Nov 19, 2022

🏐 K-State Tangles with TCU in Big 12 Road Test

Posted Nov 19, 2022 5:59 AM
K-State VB vs TCU.jpg
K-State VB vs TCU.jpg

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State, down to a couple regular season road trips, turns to face TCU in a conference battle Saturday at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

K-State (14-12, 5-8 Big 12) took a tough four-set loss at home on Wednesday to Oklahoma and look to bounce back against the Horned Frogs.

There were three Wildcats in double-figure kills, led by junior Aliyah Carter with 18 and followed by seniors Elena Baka and Sydney Bolding with 11 each. Baka swung at a .562 hitting efficiency and picked up eight digs as Bolding tallied a match-high seven block assists.

Mackenzie Morris logged her third-straight match with double-digit digs, collecting 18 to lead all players. Molly Ramsey inked her second-highest output of the season with 11 digs while Loren Hinkle notched her fourth match with 50 assists or more (52).

TCU (14-10, 9-5 Big 12) are on a hot streak after winning the last three matches, including a home victory over #10 Baylor.

K-State leads the series 13-8 with the Horned Frogs, dating back to 2012 when TCU joined the Big 12. The Wildcats look to split the 2022 series after TCU took a five-setter over K-State on Oct. 15. The Cats are 5-5 when playing in Fort Worth, Texas, and head coach Suzie Fritz is 13-8 in her career against the Horned Frogs.

Fans can listen to Saturday's match online at K-StateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.



MATCH #27
K-STATE (14-11, 5-7 BIG 12) at TCU (14-10, 9-5 BIG 12)
Saturday, November 19 // 2 p.m. // Schollmaier Arena // Fort Worth, Texas
Listen: K-StateSports.com/watch // Rob Voelker
Live Stats


K-STATE AT A GLANCE 

  1. K-State and TCU meet for the second time this season and the first time in Fort Worth. 
  2. The Wildcats are coming off a home loss to Oklahoma Wednesday. 
  3. K-State swung at a .229 pace with 56 kills.
  4. Carter led the Wildcats on 18 kills (.170) and 22.5 points.
  5. She added three aces and eight digs.
  6. Baka and Bolding tallied 11 kills each.
  7. Baka swung at a career-high .563 hitting percentage and added eight digs.
  8. Bolding collected a match-high seven blocks of K-State's 8.5 total.
  9. Morris led both teams with 18 digs.
  10. Hinkle posted 52 assists, her third-highest output of the season.
  11. Fernholz notched eight kills and Myers added seven.
  12. K-State sits third in the Big 12 with a 2.50 per set average in blocks. 
  13. The Cats lead the conference with 1.71 average aces after collecting seven against OU.
  14. The team's 13.96 digs per set ranks second in the league. 
  15. The nine three-set wins is the most by the Wildcats since they collected 12 during the 2015 season. 
  16. K-State is 12-0 when holding opponents to below .200 hitting percentage.


SCOUTING TCU

  1. TCU (14-10, 9-5 Big 12) enters Saturday in fourth place of the Big 12.
  2. The Horned Frogs went toe-to-toe with West Virginia Wednesday and pulled out a 3-2 victory on the road to maintain a three-match winning streak.
  3. TCU is 9-5 at home with a 6-0 conference home slate, however the team forfeited its home Nov. 2 match against Texas (only conference win-loss was impacted)
  4. Audrey Nalls spearheads the Horned Frogs' offense with 3.80 kills per set (365) and 4.20 points per set (403).
  5. The senior was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week three times this fall.
  6. Nalls and Julia Adams rank third and eighth in the Big 12 with 3.80 and 3.21 kills per set and fourth and eighth with 4.20 and 3.68 points per set.
  7. Adams leads the Horned Frogs with 24 aces.
  8. Callie Williams' 9.24 assists per set tops the TCU offense while coming in at seventh in the Big 12.
  9. Williams leads the Horned Frogs with 232 digs and comes in second with 23 aces.
  10. Mykayla Myers posts a conference ninth-best .313 hitting percentage (148 kills) and leads the team with 86 total blocks.
  11. TCU ranks eighth in the conference with 16.38 points per set and 1.24 aces per set.
  12. The Horned Frogs are last in the Big 12 in blocks (2.12/set) and digs (12.62/set).
  13. Their opponent's hitting percentage is the highest in the Big 12 at .227.
  14. TCU has collected 13.02 kills per set and 11.93 average assists, ranking fourth in the league in both categories.


INSIDE THE SERIES

  1. K-State leads the all-time series 13-8, which began when TCU joined the Big 12 in 2012.
  2. TCU took the opening match this season in five sets on Oct. 15 in Manhattan.
  3. The series is split 5-5 when the two teams meet in Fort Worth.
  4. The Wildcats' last win and road victory was a sweep in 2021.
  5. The two teams split the series in 2021 where TCU took a 3-1 home win (10/21/21).
  6. Head coach Suzie Fritz is 13-8 in her career against TCU.


MACK ATTACK

  1. With her 20 digs against Kansas (Sept. 24), K-State junior libero Mackenzie Morris joined the 1,000-digs club.
  2. She became the seventh Wildcat to play her entire career in the rally-scoring era to reach career dig No. 1,000.
  3. Additionally, Morris is the fastest player in program history (rally-scoring era) to reach the milestone, doing so in just 63 matches.
  4. On Oct. 19, Morris set a career-high with 29 digs at Oklahoma.
  5. 29 digs are the fourth-highest single-match dig total in the Big 12 this season.
  6. Earlier this year she produced three straight 20-dig outings - the longest such stretch of her career.
  7. Morris has carded at least 15 digs in seven of her last eight matches.
  8. The junior was held to her lowest output against the Longhorns with six digs (10/12).
  9. Her 22 digs against Iowa State equaled the second-highest total in a three-set match in the Big 12 this season (Zoe Fleck, Texas).
  10. The Dallas native owns 18 career matches with at least 20 digs, as she now has sole possession of third place in program history.
  11. At 4.14 digs per set, she is currently one of just two players in the rally-scoring era to average over 4.00 digs per set (Angie Lastra, 4.37).
  12. Morris is one of just five active players in the Big 12 with at least 1,000 career digs (third among active Big 12 athletes).
  13. She ranks second in the Big 12 with 4.45 digs per set for the season.


FEELIN ACE-Y 

  1. K-State has racked up 168 service aces, the most in a single season since 2007 (225).
  2. This ranks first in the Big 12 and 78th in the NCAA.
  3. The team's 1.71 average also leads the conference and is 51st nationally.
  4. Sydney Bolding sits third in the conference with 37 total aces and ranks fourth with a 0.41 average.
  5. Bolding has nine matches with multiple aces and has equaled her career high of four aces four times.
  6. Wednesday was the eighth match that she was held without an ace this season.
  7. Loren Hinkle recently moved into second on the team and seventh in the league with 30 aces, four away from tying her single-season record of 34 (2021).
  8. The senior collected seven consecutive matches recording at least one ace.
  9. Elena Baka holds ninth in the Big 12 at 28 aces.
  10. Hinkle and Baka's 0.33 and 0.29 average aces post seventh and tenth in the conference rankings.
  11. Six times the Cats have eclipsed the 10-ace mark, including in back-to-back matches at the UCF Challenge with 11 against Syracuse and a season-high 12 vs. North Florida.
  12. The 12 aces were the most in a three-set match since the 2007 season and were tied for fourth-most in the rally-scoring era.
  13. It was the first time K-State produced back-to-back matches with at least 10 aces since 2007.
  14. Last season, K-State finished with 10 or more aces just twice. 
  15. Additionally, the six matches with 10 or more aces are the most since a rally-scoring-record seven matches in 2007. 


DIGS FOR DAYS 

  1. K-State is one of the top passing teams in the Big 12, ranking second with 13.96 digs per set (1368 total). 
  2. The team accumulated a season-high 72 digs in three different matches – vs Creighton (9/17), at Oklahoma (10/19) and at Iowa State (11/04). 
  3. The Wildcats' dig totals versus Creighton and Iowa State are second and third in total for Big 12 four-set matches. 
  4. Junior libero Mackenzie Morris leads K-State with 436 digs. 
  5. Her average of 4.45 per set ranks second in the Big 12 and 67th nationally. 
  6. Morris set a career-high 29 digs at Oklahoma (10/19), counting as the fourth-highest single-match dig total in the league this season. 
  7. She has carded at least 15 digs in seven of her last eight matches. 
  8. The Dallas native owns 18 career matches with at least 20 digs, as she now has sole possession of third place in program history. 
  9. Loren Hinkle is just shy of 900 career digs, needing 49 to reach the mark. 
  10. Aliyah Carter sits at the 468-career dig mark – 32 away from reaching 500. 


GOING BOLDING 

  1. Senior middle blocker Sydney Bolding has been a hit for the Wildcats, averaging 1.97 kills per set. 
  2. Her 1.26 blocks per set is second-best in the Big 12 and ranks 38th nationally while her total (120) sits third in the conference and 53rd in the NCAA.
  3. The senior's hitting .318 hitting percentage tops the Wildcats for the season. 
  4. Bolding four times has produced four aces this season, including four coming in the first set alone against St. Thomas. 
  5. The four aces matched a career-high, as she has nine matches with multiple aces this season (two such matches last season). 
  6. She tied the record for a K-State middle blocker in the rally-scoring era with 37 aces, done by Lauren Goehring (2001) and Kaitlynn Pelger (2013).
  7. She was named to the Rambler Challenge All-Tournament Team, her second all-tournament team selection after also being voted to the K-State Invitational All-Tournament Team. 
  8. Bolding notched a career-high 14 kills on Nov. 11 against the Cyclones (.414). 
  9. The Pickens, South Carolina, product has eclipsed double figure kills nine times this season. 
  10. Bolding has hit .350 or better 13 times, including a career-best .588 at Rice. 
  11. She is nine kills from reaching the 300-career mark and one block from the 200-career block achievement. 


INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

  1. K-State has won the opening set in 17 of 26 outings to begin the campaign, going 11-6 in those matches. 
  2. The Wildcats are 11-1 when hitting at a higher hitting percentage and when producing more kills than their opponents. 
  3. Additionally, the Cats are 12-0 when they have limited their opponents to a hitting efficiency under .200. 
  4. The Wildcats' 3-0 over Kansas City (Sept. 14) marked the 200th sweep under head coach Suzie Fritz. 
  5. Fritz collected her 200th career home win against Missouri on Sept. 7 and is eight away from her 400th career win at the helm of the Wildcats.
  6. She claimed the 200th Big 12 win in her career on Nov. 10 against West Virginia.
  7. Currently, the Big 12 has the top RPI (rating percentage index) conference in the country with an average RPI of .6057, ahead of the Big 10 in second at .6034.
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