No. 22 K-State Wins Fifth Straight in 3-0 victory over Oklahoma
Sep 19, 2001 | Volleyball
Sept. 19, 2001
Manhattan - The 22nd-ranked Kansas State women's volleyball team extended their winning streak to a season-best five matches, as the Wildcats used a season-best .383 hitting percentage to down Oklahoma, 30-13, 30-16, 30-23, on Wednesday evening before 1,286 fans in the home conference opener at Ahearn Field House.
With the win, Kansas State moved to 5-2 overall and 1-0 in Big 12 Conference play, while Oklahoma dropped to 1-8 on the season and 0-1 in league play. The Wildcats have now won four straight conference openers dating back to 1998 and extend their winning streak over the Sooners to five matches. Oklahoma has now lost seven straight contests on the season.
"It's nice to be back playing at home in front of our crowd," said head coach Suzie Fritz. "I think we played well tonight, however, we lost a little focus there in game three and allowed them to get some momentum. We just need to concentrate on the the 'little things' abit more as the match goes on. It took us a little later in the match to get rolling, but I didn't feel like we weren't in control at any point."
Kansas State broke a 4-all tie in game one with seven straight points on the serve of sophomore Lauren Goehring en route to a decisive 30-13 victory. The Wildcats turned in a .458 hitting percentage in the opening set, while holding the Sooners to just .080 hitting. Senior Liz Wegner had seven kills on .750 hitting, while junior Jenny Pollard added four digs.
Much like game one, Kansas State ran off five straight points with the match tied at 2-all in game two in handing Oklahoma a 30-16 defeat. The Wildcats didn't hit as impressively as game one with a .385 hitting, but did hold the Sooners to a negative .081 hitting. Senior Lisa Mimick tallied seven kills on .500 hitting in game two, while Goerhing added four digs and two blocks.
Down two games, Oklahoma posted several leads in game three and closed within one at 23-22 before Kansas State rattled off four straight points for a 30-23 victory. The Sooners improved their hitting to .237, however the Wildcats continued their hot hitting with .341 hitting in the decisive game. Wegner once again added seven kills in the final set, while Mimick added four digs.
Wegner led the way for Kansas State with 17 kills on a season-best .464 hitting percentage. She also tallied eight digs, three service aces and three blocks. Pollard posted 11 kills on .417 hitting with a team-high nine digs, while Mimick added 10 kills and eight digs.
Sophomore Logan Pierce led the Sooners with nine kills, while junior Denise Griffin posted a match-high 11 digs.
Kansas State will next be in action on Saturday when the Wildcats travel to Lubbock, Texas to face Texas Tech (6-3, 0-1 Big 12) at the United Spirit Arena beginning at 7 p.m. The Wildcats have lost three straight to the Red Raiders in Lubbock.
