K-State Avenges Earlier Defeat with 3-1 victory over Texas Tech
Oct 24, 2001 | Volleyball
Oct. 24, 2001
Manhattan, Kan. - The Kansas State women's volleyball team continued their remarkable play at home on Wednesday evening, as the Wildcats avenged an earlier loss to Texas Tech with a 30-19, 30-22, 18-30, 30-25 victory before 2,102 fans at Ahearn Field House.
Kansas State has posted a 9-1 record at home this season and has won 24 of its last 26 matches at venerable Ahearn Field House.
With the win, Kansas State improves to 12-6 and 8-4 in Big 12 Conference play, while Texas Tech falls to 12-8 and 5-6 in league action. The Red Raiders, who trail the all-time series, 9-7, have never defeated the Wildcats in six trips to Ahearn Field House.
"I thought we came out and really competed well tonight," said head coach Suzie Fritz. "We were a little sluggish from playing Monday then traveling, but I thought we served extremely well, maybe the best we've served all year. Texas Tech is a very nice volleyball team and they came out gunning from us, however, we really wanted to get this win especially at home."
Kansas State controlled the statistics, posting more kills (64-60), digs (76-67) and blocks (10-9), while hitting at a higher percentage (.214-.141).
Kansas State jumped out to an 8-0 lead in game one then used a .359 hitting percentage down the stretch to cruise to victory in game one, 30-19. The Wildcats continued their hot hitting in game two, posting a .447 hitting percentage en route to a 30-22 victory. Despite facing a two-game deficit, Texas Tech battled to take game three in convincing fashion, 30-18. The Red Raiders posted a .306 hitting percentage and held the Wildcats to negative .073 hitting. In the pivotal fourth game, the two teams battled back and forth before Kansas State broke a 17-all tie with four straight points. The Wildcats won on their second match point for a 30-25 victory.
Senior Liz Wegner led three Wildcats in double-digit kills in the victory, as the co-captain tallied 19 kills to go with seven digs and three blocks. Fellow senior captain Lisa Mimick turned in her eighth double-double of the season with 13 kills and a match-high 24 digs, while sophomore Lauren Goehring added a double-double of her own with 10 kills on .308 hitting with 12 digs. Senior Jayne Christen also turned in an impressive performance with nine kills - with no errors - on the night for a .563 hitting percentage to along with a team-high five blocks.
Senior Heather Hughes-Justice posted a match-high 22 kills and 12 digs for the Red Raiders in the loss, while freshman Kelly Johnson added 14 kills. Freshman Jessy Herrera tallied a team-best 17 digs and sophomore Angela Mooney turned in a team-high five blocks.
Kansas State takes to the road on Saturday, Oct. 27, as the Wildcats travel to Lincoln, Neb., to face 2nd-ranked Nebraska (18-1, 11-0 Big 12) at the Nebraska Coliseum beginning at 7 p.m. The Wildcats, who are 1-62 all-time against the Cornhuskers, return to the site of their lone win in the series, a 3-2 victory in 1999.
