Okay-State Downs No. 20 Colorado in Straight Sets

MANHATTAN, Kan. – In entrance of a sold-out crowd, Aniya Clinton knocked down 17 kills to energy Okay-State to a straight-set victory over 20^th-ranked Colorado Saturday afternoon at Morgan Family Arena, 25-20, 26-24, 25-18.

Okay-State (14-7, 7-6 Big 12) rallied behind a .324 hitting proportion and 28 mixed kills from Clinton and Shaylee Myers to seize the staff’s third upset over a Top 25 opponent this season, enhancing to 3-4 on the yr.

The victory marked the fifth sweep over a ranked opponent below head coach Jason Mansfield, because the Wildcats improved to 9-17 total within the Mansfield period.

In her first match again since October 29, Clinton turned in a dominant efficiency, as she paced each squads with 17 kills at an unimaginable .536 clip with simply two errors. The native of Midland, Texas, registered her 700^th profession kill together with her first of the match in Set 1.  

 

Myers recorded her 18^th consecutive match with double-digit kills, totaling 11 within the win. Reagan Fox added eight kills adopted by Jordyn Williams with six, who additionally recorded a match-leading six blocks (1 solo, 5 assists).

Ava LeGrand handed out 39 assists to go together with 9 digs and 4 blocks, whereas Symone Sims tallied a match-high 12 digs.

The Cats’ protection held Colorado (20-5, 10-3 Big 12) to a .172 staff effectivity behind 9 blocks, handing the Buffs their first Big 12 loss to an unranked staff. Ana Burilovic, the Big 12 Player of the Week, was the one participant within the double figures for kills for CU (10).

 

FROM THE CATS

JASON MANSFIELD, Okay-STATE HEAD COACH

Overall Statement… 

“We competed really well against, obviously, a really good team, but I feel like we can compete against anyone. When we get our players healthy, we’re kind of cooking on all cylinders.” 

 

On Aniya Clinton’s impression…

“It was great to have Aniya back. We’re just a different team with her on the court and we just haven’t played a lot of games with all of our starters.” 

 

On the Cats’ protection…

“We just need to be great defensively against every team that we play and we have been. I think that’s what we kind of hang our hat on, and we practice it throughout the week. Steve Astor, our associate head coach, does a phenomenal job of scouting the other team. The girls are prepared, but we have to play relentless defense. We have to scrap and keep the ball off the floor, and aggressive swings after we dig balls. Just a good defensive performance for us today.”

 

SET-BY-SET

Set 1 – Okay-State 25, #20 Colorado 20

• Tied 9-9, Okay-State scored three consecutive factors with kills by Myers and Clinton and held on to steer by three on the media timeout, 15-12. The Buffs managed to claw inside a two-point rating, 22-20, however was instantly answered with back-to-back kills from Clinton and ace from LeGrand to ship the ultimate blow.
• The Wildcats produced a .343 hitting proportion in Set 1 on 16 kills with 4 errors, that included a set-high seven from Clinton. CU hit .312 (13 kills, 3 errors, 32 makes an attempt) led by 4 kills from Ana Burilovic and Cayla Payne.
• Okay-State held a 4.0-0.0 lead in blocks, together with a 15-11 edge in dig manufacturing.

 
Set 2 – Okay-State 26, #20 Colorado 24

• The Cats carded a 5-0 scoring run to take a 7-2 lead and pressure a timeout from the Buffs. Both squads went back-and-forth with neither taking a considerable lead, till the CU tallied 4 straight factors to steer 20-18.
• Behind kills from Williams and Clinton, the Wildcats locked the rating at 23-all. Schmidt put down her third kill of the match earlier than LeGrand’s second ace secured the 2-0 lead.
• Clinton led all gamers with seven kills within the set, adopted by Fox, Myers and Schmidt every with three. As a staff, Okay-State hit .297 (18 kills, 7 errors, 37 makes an attempt) in opposition to CU’s .185 (9 kills, 4 errors, 27 swings).

 
Set 3 – Okay-State 25, #20 Colorado 18

• An overturned name awarded Okay-State a 10-5 benefit within the third set. CU rallied to chop the hole down to 2, 18-16, however was met with a 6-1 closing run, that included 5 factors from Williams (2 kills, 3 blocks).
• Okay-State held Colorado to a match-low .029 hitting proportion, because the protection pressured eight errors behind six blocks.  Myers put down 5 of the staff’s 14 kills (.333).

 
INSIDE THE BOX

• Okay-State swept previous #20 Colorado Saturday afternoon – 25-20, 26-24, 25-18 – at Morgan Family Arena.
• The Cats hit .324 (48 kills, 15 errors, 102 swings) in comparison with Colorado’s .172 (31 kills, 15 errors, 93 makes an attempt).
• Two Wildcats tallied double-digit kills with Clinton main all gamers with 17 and Myers including 11.
• LeGrand dished out 39 assists to go together with 9 digs and 4 blocks, together with a match-high two service aces.
• Defensively, Okay-State out-blocked CU, 9.0-4.0, with six from Williams (1 solo, 5 assists) whereas Sims totaled 12 digs.
• Burilovic recorded 10 kills for the Buffs and Sydney Jordan had 9.
• In whole, the match had 17 tied scores with six simply six lead adjustments.

 
BEYOND THE BOX

• CU leads the all-time collection, 27-24, since its begin in 1986.
• The Wildcats are 13-12 in opposition to the Buffs in matches performed in Manhattan.
• Clinton captured her 700^th profession kill within the opening set.
• The Wildcats enhance to 3-4 when taking part in vs. Top 25 groups this season and boast an total mark of 9-17 within the Mansfield period.
• Okay-State has recorded 5 sweeps over ranked opponents below Mansfield.

 
UP NEXT
The Wildcats play host at Morgan Family Arena to No. 23 Baylor on Wednesday, November 12, earlier than the second version of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown with No. 13 Kansas Saturday, November 15.  Both matches will be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

Single-match tickets can be found for all Okay-State house matches by means of the Okay-State Athletics ticket workplace at 1-800-221-CATS and www.kstatesports.com/tickets.