Past meets present at K-State volleyball alumni game

MANHATTAN, Kan. (WIBW) – Over a half dozen former K-State volleyball players made their way back to Manhattan on Saturday for the first alumni game in the Jason Mansfield era.

The alumni crew, despite having graduated over a decade ago, held their own through all three sets of the scrimmage. Liz Wegner-Busch, the two-time All-American and K-State Hall of Famer headlined the returning stars. Seven others from the early to mid-2010s were also on the court.

“Definitely worn out a little bit easier than I probably would’ve in the past,” Wegner-Busch laughed. “Very fun to be out there and feeling like you still got it, a little bit.”

“The current players need to know the former players and what they’ve done to build a program and play with them is special and fun,” K-State head coach Jason Mansfield said. “I just love the event today, it’s really exactly what I wanted it to be.”

Saturday was the first time in Morgan Family Arena for many of the former players. Alum JuliAnne Rathbun explained how it shows the university’s investment into the athletics and raises the recruiting pitch.

“It’s the first time I’ve been in here and it’s awesome to see,” Rathbun added. “I think this rivals any gym we’ve played in the Big 12. Super fun to see all of our fans come back out and just support, have fun, people who’ve known us forever. This is clearly a statement that K-State cares about volleyball.”

“I think it’s the best in the country in terms of volleyball only arena,” Mansfield said. “It’s helped us get the six freshman coming in. We have four in the next class and we’re looking to build. So yeah, we’re trying to recruit elite high school talent and build a program that way.”

K-State returns to Morgan Family Arena on August 29 for its season-opener against UMBC.

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