Oct. 16, 2001

THIS WEEK IN WILDCAT VOLLEYBALL

Match 16

[RV] Kansas State (10-5 / 6-3 Big 12) at Oklahoma (2-15 / 1-6 Big 12)

Friday, October 19 * 7 p.m. CST * Howard McCasland Field House (5,000) * Norman, Okla.

TV: None * Internet Radio: None * Live Scoring: None

K-State Coach: Suzie Fritz (Florida Atlantic, '94) * School: 10-5/1 yr. * vs. OU: 1-0 (5-3 as assistant)

OU Coach: Kalani Mahi (Graceland, '87) * School: 9-36/2 yrs. * Career: 47-89/5 yrs * vs. K-State: 0-3

Series: OU leads 40-14-1 * In Big 12 play: K-State leads 8-3 * Win Streak: K-State has won 5

First Meeting in 2001: K-State earned a 30-13, 30-16, 30-23 victory at home on Sept. 19.

K-State vs. Oklahoma in Norman: 5-17 (K-State has won 2 in a row)

Match 17

[RV] Kansas State at #17 Texas A&M (12-3 / 5-2 Big 12)

Monday, October 22 * 7 p.m. CST * G. Rollie White Coliseum (7,800) * College Station, Texas

TV: None * Internet Radio: www.AggieAthletics.com * Live Scoring: www.AggieAthletics.com

K-State Coach: Suzie Fritz (Florida Atlantic, '94) * School: 10-5/1 yr. * vs. A&M: 0-0 (4-4 as assistant)

A&M Coach: Laurie Corbelli (USF, '88) * School: 201-72/9 yrs. * Career: 301-178/16 yrs. * vs. K-State: 5-5

Series: Texas A&M leads 6-5 * In Big 12 play: Series tied 5-5 * Win Streak: A&M has won 1

In 2000: Teams split, (K-State won 3-2, 10/14 in Manhattan) and (A&M won 3-0, 11/22 in College Station)

K-State vs. Texas A&M in College Station: 0-5 (A&M has won 5 in a row)

RIDING A TWO-MATCH WINNING STREAK, K-STATE TRAVELS TO OKLAHOMA, A&M

After posting back-to-back wins at Iowa State and at home against Baylor, Kansas State (10-5, 6-3 Big 12) takes a much-deserved break at the mid-point of the Big 12 season with an open-date on Wednesday. The Wildcats have not had more than five days off since Sept. 7 and have played 5 matches in the span of the last 13 days. K-State returns to action on Friday, as the team travels to Norman, Okla., to face Oklahoma (2-15, 1-6 Big 12) at Howard McCasland Field House beginning at 7 p.m. The Wildcats will be looking to sweep the season series from the Sooners for the third straight year after taking a 30-13, 30-16, 30-23 win on Sept. 19. Oklahoma owns the all-time series lead, 40-14-1, including a 17-5 mark in matches played at home. Kansas State then faces a daunting task just two days later with a visit to College Station, Texas to take on 17th-ranked Texas A&M (12-3, 5-2 Big 12) at the G. Rollie White Coliseum beginning at 7 p.m. In one of the most competitive rivalries in the Big 12, the Aggies own a slight 6-5 advantage in the all-time series, however, neither team has been unable to win on the road in the series. Oklahoma has lost six straight matches since upsetting Kansas on Sept. 22 at home. The Sooners, who have also lost 13 of their last 14 matches, travel to face winless Iowa State on Wednesday. Texas A&M snapped Nebraska's run of 12 straight matches without dropping a game on Sunday, but still fell in four games at home to the second-ranked Huskers. The Aggies' three losses this season have been to nationally-ranked foes Colorado, Stanford and Nebraska.

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 7 have tallied double-digit total blocks this season... As a whole, the team is averaging 15.47 kills per game on .219 hitting with 13.48 assists per game and 17.69 digs per game. The team also averages 1.64 aces per game and 2.49 blocks per game. This balanced offense is led by one of the nation's best outside hitters, Liz Wegner, who ranks 2nd in the Big 12 with a 4.69 kills per game average on .216 hitting. She also ranks 3rd in the Big 12 in league-only kills/game with a 4.43 per game average... After becoming K-State's all-time kills leader on Sept. 26 against Missouri, she became the fifth player in school history to tally 1,000 digs in a career against Iowa State... In doing so, she became the fifth player to tally 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career... She was a preseason All-Big 12 selection and a 2000 first team honoree... 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... Pollard and Mimick rank 6th and 8th, respectively, in the Big 12 in digs/game in league-only matches with 3.60 and 3.45 averages... Pollard adds 2.73 kills/game and a team-best 3.50 digs/game overall and 9 double-doubles, while Mimick posts 2.64 kills/game and 6 double-doubles... Sophomore Cari Jensen tallied a season-high 13 kills 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, 1.09 to 1.04... Christen adds 1.91 kills/game on a team-best .361 hitting... Goehring does a little of everything, averaging 1.95 kills/game and 2.28 digs/game... She leads the team and ranks fifth in the Big 12 with a 0.47 aces/game average. True freshman Gabby Guerre has performed well since being thrust into the starting lineup last week... She has 5 double-doubles in 7 starts, including a near triple-doubles against Iowa State and Baylor... Freshman DS Jami Sleichter tallied a season-best with 15 digs against Iowa State.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA

With a 3-0 loss to Texas Tech on Saturday, Oklahoma (2-15, 1-6 Big 12) dropped its 13th match in the last 14 outings, including its 6th in a row... The Sooners travel to Iowa State on Wednesday to play the Cyclones who are winless in Big 12 play... OU snapped a 7-match winning streak on Sept. 22 with a 3-1 upset of Kansas at home, but has since dropped 6 straight, including 4 in a row by a 3-0 score to the likes of Texas, Nebraska, Baylor and Texas Tech... The Sooners opened the season with a five-game loss to North Texas before gaining their first win over TAMU-CC, but has non-conference losses to Sam Houston State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Wake Forest, Wyoming, Texas-Arlington and Idaho State... The team is led by sophomore OH Logan Pierce, who paces the team in kills/game (2.84) and is second in digs/game (2.19)... Freshman OH Candice Woods adds 2.07 kills/game on a team-best .215 hitting to go along with a team-leading 0.81 blocks/game... Junior S Jessica Barney leads the team in assists (9.26) and service aces (0.47)... Barney was coached as a freshman by current K-State associate head coach Jason Watson at Arkansas State, where she earned Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year honors in 1999... OU struggled to an 7-21 record in 2000, including a 2-18 mark in the Big 12 play.

SCOUTING TEXAS A&M

One of the Big 12's best teams, Texas A&M (12-3, 5-2 Big 12) has continued to live up to its always-lofty expectations with its current 17th-ranking in the most recent release of the AVCA Top 25... The Aggies snapped Nebraska's run of 12 straight matches without dropping a game on Sunday, but still fell in four games at home to the second-ranked Huskers... A&M's 3 losses this season have been to teams currently ranked in the Top 25, including Colorado (3-2), Stanford (3-1) and Nebraska (3-1)... The Aggies started the season with 6 straight wins before falling to Stanford on Sept. 8... Dominated by 4 senior starters, A&M is a very balanced team with 6 players who average two or more kills/game... Senior OH Erin (Gibson) Lechler paces the team with 3.78 kills average to go with a 3.50 digs average... Lechler and K-State's Gabby Guerre both went to Mayde Creek High School in Houston... One of the best setters in the nation, senior Jenna Moscovic averages 1.87 kills/game on .347 hitting with 13.02 assists/game and 2.70 digs/game.

WEISER PULLS 'INTERIM' TAG OFF FRITZ, WATSON NAMED ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH

After leading Kansas State to an impressive 10-5 record despite playing one of the nation's toughest schedules, head coach Suzie Fritz was upgraded from interim status on Oct. 11 by Athletics Director Tim Weiser... In addition, second-year assistant coach Jason Watson was elevated to associate head coach for volleyball. "Suzie has done a wonderful job in preparing our student-athletes for competition and has demonstrated her ability to handle all facets of the position," said Weiser. "We think she is the right person to lead the Wildcat volleyball program and now and into the future." Fritz took over as interim head coach just before the season when Jim McLaughlin left in August to take the head-coaching job at the University of Washington. The top assistant to McLaughlin for four years, Fritz directed preseason practice and has led the Wildcats to a position near the top of the Big 12 over the first six weeks of the season. A former All-American setter at BYU, Watson is in his second year on the Wildcat bench after spending two years as an assistant at Arkansas State.

GOEHRING: AN ALL-AROUND TALENT

Just a sophomore, middle blocker Lauren Goehring has emerged into one of the top all-around players in the Big 12 Conference... She seems to do it all for the Wildcats, excelling as an effective blocker, passer, server and of course, offensive threat... She averages 1.95 kills/game on .201 hitting to along with her 2.28 digs/game average, while she leads the team in aces/game (0.47) and blocks/game (1.09)... She ranks in the Top 10 in the Big 12 in aces (t5th) and blocks (9th), while she is 1st in the conference in league-only aces/game (0.60)... In wins over Iowa State and Baylor last week, she turned in one of the most impressive all-around efforts, averaging 2.11 kills/game on .366 hitting with 2.78 digs/game, 1.22 blocks/game and 1.00 aces/game... Against the Cyclones, she had 9 kills and a career-tying 14 digs to go with a career-best 7 service aces... The ace total was the most against a conference opponent in a four-game match in Big 12 history and one shy of the overall conference record held by Texas' Katia Lara... In the victory over the Bears, she barely missed the team's first triple-double since 1998, as she tallied 10 kills on a blistering .429 hitting with 11 digs and a career-tying 9 blocks.

WEGNER CONTINUES TO SET RECORDS

Senior OH Liz Wegner became the fifth player in Kansas State history to tally 1,000 digs in a career with her 12-dig performance against Iowa State on Oct. 10... With the accomplishment, Wegner also became the fifth player to accumulate at least 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career... With the mark, she joins 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... She also is nearing her 20th school record, as she needs just 231 total attacks to break the career total attacks record of Kim Zschau (4,632).

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 59 shy of the milestone with 941 career digs... One of the team's toughest competitiors, Mimick has totaled double-digit digs in 12 of the Wildcats' 15 matches this season... She has 44 matches of 10 or more kills in her career... Since a 3-1 loss at Texas Tech on Sept. 22, Mimick is averaging 3.59 digs/game for the Wildcats, including a team-high 23 in a 3-1 win over No. 23 Texas... She has also become an offensive threat for the team... She had season-best 19 kills on .357 hitting in the win over Iowa State then added 14 in the defeat of Baylor... She has 6 double-doubles this year.

CHRISTEN HAS BEEN A FORCE IN MIDDLE

Senior MB Jayne Christen has turned it up abit in the last 6 matches for the Wildcats, averaging nearly a kill more per game (2.22) than her career average (1.41) coming into the season... She is also hitting a team-best .387 in that span... In the last 4 matches, she has improved on those numbers, tallying 2.20 kills/game on an amazing .408 clip... She had a season-best 10 kills in back-to-back wins over Arkansas and Houston on Sept 7-8, but has averaged 8.50 kills/match in the last 6 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 4 to 6 weeks after a stress-fracture, true freshman Gabby Guerre has been nothing short of sensational... In her last 7 starts, she has tallied 5 double-doubles against the likes of Missouri, No. 23 Texas, Kansas and Baylor and is averaging 11.21 assists/game, 3.03 digs/game and 0.97 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... Last week, she continued her impressive play... In the win over Iowa State on Wednesday, she posted 50 assists and a career-high 22 digs to go along with 6 kills, while she added 51 assists, a team-high 15 digs and 6 kills in the five-game win over Baylor on Saturday.

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 8-1... During the last three and half years, the Wildcats have posted a 38-8 overall record and have won 23 of their last 25 matches with both losses in that span coming to Nebraska... The team is 70-18 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 1,530 average.

'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 2 blocks shy of the school 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 just the 2nd time this season that K-State has won a match and been outperformed 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 7 kills on .600 hitting with a team-high 6 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 teams to earn a ranking in the preseason poll.

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 8 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.