"It's a different team," Fritz said. "Everybody keeps asking me that question but it's different personnel and this team is a year older and a year healthier. We've got almost everybody back. The biggest difference is that it's an entirely different team just as it is any other year."
K-State (10-2, 2-0 Big 12) will try to continue its quest back to the NCAA Tournament, which eluded them in 2006, as they take on conference foe Oklahoma at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Ahearn Field House — televised on Fox Sports Net (Ch. 34).
The Sooners are also off to a fast start with a 9-2 record overall and 2-0 in the Big 12 — one of four teams in the conference with a perfect record.
On Monday, Fritz said she hadn't looked into OU a whole bunch, but knows the Sooners bring in a speedy offense.
"I haven't spent an enormous amount of time looking at Oklahoma or studying Oklahoma," she said. "What I do know is they're pretty good on the outside. I know they try to play pretty fast which can cause you a lot of trouble if you don't know how to respond; meaning their set speed is very fast and so that could cause us some problems.
"I think they're probably, at least right now, the best team we've faced thus far as far as Big 12 opponents."
OU's Mariana Blum and Bridget Laplante have 148 and 142 kills, respectively — averaging 3.5 kills per games. The duo also leads in service aces as Blum has 20 and Laplante's recorded 16.
Thus Fritz said the focus is on defense.
"We've spent a little bit more time this particular week on defense," Fritz said. "Anytime you're getting ready to face an offense that's as fast as Oklahoma's you're going to be concerned about your defense."
The Cats, on the other hand, come into the match with a five-match winning streak-all off sweeps.
K-State's No. 16 national ranking is the highest since Oct. 1, 2005.
But, as Fritz emphasized after Monday's practice, this team is different from squads in the past.
"We're still learning a ton about our team," Fritz said. "We're still making progress in the areas that we have identified that we need to improve in. I think everybody is improving, which, as a coach, is satisfying."
Not only is there improvement, but the Cats are sharing the wealth.
At least four players have more than 100 kills on the season-Megan Farr, Kelsey Chipman, Nataly Korobkova and Rita Liliom.
"What I have been pleased about that in each outing, in each competition we've had different people step up or play well," Fritz said. "So that's positive that we're not having to rely on one or two players in particular but we have a more well-balanced attack than we've had I think than in the recent past.
"Anytime you can just gang up on one or two of them you can be offensively far more productive."
