K-State wins first soccer match

Previously...

We are now just Deante Burton (#6) days from Kansas State football. BracketCat’s countdown also caught up with a pair of #7s in Cal transfer Cedric Dozier and wide receiver Isaiah Zuber.

Eric Stonestreet helps you GET HYPE for the season in this official Kansas State promo video.

Also, to help you GET MOAR HYPE for the season, Gracey Terrill announces the first annual Fan of the Week contest.

Soccer

We won. WE WON!

Kansas State soccer made history yesterday with the program’s first ever win. In only their second weekend of action, the Wildcats beat the Oakland (MI) Golden Grizzlies 6-0 in Rochester, Michigan. For perspective, Oakland was in the NCAA Tournament last season.

The game included a number of firsts, including first collegiate goals for Dora Gallo and Addie Jenkins, and first goals as Wildcats for Tatum Wagner, Abby Sieperda, and Morgan Mauck. Meanwhile, Kansas State keeper Miranda Larkin posted her second straight shutout.

Next up, the Wildcats travel to Mt Pleasant to take on Central Michigan. The game is scheduled for noon on Sunday.

Volleyball

Not to be outdone by the soccer team, the volleyball team got the season off to a roaring start, posting an emphatic 3-1 win over higher-rated Arizona at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational in Honolulu.

The VolleyCats had it easy in the first two sets, leading wire-to-wire in the first set and committing only one error on 26 swings in the second. The team lost a bit of focus in the third frame and dropped the set 25-20, but bounced back in a big way in the fourth. Kansas State had eight total blocks in the decider to seal the victory.

Senior Kersten Kober led the team with 14 digs, the 12th consecutive double-digit mark for the libero. Teammate Katie Brand has 34 assists and seven blocks, while Kylee Zumach, returning to the court for the first time since August 2015, had eight kills, three digs and an ace.

The Rainbow Wahine Invitational continues tonight, with Kansas State against #6 Hawaii at midnight CDT.

Football

College football is back! Yesterday, Cal beat Hawaii 51-31 for the Sydney Cup in (you guessed it!) Sydney. That would the city in Australia with the iconic opera house and the famous beaches.

Not that anyone from ESPN was there, of course. Despite being the opening game of what is being touted as the best season of college football (EVER!), the Worldwide Leader chose to call the game from Bristol, which made their trenchant observations about Australia seem like they were made up on the fly, as demonstrated by this bit of live awkwardness (Ben Koo, Awful Announcing).

The game itself left a few things to be desired, including any semblance of actual defense. Cal quarterback Davis Webb, who sounds vaguely familiar for some reason, made the most of his first start and threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score.

For their part, the Rainbow Warriors made a game effort for about a half despite various miscues including a fumble on the opening kickoff. The offense never really got untracked against a less-than-stellar defensive effort from the Bears, however, and the loss seemed inevitable by the third quarter. Things don’t get easier for Hawaii, as they travel to another foreign land for their next game: Ann Arbor, Michigan.

So how was this latest edition of College Football received in Oz? Well, it turns out Aussie fans are more about the American-style concessions than the American-style football. Lunchtime starts are unusual Down Under, and resulted in an unprecedented rush on food, with fans spending most of the game waiting for beer, 60 cm-long hotdogs (that’s two feet for you non-SI unit types), giant pretzels, etc. Also, at one point, ANZ Stadium was in real danger of running out of beer. GASP (Kim Arlington, Sydney Morning Herald).

Happy weekend, all!