Oct. 9, 2001

THIS WEEK IN WILDCAT VOLLEYBALL

Match 14

[RV] Kansas State (8-5 / 4-3 Big 12) at Iowa State (3-9 / 0-7 Big 12)

Wednesday, October 10 * 7 p.m. CST * Hilton Coliseum (14,092) * Ames, Iowa

TV: none * Radio: none * Webcast: www.cyclones.com

K-State Coach: Suzie Fritz (Florida Atlantic, '94) * School: 8-5/1 yr. * Career: same * vs. ISU: 8-0 (as assistant)

ISU Coach: Linda Crum (Iowa, '87) * School: 8-59/3 yrs. * Career: 115-148/9 yrs. * vs. K-State: 0-4

Series: Iowa State leads 33-25 * In Big 12 play: K-State leads 10-0 * Win Streak: K-State has won 10

In 2000: K-State won both meetings (3-0, 9/13 in Ames) and (3-0, 10/21 in Manhattan)

K-State vs. Iowa State in Ames: 8-14 (K-State has won 5 in a row)

Match 15 [RV] Kansas State vs. Baylor (10-4 / 2-4 Big 12)

Saturday, October 13 * 7 p.m. CST * Ahearn Field House (5,000) * Manhattan, Kan.

TV: none * Radio: KMAN 1350 AM (Brian Smoller/Lori Martini call the action) * Webcast: k-statesports.com

K-State Coach: Suzie Fritz (Florida Atlantic, '94) * School: 8-5/1 yr. * Career: same * vs. BU: 5-3 (as assistant)

BU Coach: Brian Hosfeld (Long Beach State, '91) * School: 101-81/6 yrs. * Career: same * vs. K-State: 3-7

Series: K-State leads 7-4 * In Big 12 play: K-State leads 7-3 * Win Streak: Baylor has won 1

In 2000: Teams split, (K-State won 3-0, 9/16 in Manhattan) and (Baylor won 3-2, 10/25 in Waco)

K-State vs. Baylor in Manhattan: 4-2 (K-State has won 1 in a row)

K-STATE LOOKS TO REBOUND FROM LOSS WITH MATCHES VS. IOWA STATE, BAYLOR

After a 1-2 week that saw the Wildcats lose hard-fought battles with No. 2 Nebraska and Colorado, Kansas State (8-5, 4-2 Big 12) looks to get back on the winning track on Wednesday with a trip to Ames, Iowa to face Iowa State (3-9, 0-7 Big 12) at Hilton Coliseum beginning at 7 p.m. The Wildcats will be looking for their first road win of the season after dropping matches at No. 5 Hawai'i, Texas Tech and Colorado earlier this season. Kansas State concludes the week with a visit from Baylor (10-4, 2-4 Big 12) on Saturday at Ahearn Field House at 7 p.m. After playing 5 matches in the last 13 days, the Wildcats get some much-deserved time off next week, with 6 days off before starting the second-half of the Big 12 season at Oklahoma on Oct. 19. A series that was once dominated by Iowa State with 14 straight wins from 1989-95, Kansas State has turned the tables in recent years with 10 consecutive victories in three games since 1996... The Cyclones haven't won a game against the Wildcats since a five-game victory in Ames on Oct. 25, 1995. Although ISU has surpassed its win total of 2000 (2-27) with 3 wins so far this season, the Cyclones have dropped 8 in a row including losses this past week to Texas Tech, Baylor and Missouri... Baylor enters Saturday's match on a two-match road winning streak, including a 3-1 upset of Missouri on Oct. 6... The Bears started the year with 8 straight wins before dropping 4 in a row... After losses to Nebraska and Colorado, Kansas State fell back out of the AVCA Top 25 on Monday... All 5 of the Wildcats' losses this year have been to teams that went to the 2000 NCAA Tournament.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE WILDCATS

The veteran team relies on an all-around attack that features three seniors (Christen, Mimick and Wegner), a junior (Pollard), sophomore (Goehring) and freshman (Guerre) in the starting lineup... The Wildcats have 6 players averaging over 1.75 kills per game and 7 with two or more digs per game, while 6 have tallied double-digit total blocks this season... As a whole, the team is averaging 15.51 kills per game on .219 hitting with 13.65 assists per game and 17.20 digs per game. The team also averages 1.57 aces per game and 2.46 blocks per game. This balanced offense is led by one of the nation's best outside hitters, Liz Wegner, who ranks 1st in the Big 12 with a 5.12 kills per game average on .243 hitting. She also paces the conference in league-only kills/game with a 5.15 per game average... After becoming K-State's all-time kills leader on Sept. 26 against Missouri with a season-tying 26 kills, she needs just four digs to tally 1,000 for her career... When it happens, she will become the fifth player to tally 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career... A preseason All-Big 12 selection and a 2000 first team honoree, she also ranks first in total attacks (638) and service aces (18) and is third in digs with a 2.92 average. Another pair of threats on the outside, both senior Lisa Mimick and junior Jenny Pollard have continued to evolve into solid compliments to the hard-hitting Wegner... Mimick and Pollard rank 9th and 10th, respectively, in the Big 12 in digs/game with 3.33 and 3.31 averages... Pollard adds 2.73 kills/game and seven double-doubles, while Mimick posts 2.45 kills/game and four double-doubles... Sophomore Cari Jensen tallied a season-high 13 kills on .323 hitting against Colorado on Saturday... Anchoring the middle for the Wildcats is senior Jayne Christen and sophomore Lauren Goehring.... Both average nearly a block/game, with Goehring edging Christen for the team lead, 1.06 to 0.98... Christen adds 1.89 kills/game on a team-best .352 hitting... Goehring does a little of everything, averaging 1.92 kills/game and 2.19 digs/game... She is tied with Wegner for the lead in aces with 18. True freshman Gabby Guerre has performed well since being thrust into the starting lineup last week... She has three double-doubles in five starts, including a near triple-double against Kansas... Freshman DS Jami Sleichter tied a season-best with 12 digs against Colorado.

SCOUTING IOWA STATE

With a 3-0 loss at Missouri on Monday, Iowa State (3-9, 0-6 Big 12) dropped its eight straight match of the season... The Cyclones had started the season with a 3-1 record before the eight-match skid... The team posted wins over Western Illinois, Drake and Wisconsin-Green Bay before a 3-1 to Morehead State started their current skid... ISU has lost 27 straight matches in Big 12 play dating back to 1999... The Cyclones have a 6-81 league record since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996, including a 3-64 mark over the last 5 years... The last win against a Big 12 foe came at home in five games against Kansas on Nov. 24, 1999... Before dropping 10 straight to the Wildcats, the Cyclones earned 14 straight wins from 1989-95... The last victory over the Wildcats came in five games on Oct. 25, 1995 in Ames... The team averages 12.85 kills/game on .129 hitting with 16.29 digs/game and 2.65 blocks/game... Junior OH Mandi Harms paces the Cyclones with a 3.18 kills/game average... Freshman OH Brittany Dalager and sophomore OH Renae Pruess add 2.97 and 2.42 kills/game, respectively... Dalager leads the team with a 3.91 digs/game average, while sophomore MB Steph Suntken leads in blocks with a 1.32 per game average... The offense is run by junior Sara Stribe, who leads the team in assists/game (10.50).

SCOUTING BAYLOR

Baylor (10-4, 2-4 Big 12) has won two straight Big 12 matches after losing four in a row to start league play... The Bears earned a 3-0 win at Iowa State on Friday then shocked the volleyball world with a 3-1 win at Missouri on Saturday... BU held ISU to negative .033 hitting in three-game victory, while senior OH Tatiana Kenon posted 23 kills on .465 hittting to pace the Bears over Missouri... Baylor hosts Oklahoma on Wednesday before traveling to the 'Little Apple' on Saturday... BU started the season with eight straight wins before losing at Texas on Sept. 19... The Bears are led by reigning Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Stevie Nicholas, who ranks 2nd in the league in kills/game (5.00)... She ranks first on the team in digs/game (3.59) and aces/game (0.63)... Kenon leads four other players with over 2.50 kills/game with a 3.20 average... MB Tisha Schwartz leads in blocks/game (1.07)...The offense is run by senior Dana Chuda, who leads the team in assists/game (13.37)... Chuda also adds 1.42 kills/game on .343 hitting with 2.70 digs/game.

WEGNER CONTINUES TO SET RECORDS

Senior OH Liz Wegner needs just four digs against Iowa State on Wednesday to become the fifth player in Kansas State history to tally 1,000 digs in a career... When she accomplishes the feat, Wegner will also become the fifth player to accumulate at least 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career... With the mark, she will join Mary Kinsey (1984-87), Shawnee Call (1985-88) and former teammates Kim Zschau (1995-98) and Dawn Cady (1996-99) as the only members of the double-grand club in school history... On Sept. 26, the senior broke Kansas State's all-time career kills record with her 1,647th kill in an amazing 26-kill performance in a five-game win over Missouri.... She also set the school mark for 20-kill matches with the 27th of her career... An honorable mention All-American and first team All-Big 12 selection as a junior, Wegner already holds 19 school career and single-season records... Last season, she became the fastest K-State player to tally 1,000 career kills and the first to tally 500 or more kills in back-to-back seasons... She also is nearing her 20th school record, as she needs just 314 total attacks to break the career total attacks record of Kim Zschau (4,632)... She also ranks 8th all-time in career aces with 108.

MIMICK CLOSE TO 1,000-DIG MILESTONE

Fellow senior co-captain Lisa Mimick also is closing in on 1,000 career digs at Kansas State... She enters the week just 82 shy of the milestone with 918 career digs... One of the team's toughest competitiors, Mimick has totaled 10 or more digs in 10 of the Wildcats' 13 matches this season... She has 42 matches of 10 or more kills in her career... Since a 3-1 loss at Texas Tech on Sept. 22, Mimick is averaging 4.00 digs/game for the Wildcats, including a team-high 23 in a 3-1 win over No. 23 Texas.

CHRISTEN HAS BEEN A FORCE IN MIDDLE

Senior MB Jayne Christen has turned it up abit in the last 5 matches for the Wildcats, averaging nearly a kill more per game (2.16) than her career average (1.41) coming into the season... She is also hitting at impressive .391 in that span... In the last 3 matches, she has improved on those numbers, tallying 2.40 kills/game on an amazing .420 clip... She had a season-best 10 kills in back-to-back wins over Arkansas and Houston on Sept 7-8, but has averaged 8.20 kill/match in the last 5 against the likes of Missouri, No. 23 Texas, No. 2 Nebraska and Colorado.

GUERRE EXCELS IN SETTER SPOT AFTER INJURY TO STARTER DOWNEY

Since the loss of starting setter Laura Downey on Sept. 26 for at least four to six weeks after a stress-fracture, true freshman Gabby Guerre has been nothing short of sensational... In her last five starts, she has tallied three double-doubles against the likes of Missouri, No. 23 Texas and Kansas and is averaging 11.21 assists/game, 2.62 digs/game and 0.83 kills/game... In just her second start and third appearance this season, Guerre poured in a season-best 57 assists and 14 digs in a thrilling five-game victory over Missouri... She turned in an impressive all-around performance in the win over No. 23 Texas with five kills on .500 hitting to go with 40 assists, 12 digs and four blocks... In the 3-0 win over archrival Kansas, she nearly tallied a triple-double with seven kills on .583 hitting and 40 assists and a season-best 17 digs.

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS FOR 'CATS

Despite the loss to the Huskers on Oct. 1 that ended a six-match home winning streak, Kansas State has still posted one of the better home court advantages in the country at 7-1... During the last three and half years, the Wildcats have posted a 37-8 overall record and have won 22 of their last 24 matches with both losses in that span coming to Nebraska... The team is 69-18 at home since 1995... KSU has ranked among the top 15 in attendance since 1997... The Wildcats currently ranked 13th nationally in home attendance with a 1,559 average.

'CATS DROP TIGHT MATCH AT COLORADO, LOSE FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1997

Colorado finally broke Kansas State's three-year winning streak in the Coors Events Center with a hard-fought 30-20, 27-30, 30-28, 31-29 victory on Saturday... After the two teams split the first 2 games, the match was a back-and-forth battle in games 3 and 4 with each team rallying to tie it at 28-all... CU won game 3 on a back-to-back kills, but overcame K-State's first and only game point, 29-28, for the match win... Playing in front of numerous friends and family, Colorado native Cari Jensen poured in a season-best 13 kills on .323 hitting, while fellow sophomore Lauren Goerhing posted an all-around performance with 12 kills, 7 blocks and 5 digs... Lisa Mimick added a team-high 15 digs, while freshman Jami Sleichter tied a career-high with 12 digs.

'CATS MAKE IT 13 IN A ROW OVER KANSAS

Behind the stellar performances of setter Gabby Guerre and senior Liz Wegner, Kansas State ran its winning streak over archrival Kansas to 13 matches with a 30-27, 30-21, 30-27 victory on Oct. 3... The Wildcats have now won 8 straight matches over the Jayhawks at Ahearn Field House dating back to 1994... Wegner posted 19 kills on a season-best .472 hitting, while Guerre turned in a near triple-double with 7 kills on .583 hitting, 40 assists and a career-high 17 digs.

'CATS CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR VS. HUSKERS

Despite holding a number of leads in games 1 and 2, Kansas State couldn't overcome No. 2 Nebraska at home, as the Huskers earned a 30-28, 30-27, 30-20 win on Oct. 1... K-State held leads of 18-12 and 24-20 in game 1 and 21-18 and 26-23 in game 2, but was overwhelmed in game 3... Senior Liz Wegner tallied a double-double to lead the Wildcats with 18 kills and 11 digs, while Jenny Pollard added seven kills and 11 digs in the loss.

'CATS NEARLY SET BLOCKS RECORD IN 5TH STRAIGHT WIN OVER TEXAS

On the strength of a season-high 21.5 team blocks, Kansas State earned an impressive 30-28, 25-30, 30-26, 34-32 victory over 23rd-ranked Texas on Sept. 29 before 2,039 fans at Ahearn Field House. The block total was the fourth-highest in school history and was a mere two blocks shy of the schoo record of 23.5 set in a five-game win at Wichita State on Oct. 24, 1986.

WEGNER BREAKS TWO SCHOOL RECORDS AS K-STATE EDGES MISSOURI, 3-2

Senior Liz Wegner became Kansas State's all-time kills leader with a season-tying 26 on Sept. 26, as the Wildcats won a heartstopping five-game battle with Missouri, 30-22, 19-30, 30-25, 23-30, 15-13, before 1,026 fans at Ahearn Field House. It marked the first time this season that K-State has won a match and been outscored in kills and hitting percentage. Like she has all season, Wegner led the way for Kansas State, as she tallied her sixth double-double of the season with a team-high 26 kills and 16 digs in the victory. In just her second start, Guerre earned her first double-double with 57 assists and 14 digs. In the first significant action, Lisa Martin added seven kills on .600 hitting with a team-high six blocks.

'CATS REPEAT AS WILDCAT CLASSIC CHAMPS, WEGNER NAMED MVP

After dropping tough, hard-fought matches to Top 10 powers Hawai'i and UCLA, Kansas State rebounded to take all three matches at its own Wildcat Classic en route to its second straight tournament title... The Wildcats earned wins over Arkansas and Houston by 3-1 scores followed by a 3-0 win over 26th-ranked Washington State in the final... With the three-match sweep over the weekend, the Wildcat have won 31 consecutive non-conference matches at home dating back to 1994... Senior Liz Wegner was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player for the second straight year after averaging 5.82 kills/game on .276 hitting with 0.64 aces/game, 2.73 digs/game and 0.73 blocks/game... Junior OH Jenny Pollard and sophomore MB Lauren Goehring were also named to the all-tournament team.

'CATS PERFORM WELL IN HAWAII, FRITZ GETS FIRST-EVER COACHING WIN

After coming so close in losses to No. 5 Hawai'i and No. 7 UCLA, Kansas State earned its first victory of the season with a three-game sweep of Michigan, a 2000 NCAA Tournament participant, a the 14th annual Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic... The victory was also the first for first-year head coach Suzie Fritz... All-Tournament selection Liz Wegner led the team for the third straight match with 16 kills and 10 digs... On the first day, the Wildcats couldn't hold a 2-0 games lead in a five-game loss to host Hawai'i, while after tying the match at one-game apiece on day two, UCLA came back to win, 3-1.

'CATS RANK #19 IN PRESEASON POLL

For the third consecutive year, Kansas State earned a ranking in the preseason AVCA/USA Today Top 25, as the Wildcats checked in at No. 19 in the annual poll released Aug. 14... K-State earned its highest-ever preseason ranking in 2000 with a No. 17 ranking, while the program received its first-ever preseason nod in 1999 with a No. 23 ranking...The team received 354 total points from the 65-member coaching panel to become one of three Big 12 team to earn a ranking in the preseason poll, following top-ranked Nebraska and 18th-ranked Texas A&M.

COACHES PICK 'CATS 4TH IN BIG 12, WEGNER NAMED ALL-BIG 12

Despite returning four starters and seven letterwinners from a team that finished a program-best second in the Big 12 in 2000, Kansas State was picked by the league coaches to finish in a fourth-place tie with Missouri in its preseason voting... The Wildcats followed top-ranked Nebraska, Texas A&M and Colorado in the voting... For the second consecutive year, Liz Wegner was selected to the preseason all-conference team.

TOUGH SCHEDULE AWAITS 'CATS

Ten NCAA Tournament team, including defending national champion Nebraska and Final Four participant Hawai'i, highlight arguably the toughest schedule in school history... In addition to matches with the Cornhuskers and Wahine, the 26-match schedule features battles with 2000 NCAA Tournament participants Colorado, Houston, Michigan, Missouri, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA and Washington State... In all, the schedule features 15 matches with 2000 NCAA Tournament teams and eight contests with teams that were either ranked or received votes in the final USA Today/AVCA Top 25, including three in the Top 10.

28 YEARS OF WILDCAT VOLLEYBALL

The 2001 campaign marks the 28th season of intercollegiate competition for the Wildcats... K-State owns an all-time mark of 500-447-11 (.528) in 958 matches... Last season, in one of the program's biggest victories of all-time, Kansas State earned its 500th victory, as the Wildcats shocked host and 15th-ranked Pepperdine, 3-1, in the NCAA Tournament to earn its first trip to Sweet 16.