Nov. 4, 2002

Colorado Springs, Colo. - On the strength of a nine-match winning streak, the Kansas State women's volleyball team returned to the AVCA/USA Today Top 25 poll on Monday for the first time since Sept. 9 at No. 25. The Wildcats, who have been receiving votes for the last two weeks, received four more votes (134-130) to wrestle the No. 25 spot from last week's No. 25 Michigan State.

Hawai'i is the nation's new top-ranked team, as the Rainbow Wahine (21-0) were elevated to No. 1 after USC dropped its first match of the season to No. 6 Stanford over the weekend. The Women of Troy (19-1) were second followed by Florida (22-1), Stanford (21-3) and Nebraska (21-1). The Wildcats have played three teams ranked in the current Top 25, including the No. 5 Cornhuskers, No. 20 Missouri and No. 24 Georgia Tech, while they have played four teams that are receiving votes (Michigan State, Texas, South Florida and Kansas).

Kansas State was ranked in the first three polls of 2002, including receiving its fourth consecutive preseason ranking in the poll at No. 22 on August 12. The Wildcats dropped three spots to No. 25 on Sept. 2 before improving to No. 24 on Sept. 9. However, after receiving votes on Sept. 16, the team did not even receive votes for four consecutive polls from Sept. 23 to Oct. 14. K-State was ranked in 10 of the 15 polls in 2001, including finishing the season earning its fourth consecutive final ranking in the poll.

Kansas State will put both its nine-match overall and 10-match conference road winning streaks on the line on Wednesday, as the Wildcats travel to Columbia, Mo. to face No. 20 Missouri (20-4, 9-3 Big 12) at the Hearnes Center beginning at 7 p.m. The Tigers are a perfect 9-0 at home this season. K-State posted a thrilling 31-29, 30-27, 39-37 win over then-No. 19 Missouri on Oct. 23 in Manhattan. The Wildcats shattered school marks for most points scored in a three-game match (100) and most points in one game (39) in recording their second-closest win (by seven total points) in school history.