Brenna Schmidt, middle blocker

As a junior, Schmidt takes on the responsibility that former player and fellow middle blocker Sydney Bolding held. 

“Brenna Schmidt continues to just grow as a player, you know, and as a person,” head coach Jason Mansfield said. “So she’s really taking a step up in her game, starting in the spring.”

Last year, Schmidt played in 24 matches with 17 starts, collecting 85 kills and 51 total blocks, which only trailed Bolding. Schmidt said she is very honored to fill such big shoes.

“I mean, obviously it’s a big compliment,” Schmidt said. “Sydney was a great player, and I learned a ton from her. It’s just great to know that [Mansfield] has so much confidence in me and that he trusts me in the big moments.” 

Meg Brown, opposite hitter 

As a fifth-year transfer student from Pepperdine, Brown joins the team with a passion to win and compete. 

“A big thing for me was wanting to play in a really competitive conference, and the Big 12 looked the most fun to me, just because it was a little ambiguous,” Brown said. 

Although Brown is new to K-State, she has a lot of experience under her belt. During her four-year career, she has collected All-West Coast Conference accolades every year with three first-team nods.

“Until you start coaching her, you don’t understand how hard she hits the ball, how passionate she is, how great of a teammate she is, how hard she works, how much she loves the game,” Mansfield said. “You know, she’s exactly who you know we want in this program.” 

Now that she’s settled in the Little Apple, Brown is ready to give her all to her new team. 

“But I’m just really excited to help K State compete for a Big 12 championship and just help them in any way I can and just embrace whatever role I’m involved in here,” Brown said. 

Symone Sims, libero

According to Mansfield, Sims was successful in filling the shoes left by former All-Conference libero Mackenzie Morris.

“Symone definitely took that spot in the spring and was flying around,” Mansfield said. “I think it started there, but [senior] Molly Ramsey and [graduate] Liz Gregorski in the spring as well have really improved.”

Morris, who transferred to Oregon, led the Big 12 in digs per set with 4.82 and total digs with 468 last season. However, Mansfield said their effort improved as a whole. 

“We found out pretty early, when she wasn’t in the gym in the spring, that Mackenzie’s not just going to fly around and get all the balls that are in the middle of the court,” Mansfield said. “I love the way we’re playing defense right now. … I think we’re a better defensive team because people knew they have to step up and fill that role.”

Freshman class

Mansfield mentioned in the press conference he has zero expectations for the freshmen, knowing they’re in their first weeks as college student-athletes. 

“They’re playing against girls that are just so talented and so much more experienced than them,” Mansfield said.

The class includes setter Emerson Van Lannen from Wisconsin, middle blocker Tatum Tindall from Manhattan and libero Alyss Kelly from Washington. 

While Mansfield holds zero expectations for the group, they’ve proven to him the future is bright. He added they’ve been “great,” outperforming the standard he originally set.