K-State volleyball set to take on Cyclones Saturday

With the 2009 season dwindling down, K-State volleyball will take on No. 8 Iowa State University tomorrow night their second meeting of the season.

For 10 years, starting in the mid-1990s, K-State (10-15, 4-11 Big 12 Conference) had a perfect record against Iowa State (21-4, 13-3), but the Cyclones have been showed new life in recent years. Overall, the teams are tied, with each claiming 37 wins in the series.

They faced each other late September in Ames, Iowa, where Iowa State swept the Wildcats. Junior outside hitter Vanessa Murray recorded strong numbers that afternoon after leading her team in kills with 12 for a .478 hitting percentage. Not far behind her was redshirt freshman outside hitter Kathleen Ludwig.

Both teams are coming off sweeps. The Cyclones took Texas A&M in three sets on the road Wednesday, while KU did the same to the Wildcats in Lawrence.

Head coach Suzie Fritz said Iowa State will still fare well against her team.

Fritz said the Cyclones are "very balanced" and have "no glaring weaknesses on either side of the ball or at any position."

"They're very solid," she said. "They dig balls like crazy, and they play hard. They're very good."

Both squads will showcase accomplished players in the match. For Iowa State, junior libero Ashley Mass leads the Big 12 in digs. Iowa State also ranks first in the conference for digs per game. Another top ranking in the Big 12 comes from senior setter Kaylee Manns, this time in assists per game.

K-State senior middle blocker Kelsey Chipman, who played with Manns for four years at Washburn Rural High School in Topeka, said Manns is a strong player, but K-State will not be discouraged.

"She's great," Chipman said. "She's very talented. They've done a lot up there, and I'm very happy for her. But we're going to go out and try to get a win."

Freshman defensive specialist Caitlyn Donahue, who started as an outside hitter for the first time since the beginning of the season, had one of her strongest offensive performances of the season Wednesday night.

She will hit next to Chipman, the

conference leader in hitting percentage. Both will be assisted by senior setter Soriana Pacheco and backed by junior libero Lauren Mathewson, who has played record-breaking matches these past few weeks.

K-State suffered a disappointing loss against Kansas on Wednesday, but Donahue said her team would not let up for the tough schedule ahead.

"I think our team is the kind of team that will bounce back," said Donahue. "We showed it last week when we played A&M, and I think that we can do it against these big teams coming up."