Aug 04, 2023 / KSU ATHLETICS
MANHATTAN, Kansas – K-State head coach Jason Mansfield met with members of the media at the Morgan Family Arena on Friday afternoon as part of the Wildcats’ media day prior to the upcoming 2023 season.
The Wildcats officially open the 2023 season on Friday, August 25 at the Hotel Vance Rose City Showdown against tournament host Portland State.
The home slate begins on Sept. 1 against Omaha in the first-ever contest held at Morgan Family Arena followed by a match against Nebraska on Sept. 3. K-State’s home schedule features Big 12 foes TCU, Cincinnati, Iowa State, BYU, Texas, and Texas Tech, in addition to non-conference opponents Long Island and Rice.
Select comments from the press conference are shown below.
JASON MANSFIELD, K-STATE HEAD VOLLEYBALL COACH
What do you think of the new arena?
“It’s beautiful. We’ve been waiting a long time. Some of the players have been waiting for a really long time to get our own space. It has everything we need – the locker room, the team room, a beautiful court. We can practice with two courts and film room offices, obviously a weight room and team medicine room. So yeah, we’re just really excited to be in this space. It’s nice to have our own space and be able to work on what we want to work on anytime we want to work on it. So excited.”
How would you describe the energy of the team going into the season with a new arena, a new coach, everything?
“I think we’re hopeful. We want to be great. I think it’s important that we manage expectations, and we work hard every day to get better. We’re all really excited to get started and see what we can be. We came a long way in the spring, and like I said, we’re adding a couple of really nice pieces that will help us be better.”
What are some things you have tried to dial in on? Play wise?
“I’m a big offensive guy, so we’re trying to score points and we’re trying to have a diverse offense and kind of come at the defense from a bunch of different ways. So we’ve been working on that, and I think just figuring out how to play together, having a shared vision of what we want to do and how we want to do it on the offense and defensive side of the ball. I think those are the things that we feel good about, I feel good about with the 11 players that have been here and we’re going to get the other five acclimated to that pretty quickly.”
With 11 returners, what was the pitch to have a strong roster coming back? Do you feel like that went well or was that tough to get the message across?
“No, really blessed to have the 11 players back. Really excited. Once we started working together, I was even more excited to have 11 players that have been here and that decided to stay because of their love for each other and K State. Just really excited to have them back. Once we started working together, I was even more excited about how talented they were and the possibilities that we have. The transfer portal is going to be there for a while. I’m excited that we only added two, and we loved the two that we added, but we didn’t have to have such a big turnover because we had people stay and I think it’s a great blend. I think it’s a great blend of 11 returners and two transfers and three freshmen, and we’re excited that we have those 16 players here.”
With that mix, what do you feel like your depth is right now?
“We have depth in every position, really excited about every position that we have. We have three really good setters. We have four really good middles, five pins that are really, really good, and then four DS/liberos. So, yeah, depth in every position, being able to kind of get after it from the beginning and when we scrimmage from day one, but depth is going to be really important. We have six weekends where we play back-to-back matches in the Big 12 and that first match could be really tough. That second match is going to be tough to be great and to be fresh. So I think our depth is going to be important throughout the season. It has been important in every team that I’ve coached; you have to have depth.”
What are some thoughts on a couple of the new squads that are on the schedule who’ve joined the Big 12 in the last couple of weeks?
“BYU has been good for a long time. So I think out of the four new teams, they’re going to be the toughest. I’m glad that we get a chance to play them here twice instead of going to BYU. I think UCF has been good. In the last five to 10 years, they’ve been in the top 25. They got a new coach who I think is going to do a great job. Cincinnati has had really, really good years and then Houston had a great year last year. They have a lot of players coming back. So, I think all four teams are a great addition to the conference; they’re going to be tough. I’m glad that we play most of them at home to begin with. I’ll be good to play them for the first time in conference.”
As you’re getting acquainted with your players, how much do you look at how they were used last year? How much do you just look at what they can do on the court with you while you’re working with them?
“I watched a lot of film of them and saw a lot of good things, but I’m a big believer in learning from the past and looking towards the future and how do we get better. So when I watched them play, I was really hopeful. There’s a lot of talent coming back, like I said, so I was just excited to get started and then again once we just got started in practice every day, I got more and more excited about the possibility individually and as a group that we have coming back.”
When it comes to leadership, who would you point out that’s filling those roles?
“Well, we have eight upperclassmen that are juniors, seniors, or fifth years and I’m looking to all of them, you know, to lead. I think they all lead in their own way. I think it’s important that everybody is a leader that wants to be a leader. I think a lot of them were used to being leaders on teams before they got here in high school and club, and certainly there’s been leaders in this program before I got here. I think that as long as they’re being themselves and they’re staying in character, and they’re working on that. I want as many leaders as possible.”
Also, if you don’t mind, talking about the hires you made for the assistants and what you liked about them. When you interviewed them and going forward.
“It was important for me to hire a staff that had similar values to me, loved teaching, and helping young athletes grow. That was the most important thing. I’m really excited about [Steve Astor], [Fiona Fonoti], and [John Dunn], and then our Director of Operations [Quinn Roche]. They’re all really good people. Family is really important to all of them. I think that being with Steve and Fiona for the last six months has been great. I think we’ve built a good foundation for this fall, and I think there’s good trust with the players and a good foundation to build on with that as well. So yeah, really excited about our staff and excited about what could be.”
What are some of the new names and faces that fans are going to get to know pretty quickly?
“For the new players, we have two transfers. Izzi Szulczewski is from Oregon State and Liz Gregorski, who’s from Wisconsin. Then we have three freshmen, Symone Sims, Makinsey Jones, and Lauren Schneider. I think all five players are going to add a lot from day one. They’re all very skilled, great athletes. Just excited about all five of them adding a lot to our program. They’re going to add depth. They’re going to push people in their positions, I think from the beginning. It’s going to be exciting to add them because of those things.”
You were talking about identity. What do you want this team to be known for in those terms?
“When people watch us play, I want them to see really, really high-level skill. I want to see great communication and great effort. I want them to see us compete against every team that we play, whether we think we can beat them or whether somebody else thinks they can beat us. We’re not going to be scared of anyone that we play, and I want to make sure that we go into every match thinking that we have a chance to win and then how are we going to do that. We’re going to do that by competing every single point and giving great effort. Hopefully, you see a lot of passion. I have a lot of passion for the game. I love the game. I know that the players on the team have a lot of passion. So hopefully, that comes out in any match.”
Any thoughts on being ranked eighth in the preseason polls for the Big 12?
“Love it. Love it. I think it’s great. It’s so hard to know, with all the transfers and new teams coming in, who is going to be where. I don’t pay a lot of attention to those, but I think it’s good motivation that they think that we’re going to be eighth. I think we’ll hopefully prove them wrong and be higher than that.”