MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State sophomore outside hitter Aliyah Carter, the team leader in kills, kills per set and double-doubles, was named a unanimous selection to the 2021 All-Big 12 First Team, the conference office announced Tuesday.
Carter, the 2020 Big 12 and AVCA Midwest Region Freshman of the Year, earns her second straight unanimous first-team honor after leading K-State with 422 kills and 4.06 kills per set during the regular season. She ranks second in the Big 12 and 39th in the country in kills per set.
Playing six rotations, the 5-foot-9 product of Dubuque, Iowa, has set career highs in digs (261), aces (17) and blocks (48). Carter has logged a team-leading 13 double-doubles this season and turned in a career-high 20 digs against Fresno State on September 11.
Carter becomes the first Wildcat in program history to earn unanimous first-team all-conference honors as both a freshman and a sophomore. She is just the second player to collect back-to-back unanimous first-team accolades (Kaitlynn Pelger, 2012-13) and the first to be named All-Big 12 First Team in consecutive seasons since Katie Brand from 2014-16.
Carter’s current career average of 4.08 kills per set ranks first in program history during the rally-scoring era (since 2001) and is second all-time behind only Liz Wegner’s 4.48 kills per set (1998-2001). Additionally, she is the first Wildcat in the rally-scoring era to turn in two seasons of more than 4.00 kills a set.
Carter, who owns seven career conference weekly awards (five rookie, two offensive), has carded five matches with 20 more kills this season, including a season-high 23 at TCU on October 22. Her 11 career 20-kill performances are tied for second-most in program history (rally scoring).
Carter’s all-conference award is the 56th All-Big 12 selection under head coach Suzie Fritz and the 24th first-team pick.
K-State’s (15-12, 6-10 Big 12) season continues at the 2021 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship, as the Cats earned an at-large bid into this year’s postseason tournament. The Wildcats will face Florida State in the opening round Friday at 4:30 p.m. at Devaney Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The contest will air on ESPN+ and the ESPN app with radio coverage available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) and online at K-StateSports.com/watch.
