Lawrence, Kan. — An evening inside Allen Fieldhouse turned into a fright for K-State, as 20 attack errors haunted the Wildcats in a straight-set loss to in-state rival No. 15 Kansas on Oct. 30.
K-State (10-8, 2-8 Big 12) struggled to find consistency offensively, hitting just .129 with 33 kills and 20 errors in the 25-17, 25-21, 25-20 loss. The Jayhawks (15-5, 8-2 Big 12) capitalized on the mistakes, hitting .309 while outblocking the Wildcats, 8-2.
The loss came in the second meeting of the 2026 Dillons Sunflower Showdown. KU also swept K-State 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-23) on Oct. 15 at Morgan Family Arena in Manhattan. Friday’s match also marked the 100th under head coach Jason Mansfield.
The Wildcats struggled to get their offense going from the opening set. KU jumped ahead early, using its serving game to disrupt K-State’s rhythm. Taylor Stanley and Logan Bell each recorded service aces as the Jayhawks built an early lead. KU also had Big 12 Setter of the Week Reese Messer directing its offense, helping the Jayhawks set their tone.
K-State showed flashes of life, cutting the deficit to three at 11-8 after a stretch of improved play. However, the Wildcats struggled to string together points and allowed KU to pull away. The Jayhawks reached 20 points before K-State reached 15, and KU eventually took the opening set 25-17.
After falling behind early in the second set, K-State found rhythm at the net. A block from Sydney Maue helped spark the Wildcats, while Ellah Derrer and Addison Massey teamed up for another block against Stanley.
Maue continued to make her presence felt offensively, finding an opening for a kill off the KU block. Cadence Lundgren and Camdyn Stucky also delivered timely kills as K-State tried to keep pace with the Jayhawks.
KU eventually created separation, taking a 21-17 advantage, but the Wildcats answered with 4 consecutive points to cut the deficit to 2, 21-19.
The comeback fell short, though, as KU closed out the set 25-21, taking a 2-0 lead in the match.
K-State’s struggles continued into the third set as KU built an early advantage and eventually led by 10, putting the Wildcats in danger of a sweep. However, the Wildcats found one last spark behind the service line.
Reagan Fox stepped up and delivered three consecutive service aces, helping K-State put together 5 straight points to cut the deficit to 23-18. Massey followed with another kill to bring the Wildcats within 5, but KU ended the comeback attempt with a kill from Grace Nelson to secure the 25-20 set victory.
Mansfield said he liked the way his team responded after the opening set but felt the Wildcats never found the consistency needed to challenge the Jayhawks.
“Disappointing start for sure,” Mansfield said. “I loved our response in the second, and then towards the end of the third set. But our serve and our offense just never quite got going.”
KU finished with 37 kills and just eight attack errors. Nelson led the Jayhawks with 10 kills, while Stanley and Reese Ptacek each added nine. Aisha Aiono led the defensive effort at the net with six blocks.
Massey led the Wildcats with 11 kills, continuing her stellar freshman campaign. Emerson Van Lannen recorded her second double-double of the season with 19 assists and 10 digs, while libero Fuka Sekita paced the defense with 14 digs.
Mansfield pointed to the number of mistakes as a major difference in the match.
“I mean, you give the other team 30 errors on attack errors and service errors in three sets, you’re probably going to lose,” Mansfield said. “And we’re lucky that we got 20.”
The Wildcats will look to regroup as they head to Texas against No. 16 TCU on Sunday, Nov. 1. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Schollmaier Arena, with the match available on ESPN+.
