Kansas State Volleyball Earns First-Round NCAA Win Over San Diego

Kansas State volleyball walked into the NCAA Tournament ready to make noise. And by the end of their opening match, they did much more than that. In their first postseason appearance since 2021, the Wildcats delivered one of the biggest surprises of the tournament’s opening day.

Kansas State Volleyball Match Filled With Momentum Swings

Inside the Bob Devaney Sports Complex in Lincoln, Nebraska, they toppled No. 8 seed San Diego in a dramatic five-set battle. The Wildcats walked away with a 3-2 victory, taking the match 21-25, 25-17, 26-28, 25-22, and 15-12. Instantly validating head coach Jason Mansfield’s belief that his team deserved to be among the 64 competing programs.

CATS WIN!!!#EMAW👌 pic.twitter.com/03AssN0LfP
— K-State Volleyball (@KStateVB) December 6, 2025

From the start, the match felt like a tug-of-war. Kansas State dropped the first set 25-21 after briefly gaining energy from a clutch slide kill and solo block by Brenna Schmidt. San Diego regained control, and Isabel Clark’s swing officially closed out the opening frame for the Toreros.

K-State refused to let that early stumble shake them. Instead, they answered with a commanding 25-17 second-set win that changed the tone of the night. A key 4-0 run sparked the shift, and setter Ava LeGrand punctuated the comeback with a crucial service ace that left San Diego without answers.

The third set became the most intense stretch of the match, filled with ties at 17-17, 24-24, and 25-25. Shaylee Myers struck with a huge back-row kill to give K-State a temporary 25-24 lead. But the undefeated WCC champions edged out the Wildcats 28-26. That narrow loss placed K-State in a 2-1 hole and pushed them to the edge of elimination.

Wildcats Fight Back and Take Over Late

The fourth set tested every ounce of Kansas State’s toughness. San Diego opened with a 6-0 burst, but the Wildcats stayed composed. Key kills from LeGrand and a powerful block from Myers and Jordyn Williams helped flip the momentum. K-State took the set 25-22 and forced the decisive fifth frame.

Once the final set began, the Wildcats struck fast. Caleigh Ponn stunned San Diego with back-to-back aces that fueled a rapid 5-0 start. The Toreros clawed back and tied the match at 10, turning the arena electric.

That’s when LeGrand delivered one of the biggest plays of the night, sneaking an ace into the back-right corner for a 12-10 advantage. Kansas State closed out the set 15-12, sealing one of the program’s most dramatic wins in recent postseason history.

Myers led the Wildcats with 26 kills, and on her third kill of the match. She became the 20th player in Kansas State program history to reach 1,000 career kills. Aniya Clinton added a strong double-double with 19 kills and 13 digs. Meanwhile, LeGrand delivered 49 assists and 14 digs for her sixth straight double-double. Symone Sims anchored the back row with a team-high 17 digs.

Kansas State’s determination showed in every phase as they outlasted a 25-4 San Diego squad that entered the tournament undefeated in conference play.

Now, after pulling off one of the tournament’s biggest upsets, the Wildcats face their toughest challenge yet. They move on to take on top-seeded Nebraska on Saturday at 7 p.m., with the Cornhuskers coming off a sweep of Long Island University.

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