K-State put the nation on notice, cruising past #20 Creighton three sets to one on Friday night to keep its undefeated start to the 2026 campaign alive.

The first set started back and forth, as the Wildcats took advantage of multiple Creighton service errors and recorded two service aces to gain an early 9-5 lead. Creighton, however, responded with an 8-1 run, with outside hitter Aydem Ames tallying two kills and a block to put the Bluejays up 13-10.

Ames continued her dominant first set by tallying two more kills before Wildcat head coach Jason Mansfield called a timeout. Multiple service and attacking errors put the ‘Cats in an 18-12 hole, one that they were never able to recover from. After K-State was given a little life from a Massey kill and Shadd-Ceres error, Creighton took back over, ending on a 5-1 run to win the first set 25-15. 

Trinity Shadd-Ceres led the Bluejays with seven kills as they dominated set one. They held K-State to a -0.034 hitting percentage, the worst in any set for the Wildcats this season. K-State also recorded a season-low five total kills in the first set. 

The start of the second set was quite the opposite of the first. K-State wasted no time taking over, getting ahead as much as 11-2 and going on an 8-1 run. 

Creighton responded with their own 4-0 run to get within five, as they tried to claw back into the match. Both teams traded points until K-State went on a 5-0 run to make it 22-11. After trading points again, Creighton made a costly back-row attacking error, helping K-State win the second set 25-13 and knot the set score at 1-1.

K-State played much more explosively in the second set than in the first. Skylar Brady played a key role for the ‘Cats, providing tons of momentum off of her five kills in the second set. Cadence Lundgren also showed up defensively for K-State with six blocks in the first two sets. 

“I think she [Lundgren] has the ability to really touch a lot of balls at the net,” Mansfield said. “We’ve kind of seen that this season. She’s doing a much better job getting across, and blocking is the best thing she does for us.”

Service aces were key in this match, and they set the tone for the third set. Ellah Derrer started the set with her second service ace of the match, K-State’s fifth at that point. That lit the fire for a 7-1 run that helped the Wildcats build an early lead. The error bug then struck K-State again, with five of six Creighton points in that stretch coming from service and attacking errors, allowing the Bluejays to get within two.

One bright spot for the ‘Cats among the errors was Lundgren, who, as a setter, recorded three kills by the time K-State hit 15 points. Along with another block in the third set, she made her presence known throughout. After that, the Wildcats and Bluejays went on multiple mini runs to keep the score roughly even, with highlight plays spread throughout. Most notably, a thunderous Addison Massey kill, which Creighton unsuccessfully challenged, giving the ‘Cats enough momentum to climb ahead 23-19 before the Bluejays’ final timeout of the set. 

Creighton head coach Brian Rosen’s challenge wasn’t enough to put the Bluejays back on track, though. Massey hit her eighth kill of the set, which Creighton followed with a service error to give the ‘Cats a 25-22 second-set win, going up 2-1 in the match. Massey kept going on her star-studded night, finishing with 12 digs and 14 kills by the end of the third set and earning her first collegiate double-double.

K-State once again opened the set on a 7-1 run, taking command behind three Creighton errors. After trading points, Trinity Shadd-Ceres completely took over, going on a 3-0 run to pull the Bluejays within striking distance. Not to be outdone, Avery Stones gave K-State a 14-8 advantage with a cross-court kill that landed in the back corner of Creighton’s defense.

Shadd-Ceres wasn’t done there, though, as she recorded three more kills to help Creighton claw back and come within one point of K-State, prompting a Wildcats timeout.

After the break, a Massey kill and error, along with a Bluejay kill, knotted the match at 21 apiece. Massey took over when it mattered most, scoring two kills and a block to give K-State a 24-21 advantage. Then, after an Ames kill, Creighton committed its third set-ending error, and K-State sealed the upset with a 25-22 win.

Massey, the star of the match, totaled a new career-high 20 kills and 15 digs, helping propel K-State to their first ranked win of the season. Her 20 kills put her over the 100-kill mark for the season, and the freshman now has 104 kills through K-State’s first seven matches. 

“I mean, hopefully people understand how good Addison Massey is after playing on ESPN2 and playing a ranked team,” Mansfield said. “She’s well trained, and she’s just kind of the epitome of competition.”

Brady was also an offensive force throughout the match, tallying 11 kills over four sets, including five in the second. Defensively, Lundgren was unstoppable. With 10 point-scoring blocks, she helped solidify the front row and was a major factor in the win. 

K-State will continue its weekend trip in Omaha and look to stay undefeated on the season at 7 p.m. on Saturday, when it faces the University of Nebraska at Omaha (6-3) on the Summit League Network.