Kansas State Volleyball Drops Straight-Set Match to Kansas Despite Double Efforts

Kansas State walked into Saturday afternoon’s Dillons Sunflower Showdown ready to fight. Despite delivering two strong double-double performances, the Wildcats couldn’t slow down No. 13 Kansas. Inside Morgan Family Arena, the rivalry match lived up to its intensity. However, the Jayhawks ultimately completed a straight-set sweep, taking the win 25-22, 25-20, 26-24 to split the season series.

Kansas State's Rivalry Match With Kansas

K-State leaned on steady production from senior setter Ava LeGrand and outside hitter Aniya Clinton. Each put up double-doubles to push the Wildcats forward. LeGrand finished with 34 assists and 12 digs, marking her team-leading 13th double-double of the season.

Final pic.twitter.com/ke06oMD9wS
— K-State Volleyball (@KStateVB) November 15, 2025

Clinton added her seventh of the year with 11 kills and 11 digs. Even with those standout numbers, K-State struggled to find offensive consistency, hitting .150 with 40 kills. Meanwhile, Kansas countered with a .250 percentage and 45 kills. The Jayhawks also controlled the net with an 8.0-4.0 advantage in total blocks, though the Wildcats edged KU in digs, 50-48.

Shaylee Myers delivered a strong performance for K-State with a match-best 15 kills while hitting .286. Jordyn Williams contributed seven kills, and Symone Sims anchored the back row with 12 digs and an ace. Brenna Schmidt added four blocks, tying for a match high.

The opening set saw both teams trading runs until Kansas surged ahead with a 9-3 burst that made it 15-10. K-State stayed tough, fighting off a set point at 24-18 by scoring four straight, including kills from Myers and an ace from Sims. The rally fell just short when a service error ended the comeback. KU’s .308 hitting and 16 kills set the tone, while K-State hit .175 with seven attack errors.

Clinton kept the Wildcats afloat with five kills at a .500 clip, and Schmidt added three block assists, but the Jayhawks’ steadiness sealed a two-set lead.

The third set delivered the kind of back-and-forth drama expected between rivals. Back-to-back kills from Williams sparked a five-point run that pushed K-State ahead 13-9. KU responded by chipping away until a 4-0 run brought the Jayhawks within one. The set tightened again at 24-24, but an attack error gave KU set point before a service ace from Ryan White closed out the sweep.

Inside the Match and What It Means for K-State

The Wildcats finished with two players in double-digit kills, Myers with 15 and Clinton with 11, while LeGrand and Clinton notched the team’s double-doubles. Sims added 12 digs, Schmidt led at the net with four blocks, and KU’s Swanson and Zelenovic each tallied 10 kills to support the Jayhawks’ sweep. Kansas held a 5-2 edge in aces, and the match featured 16 ties and seven lead changes, four of them in the tight final set.

K-State now sits at 68-63-1 all-time against Kansas, including a 30-24 record in matches played in Manhattan. With three regular-season matches remaining, the Wildcats are eighth in the Big 12.

Under coach Mansfield, K-State now holds a 10-17 record against Top 25 teams, including a 3-5 mark this season. Seven of the last nine matches have been against ranked opponents, and the Wildcats have gone 5-4 in that stretch.

K-State now turns its attention to the Lone Star State with a Wednesday trip to face Houston at Fertitta Center. First serve is set for 7 p.m. The Wildcats will then return home for their final regular-season match against UCF on November 26, with single-match tickets available through SI Tickets.

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