Cats heads to Lawrence for Sunflower Showdown

 The K-State volleyball team embarks on its closest road match of the season today as members travel to Lawrence to face their rival, Kansas.

The Wildcats (10-4, 4-10 Big 12 Conference) started a winning spree this past week with a pair of victories, one against then-No. 23 Texas A&M. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Kathleen Ludwig said her team was enlivened after Sunday's match.

"It's always good to win after a win," Ludwig said. "That's really exciting. We're trying to take some positives from both of those and trying to keep going for the Jayhawks down there."

Kansas (13-11, 5-9) suffered a loss against Oklahoma last Saturday in three sets, despite defeating them in Lawrence in the second match of conference play.

In the previous 28 contests of the Sunflower Showdown leading up to this season, K-State lost only twice, but the first matchup of 2009 between the two teams favored Kansas as they swept K-State in Manhattan.

The players to watch on K-State's side include senior setter Soriana Pacheco, who has posted record-tying numbers in assists and kills recently, and freshman defensive specialist Caitlyn Donahue with her recent, and possibly temporary, move up to the front row, a position she held in the beginning of the season. She has helped the Wildcats come back from large deficits in the last two matches, which resulted in wins.

Also in the limelight is Ludwig, who nearly found a career-high in kills in the last match, and junior libero Lauren Mathewson. Mathewson has continually set new records in five of the six last matches, including personal and school records, and nearly set one for the Big 12 Conference. On Monday, she was named Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Week for her performances against Texas A&M and Texas Tech.

For the Jayhawks, sophomore outside hitter Allison Mayfield leads her team in kills per set. She has recorded strong numbers in the last two matches and was the only player with noteworthy performances last week. In the match against K-State earlier this season, she swung for the most kills to hitting percentage. Also one to watch is senior libero Melissa Grieb, who has shown considerable strength in recent matches.

The final contest in the 2009 Sunflower Showdown will take place in the Horejsi Family Athletics Center in Lawrence at 6:30 p.m. After Sunday's match, Ludwig said K-State was excited to be finding some wins, and the Wildcats were hoping to continue their success against Kansas.

"It's a little sweeter when cats eat birds," she said.