By: Austin Siegel
The first Brookelynn Entz moment of 2020 came about seven minutes into her senior season.
A Brookelynn Entz moment, by definition, is when the All-Big 12 midfielder does something that goes into the box score as a K-State goal or an assist and into the collective memory of everyone who saw it as a moment of sheer determination.
It looks something like this:
Entz gave her team the lead against the Mountaineers on Friday night with the 11th goal of her K-State career, but it wasn't enough to lift the Wildcats past a West Virginia team that responded quickly in the 4-1 loss.
"That was part of our plan, to press a little higher and force the action early and it resulted in a goal," head coach Mike Dibbini said. "Unfortunately, we haven't been in a position in the early stages of this season of being up a goal. We sat back for the next 10 minutes and some of the anxiety of defending came back into our play."
Dibbini spoke earlier this week about the importance of the first 15 minutes of each match for K-State, a team with 19 freshmen and sophomores including all three of the team's available goalkeepers.
With their first five matches of the season against programs that appeared in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats have had to regain their composure against some tough competition.
"I think the anxiety is a hurdle that we have to overcome," Dibbini said before the West Virginia match. "If you look at six or seven or our last games, we've come out with slow starts because of anxiety. We need to figure out a way to manage that."
With their captain back to scoring video game goals, K-State has something to build on.
"There were a lot of players that weren't here this evening that would have given us depth and experience but it was beneficial for the players that made the trip," Dibbini said. "They held their own but we have a lot of work to do."
The Wildcats return to the pitch on Friday night against TCU at 7 p.m. from Buser Family Park. The match will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. It will also be available on 101.5 KROCK in Manhattan and for free at kstatesports.com.
Cross Country Off to a Strong Start in 2020
The third K-State program to kick off their fall season, the Wildcats headed to Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence to take on Kansas and Iowa State in the Bob Timmons Classic.
Both the men's and women's team clipped the Jayhawks for a second-place finish on Saturday morning, with Cooper Schroeder and Kassidy Johnson notching top-five individual finishes.
Felt good to be back
🏃♀️ Bob Timmons Classic 🏃♂️#KStateXC pic.twitter.com/l8ZsHjPacl
— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) September 20, 2020
K-State fans could definitely see those results, check the mental box next to "Beat Kansas" and get on with their Monday, but that would mean looking past Kassidy Johnson. The junior came up big for the Wildcats in her first meet after missing the 2019 season due to injury.
"Going into this race, my coach gave me his goal time for me to accomplish," she said. "At first, I had a lot of doubts. But his expectations are pretty spot on, so I decided that if he believed in me, then I could believe in myself, too. I've put in a lot of miles since my last cross-country race, so I just tried to put faith in my training."
For Johnson, some of those miles came at the 2020 Big 12 Indoor Championships, where she won the first conference title of her career in the 1000-Meters.
Even with some Big 12 hardware back home, a top-five finish for Johnson on Saturday is a reminder of just how important she could be for K-State Cross Country in 2020.
"I didn't race last year due to injury and I'm pretty inexperienced in cross country, so my confidence going in today was low," she said. "Because of my performance, however, today meant I could prove to myself that all the work we've been putting in over the last couple of years has paid off."
K-State Volleyball Puts Final Touches on Preseason Prep
Friday night's Purple & White scrimmage was a big one for K-State Volleyball.
The Wildcats played in front of fans for the first time since last fall, preparing for their first season ever at Bramlage Coliseum due to COVID-19 precautions.
"We are always trying to find the positives right now in the environment that we are in, because there are a lot of things that are different, new and challenging," head coach Suzie Fritz said. "But I think one of the positive things is in that six-week period of time, we have really seen the team grow."
Fritz has had plenty of time to work with the nation's No. 23-ranked recruiting class during the extended preseason in 2020 and those new faces lived up to the hype on Friday night.
Showtime.#KStateVB pic.twitter.com/VGq1SSmT7C
— K-State Volleyball (@KStateVB) September 18, 2020
Freshman Mackenzie Morris led all players with 25 digs in the four-set scrimmage and East Carolina transfer Shelby Martin kept the offense on schedule with 39 assists.
"I think our libero core is as [strong] as we've ever had…What they're doing defensively and their ability to stabilize us a little bit with our ball control has been really ahead of schedule," Fritz said. "[Shelby] had been on an NCAA Tournament team, she had a high level of experience, played quite a bit and had some success doing it. We loved her maturity; we loved her championship experience."
It wasn't just the newcomers who made an impact at Bramlage, as the K-State offense continued to flow through Brynn Carlson.
The redshirt junior led the Wildcats with 309 kills a season ago and looks poised to build on those numbers in 2020.
"I think that we feel strong on all fronts, really ready to go," Carlson said. "One thing that I love about this team is that we're constantly looking to improve and trying to find that next level. So, although there isn't necessarily one weak spot, there's always another level that we can be reaching with our game."
ice, ice baby 🧊💧 #KStateVB x @Nike pic.twitter.com/iMGUusL37p
— K-State Volleyball (@KStateVB) September 19, 2020
The Wildcats will get their first chance on Friday night when they welcome Iowa State to Bramlage for a two-match weekend series. Friday's match will stream live at 6:30 p.m. on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with local radio coverage on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM).
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