Maybe the Kansas State volleyball team needs a trip like this. It's clear they need something — anything — to shake things up.

After losing four straight matches, all clean sweeps, the Wildcats will hit the road today in preparation for a two-match road trip to the Lone Star State.

K-State is scheduled to face Baylor on Wednesday with a 6:30 p.m. first serve. Following the mid-week match, it will then travel to Austin for a 6:30 p.m. tilt with No. 10 Texas on Friday before returning home.

In the midst of this type of slump, it's yet again a significant challenge for a team desperate for some light at the end of the tunnel.

"Winning has always been important for us," senior Lauren Mathewson said after practice on Tuesday. "A win would be great. I think though right now what we are focused on is playing well on our side of the net and putting an entire game together."

The slump has caused head coach Suzie Fritz to make a complete evaluation of the Wildcats serve receive — something the Wildcats have struggled with, as siding out during the four-match losing skid has been hard to come by.

Clearly it's a pressing issue the Wildcats will need to address when they hit the road this week. K-State currently ranks last in the Big 12 in service aces allowed with 72 this year. The Wildcats also rank near the bottom — eighth — in opponent hitting percentage at .189.

Both Baylor and Texas meanwhile rank in the top half of the conference in hitting percentage. Texas leads the conference with a .279. The Longhorns also rank first in the Big 12 in aces averaging 1.4 per set.

The alarming numbers has caused Fritz to make a full evaluation of her squad this week.

"We are looking at changes," Fritz said. "Personnel changes...everything. We are looking at evaluating everything from a 360 (degree perspective) to try and figure out if there is anything we can do to upgrade.

"We're losing matches because we can't side out."

This road trip will mark the first time for most of the players on the Wildcat roster to play two consecutive Big 12 games on the road without returning home. Texas chose to schedule the match on Friday rather than Saturday, due to a home football game at the Austin campus against Iowa State on Saturday.

However Fritz says the travel should not affect her young squad.

"It doesn't affect the girls," she said. "They play, they rest and they play again. That's just the way it is. Sometimes in the pre-season we have three matches in two days, so it's not that unusual.

"I'm not worried about fatigue, I'm not worried about recovery, I'm not worried about preparation, we have a day in between and that is a long time."

When the team heads to Austin on Thursday it will mark the official start of the second half of conference play. For Fritz, it's an opportunity to show the rest of the conference that this team has indeed improved over time.

And perhaps, a second round of matches will be just what this team needs.

"We need to be better in the second half," Fritz said. "We had a few missed opportunities in the first half and I think we can continue to grow and improve and I think we have the whole second half of the season to be able to prove that."