LINCOLN, Neb. Kansas State, the only Big 12 team to ever win two matches in Nebraska Coliseum, put a scare into No. 1 Nebraska on Saturday night. In the end, the Huskers prevailed over the upset-minded Wildcats, 3-1 (30-16, 32-34, 30-15, 30-26).
Kansas State (18-10, 9-9 Big 12) was led by senior Agata Rezende and sophomore Rita Liliom. Rezende registered her sixth career 20-kill match with 20. The Franca, Brazil, native set a new career-high with 63 total attacks and hit .190 on the night. She also surpassed 600 kills for her career and now stands at 610.
Liliom recorded her sixth double-double on the season with 14 kills and 10 digs. The Budapest, Hungary product led the Wildcats with a .265 hitting percentage. Liliom has 10 or more kills in seven of her last eight matches and 10 or more digs in five of her last six.
Sophomore libero Angie Lastra had a match-high 25 digs to go with K-State’s lone service ace. The Carolina, Puerto Rico product is now tied for third in K-State history with Kim Zschau (1995-98) for most career 20-dig matches with 11. She now ranks ninth in K-State history for career digs with 922, passing Devon Ryning (1994-97) and Kate DeClerk (1993-96).
After an early tie, Nebraska rattled off a 6-0 run to take command of game one. The Wildcats were led by Liliom in the frame with three kills and four digs, with Rezende behind her with two kills. The Huskers tallied a .314 hitting percentage on 18 kills while K-State carded a -.022 on eight kills and nine attack errors.
Kansas State rebounded with a strong team effort in the second stanza to capture its first game off the Huskers since Oct. 13, 2004. The teams were knotted 18 times and exchanged the lead seven times in the frame. K-State captured its first lead of the match on a Nebraska attack error, making the score 15-14 in favor of the Wildcats. K-State extended the advantage to 16-14 on a Liliom and Kroeker block assist.
The Wildcats forced a Nebraska timeout following a Hamlin and Rezende block assist. The Huskers recaptured the lead at 26-25, but a service error and consecutive attack errors by Nebraska gave K-State a 28-27 edge.
K-State pushed Nebraska to its longest game of the season on a Spiegelberg kill to make the game 29-28 in favor of the Wildcats. Nebraska quickly pushed to game point on consecutive kills, but the Wildcats used two Rezende kills and a Hamlin and Liliom block assist to force a game point of its own. Liliom put the game in K-State’s favor with a kill down the right side of the Nebraska defense.
For the frame, K-State hit .231 with 20 kills and held Nebraska to a .130 hitting percentage on 19 kills and 12 attack errors. The Wildcats were led by Rezende with eight kills and Liliom with four.
Nebraska utilized an 8-0 run midway through game three to win the frame. The Huskers hit .333 with 14 kills, while K-State hit -.023 with 12 kills. Again the Wildcats were paced by Rezende with four kills and Liliom with three. Lastra carded six digs in the stanza.
K-State challenged the Huskers in the fourth game, holding its last lead at 14-13 on a Rezende kill and tying the game for the final time at 18 on a Jamie Perkins and Hamlin block assist. Nebraska pieced together a .271 hitting percentage with 22 kills. The Wildcats hit .155 with 15 kills in the game.
Kansas State will close out the 2005 regular season in Ahearn Field House next week with a pair of matches. The Wildcats will host Baylor on Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. K-State will host Oklahoma on Senior Day on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 2 p.m.
