Looking to continue their recent success against Texas teams, including an upset of then-No. 23 Texas A&M, the K-State volleyball team will face No. 2 Texas in Austin, Texas at 6:30 p.m.

The Longhorns (20-1, 15-1 Big 12 Conference) have found favorable outcomes in each of the last 14 meetings against K-State, save one five-game match. This season, they have only lost to one opponent, Iowa State, and have defeated 10 ranked teams, with most conference victories claimed in three-game sweeps.

K-State (10-16, 4-12), however, is determined to finish the season on a high note, said sophomore defensive specialist Abby Fay.

"We're at the point where we know we're going to be done in four games," Fay said. "So we might as well go out there and give it our all and play our hearts out and maybe knock a few people off while we're at it."

The matchup from early October saw four Wildcats with hitting percentages over .350, including a career-high performance of .667 from freshman middle blocker Alex Muff. As a team, K-State swung for .300, the highest percentage allowed by Texas.

When asked if her team could find similar numbers this time, head coach Suzie Fritz expressed confidence in the players.

"I have to assume so," Fritz said. "I have to assume we can play well at any time. I'm an optimist by nature. I don't see why we can't."

K-State will head to Texas with solid statistics. Senior middle blocker Kelsey Chipman is second in the conference for her hitting percentage of .362, followed closely by breakout performer Alex Muff, and junior outside hitter JuliAnne Chisholm.

In the back row, junior libero Lauren Mathewson still stands alone in digs, leading the team by a large gap and showing in third in the conference.

On the other side of the court, Texas leads the conference in most front-row statistics, with their star senior outside hitter, Destinee Hooker, first in kills and in the top-10 for hitting percentage, service aces and points. She will be assisted by left-handed senior Ashley Engle, another top-10 athlete for the Big 12, this time in assists. The Longhorns' defense consists of senior libero Heather Kisner and sophomore defensive specialist Sydney Yogi.
Fay said Texas will be a strong competitor, but K-State is determined to win.

"We have nothing to lose," she said. "We have four games left of the season. We're absolutely the underdogs. We're just going to go in there and give it all we can and hope to maybe knock them off."