. 2 Stanford (Sept. 2).
The five Top 25 victories eclipsed the previous mark of four set in 1999, then again in 2000. K-State has now won a program record 12 straight sets at home against ranked foes.
Aliyah Carter led a tremendous all-around effort by the Wildcats, who had a .351 efficiency (45 kills, 11 errors). A senior from Dubuque, Iowa, Carter submitted her 17th career match with 20 or more kills, registering a match-high 20 kills with just six errors for a .311 hitting efficiency.
Carter's 20 kills ties fifth in the rally-scoring era for total kills in a single three-set match, marking the program's first 20-kill three-set match since her 23 kills against Wayne State in 2021.
Aniya Clinton added seven kills on the night followed by Izzi Szulczewski and Brenna Schmidt with six. Szulczewski orchestrated the Wildcats' 5-1 offense as the junior setter produced 31 assists to go with six digs.
Defensively, Mackenzie Morris handed in her 28th career 20-dig match. The Cats starting libero had a match-high 20 digs followed by Liz Gregorski with nine. Sydney Bolding had a match-high three blocks.
Texas hit .246 (44 kills, 14 errors), led by junior outside Madison Skinner with 14 kills followed by Molly Phillips (8) and Ella Swindle (7).