Oct 19, 2022

🏐 Wildcats, Sooners to Battle in Norman Wednesday

Posted Oct 19, 2022 2:50 PM
K-State vs OU.jpeg
K-State vs OU.jpeg

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State hits the road to face Oklahoma in a Big 12 match at McCasland Field House in Norman, Okla. The Wednesday night battle is set for 6 p.m.

The Wildcats (11-8, 2-4 Big 12) are coming off back-to-back losses at the hands of #1 Texas and TCU. The Cats went to five sets with the Horned Frogs on Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum.

Senior Elena Baka collected 17 kills at a .333 pace to lead K-State. The outside hitter added four block assists for 20 points on the night. Junior Aliyah Carter contributed 14 kills (.192), two aces, and five blocks.

As a team, the Cats tallied a season-best 18 blocks in the match. Sydney Bolding tied her season-best output of eight blocks at the net. Senior setter Loren Hinkle dished out 42 assists for her eighth consecutive 20+ assists match while junior Mackenzie Morrisboasted 17 digs.

Oklahoma (11-7, 1-5 Big 12) has dropped its last three matches and is 6-2 when playing at home this season. The Sooners are one spot below K-State in the Big 12 standings.

OU leads the all-time series 58-37-1, which began in 1975. The Cats are 15-28 when playing in Norman while head coach Suzie Fritzis 24-18 in her career against Oklahoma.

Saturday's match will air on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Fans can also listen to Emma Wiley on News Radio KMAN (93.3FM) with online audio available at K-StateSports.com/watch and the K-State Sports app.

MATCH #20
K-STATE (11-8, 2-4 BIG 12) at Oklahoma (8-9, 3-3 BIG 12)
Wednesday, Oct. 19 // 6 p.m. // McCasland Field House // Norman, Okla.
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // ESPN app
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM) // Emma Wiley
Listen: K-StateSports.com/watch // 1350KMAN.com
Live Stats

K-STATE AT A GLANCE

  1. K-State travels to Norman, Oklahoma, to take on the Oklahoma Sooners on Wednesday night.
  2. The Wildcats are coming off their second five-set Big 12 defeat, coming at the hands of TCU on Saturday.
  3. K-State hit .204 as a team with 48 kills while TCU swung at a .263 hitting percentage with 67 kills.
  4. Baka led the Wildcats with 17 kills (.333).
  5. This was her seventh match leading the team in kills.
  6. Hinkle tallied 42 assists, her sixth 40+ performance.
  7. K-State collected a season-best 18 team blocks (30 assists, 3 solo).
  8. Bolding matched her season-high of eight blocks.
  9. Morris has turned in at least 15 digs in six of the last seven matches and holds sole possession of third place in K-State history with 17 20-dig matches in her career (rally-scoring era).
  10. The Wildcats have not lost in straight sets at home this season.
  11. K-State sits second in the Big 12 with 192.5 blocks and with a 2.71 per set average.
  12. The Cats lead the conference with 1.79 average aces.
  13. The eight three-set wins tie the most by the Wildcats since eight during the 2018 season.
  14. Against Iowa State, Myers averaged 4.50 kills per set and was tabbed Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Oct. 04.
  15. It marked the first honor of Myers' career and the first conference weekly award by any Wildcat this season.


SCOUTING OKLAHOMA

  1. OU (11-7, 1-5 Big 12) enters Saturday one place behind K-State in the Big 12 standings.
  2. The Sooners have lost their last three matches, including a 1-3 drop to Iowa State at home.
  3. Oklahoma is 6-2 at McCasland Field House this season.
  4. OU's sweep of West Virginia on Oct. 1 was its only Big 12 home win.
  5. The Sooners are last in the conference with a 1.41 opponent average ace pace.
  6. Their offense is powered by sophomore Megan Wilson, who sits fifth in the Big 12 with 224 blocks and a 3.67 average.
  7. The Kingwood, Texas, product tops the conference with 0.61 aces per set (37 total).
  8. Libero Callie Kemohah is the conference leader with 304 digs (4.75/set).
  9. Sophomore Payton Chamberlain owns a 9.63 assist average, ranking fourth in the Big 12.
  10. Freshman Morgan Perkins was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week on Sept. 20.
  11. The Rosharon, Texas, native has paces the Sooners with a .415 hitting percentage and a 1.31 block average.
  12. Oklahoma sits fourth in the Big 12 with a team hitting percentage of .262 (824 kills).
  13. The Sooners raked up a conference third-highest 1.47 aces per set (94 total).


INSIDE THE SERIES

  1. Oklahoma leads the all-time series K-State leads the all-time series 58-37-1, which began in 1975.
  2. The Wildcats are 15-28 on the road against the Sooners.
  3. K-State's last victory at McCasland Field House was last year on a 3-1 victory (10/2/2021).
  4. The two teams split the series in 2021 where OU took a 3-1 home win (10/1/21).
  5. The Wildcats and the Sooners are 5-5 in the last ten matches.
  6. Head coach Suzie Fritz is 24-18 in her career against the Sooners.


IN DA CLUB

  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. Earlier this season, Morris set a career-high with 25 digs against UCF and produced three straight 20-dig outings - the longest such stretch of her career.
  5. Morris has carded at least 17 digs in eight of her last nine matches.
  6. The junior was held to her lowest output against the Longhorns with six digs.
  7. Her 22 digs against Iowa State equaled the highest total in a three-set match in the Big 12 this season (Zoe Fleck, Texas).
  8. The Dallas native now owns 17 career matches with at least 20 digs, as she now has sole possession of third place in program history.
  9. At 4.11 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).
  10. Morris is one of just four active players in the Big 12 with at least 1,000 career digs (third among active Big 12 athletes).


ACE ACE BABY

  1. After recording six aces against TCU, K-State has racked up 127 service aces, ranking first in the Big 12 and tied for 37th nationally with a 1.79 average.
  2. Sydney Bolding added three aces against the Horned Frogs, bringing her season total to 31 and landing third in the conference.
  3. Bolding has eight matches with multiple aces and has equaled her career high of four aces three times this season.
  4. The senior has at least one ace in the last six matches to help her sit fourth in the Big 12 ranks with a 0.46 average.
  5. Elena Baka is second on the team and sixth in the league with 25 aces while Loren Hinkle is ninth at 17 aces.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. It was the first time K-State produced back-to-back matches with at least 10 aces since 2007.
  9. Last season, K-State finished with 10 or more aces just twice.
  10. Additionally, the six matches with 10 or more aces are the most since a rally- scoring-record seven matches in 2007.


BAKA BREAKS THROUGH

  1. Senior transfer Elena Baka has had an immediate impact through 19 matches with the Wildcats.
  2. Playing six rotations, Baka leads the team in total kills with 199, needing one more to eclipse the 200 mark for the season.
  3. She pairs this with 25 aces.
  4. The Saint Mary's transfer set a career-high with 19 kills against UCF on the way to her second straight all-tournament team selection.
  5. Baka has led K-State in kills seven times this season and finished as the team leader in digs twice.
  6. She has a team-leading six double-doubles on the season.
  7. Her 25 aces are fifth-most in the Big 12, as she has served up multiple aces eight times - including in each of K-State's first five contests.


BOLD BOLDING

  1. Senior middle blocker Sydney Bolding is off to a fast start for K-State in 2022, averaging 1.90 kills per set with 1.33 blocks per set and 31 aces.
  2. The senior's hitting .309 hitting percentage tops the Wildcats for the season.
  3. Bolding three times has produced four aces this season, including in K-State's conference match against Iowa State and four coming in the first set alone against St. Thomas.
  4. The four aces matched a career-high, as she has seven matches with multiple aces this season (two such matches last season).
  5. Her 31 aces match the most by a Wildcat middle blocker since Zsofia Gyimes' 31 in 2018.
  6. The record for a K-State middle blocker in the rally-scoring era is 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, who missed the first three weeks of the 2021 season due to injury, turned in a season-high eight blocks against Kansas City.
  9. She repeated the feat on Saturday versus TCU, tallying eight block assists.
  10. The Pickens, South Carolina, product has eclipsed double-figure kills six times this season and has hit .350 or better eight times, including a career-best .588 at Rice.


INSIDE THE NUMBERS

  1. K-State has won the opening set in 15 of 19 outings to begin the campaign, going 10-5 in those matches.
  2. The Wildcats are unbeaten (9-0) when hitting at a higher hitting percentage and are 9-1 when producing more kills than their opponents.
  3. Additionally, the Cats are 8-2 when they have limited their opponents to a hitting efficiency under .200.
  4. The Wildcats' 3-0 over Kansas City marked the 200th sweep under head coach Suzie Fritz.
  5. Fritz collected her 200th career home win against Missouri on Sept. 7 and is 13 away from her 400th career win at the helm of the Wildcats.

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