No. 8 BYU women’s volleyball heads to face Kansas State
No. 8 BYU women’s volleyball heads to face Kansas State
After a four-match home stretch, the No. 8 Cougars head to Manhattan, Kansas for the fifth time in school history to face the Wildcats for two matches on Oct. 26 and Oct. 27. Fans can watch this on the Big 12 Now Network on ESPN+.
The Cougars are currently undefeated in October with a five-match win streak. They moved up a spot in the AVCA poll from No. 9 to No. 8 after sweeping Iowa State twice this past weekend.
The Wildcats are currently 5-5 in conference play after splitting the series in Norman, Oklahoma against the Sooners. They currently sit at No. 7 in the Big 12 while BYU is ranked No. 2.
According to this seasons numbers, the Cougars are above Kansas State in every category except for errors, service errors, digs, digs/set and solo blocks.
BYU’s Head Coach Heather Olmstead has yet to face Kansas State in her tenure as head coach, but the Cougars lead the all-time series between the teams, 3-1.
“[This upcoming match] is an opportunity to challenge ourselves versus a team we don’t know much about that is playing well,” said Olmstead.
With his first year as head coach, Kansas State’s new coach Jason Mansfield has appeared in 18 NCAA tournaments as an Assistant Coach at Stanford, Illinois, and Washington. He is prepared to build his team to compete in that level.
After facing Kansas State, the Cougars will return home to face the Cincinnati Bobcats for a two-game series.
Players to Watch:
BYU
- Erin Livingston: Outside hitter, Senior
- She leads BYU with 277 kills and hitting .258 on the year. Against Iowa State, Livingston had 27 kills on .500 clip.
- Elyse Stowell: Outside Hitter, Junior
- After playing three out of the last four matches, Stowell had 14 kills with a .523 hitting percentage. Against Iowa State, she had 11 kills and hit .529 in the second match versus the Cyclones.
KSU
Mackenzie Morris: Libero, Senior
- – She currently leads the league with 319 total digs while her digs per set (4.56) Is second in the Big 12
Sydney Bolding: Middle-Back, Senior
- – She is second in the Big 12 and 15th in the nation in blocks per set (1.41)