Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, October 21
Morgantown, W. Va.
Noon
Kansas State University
9-12, 2-6
2
at
3
West Virginia
14-7, 3-5
1
2
3
4
5
F
Kansas State
25
19
22
25
11
2
West Virginia
16
25
25
19
15
3
Cats’ Comeback Falls Short, WVU Wins in Five
Oct 21, 2017 | Volleyball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Middle blockers Macy Flowers and Peyton Williams each recorded career highs in blocks while opposite Bryna Vogel and setter Sarah Dixon added double-doubles, but K-State's comeback bid fell short at West Virginia on Saturday at the WVU Coliseum, 25-16, 19-25, 22-25, 25-19, 11-15.
K-State (9-12, 2-6 Big 12) forced a decisive fifth set with West Virginia (14-7, 3-5 Big 12) after an errorless fourth set – a set after the Wildcats registered more errors (8) than kills (7). WVU claimed Sets 2 and 3 after the Cats used a 12-0 spurt in a dominant opening-set victory.
"Volleyball naturally has some pretty significant ebbs and flows to it," said head coach Suzie Fritz. "But we have got to get better at minimizing those ebbs and flows. It really is just a matter of consistency. There are times, in both the Baylor match and in this match, where things are really starting to come together. Eighteen blocks in five games is an extraordinary effort at the net."
West Virginia, after tallying four of the first five points, led wire-to-wire in the final set. It was the third consecutive match between K-State and WVU to go five sets. The Wildcats are now 3-4 in five-set matches this season.
The Wildcat defense posted 18.0 team blocks, matching a season high. Flowers (9) and Williams (8) led the push as the Cats forced the Mountaineers into 38 team attacking errors. Williams also paced K-State's offense as she killed a team-best dozen balls while hitting at a .375 clip.
"Peyton continues to do some really nice things," Fritz added. "I thought Brynn Carlson had a nice match, that's back-to-back matches for her where she was pretty productive from an offensive perspective. I thought Macy Flowers was extraordinarily good at the net and Elle Sandbothe in right-front, too. From a blocking perspective, there was a lot of good."
Carlson finished with eight kills (.273) while Sandbothe recorded a season-best seven blocks. Vogel ended the match with 11 kills and tied for the team lead with 13 digs for her seventh double-double of the year. Dixon dished out a team-best 26 assists to go with 10 digs.
Redshirt junior Kylee Zumach had nine kills, two aces and equaled her career-best output with five blocks. Junior libero Reilly Killeen had 13 digs.
Trailing 10-8, K-State put together 12 consecutive points as part of a 16-1 run midway through the opening set to earn its first lead and cruise to a 25-16 set win. Behind Dixon's serve, the redshirt sophomore setter picked up four aces during the 12-0 stretch – a career high. The Wildcat defense chipped in five blocks in the set, led by Williams and Zumach who were each part of three stuff blocks. Williams also added three kills on four swings with Vogel also collecting a trio of kills.
Neither side was able to put together more than three consecutive points in the second set, but a 6-2 Mountaineer run handed WVU a five-point advantage at 17-12. The Cats cut the deficit to three after a 3-0 run at 21-18, but West Virginia closed the frame by scoring four of the final five points to level the match. Brynn Carlson led K-State's offense with four kills in the set but a pair of Mountaineers – Payton Caffrey and Morgan Montgomery – each picked up five kills as WVU hit .290 in the set.
Set 3 saw nine tied scores and four lead changes. The early stages of the set were all runs, as WVU had runs of five and four straight points sandwiched around a 6-0 Wildcat run. West Virginia tallied five of six points to break a 16-16 tie midway through and eventually opened a 24-18 lead. The Cats fought off four straight set points before WVU took the set, 25-22. Both sides had more errors than kills in Set 3 as K-State recorded nine blocks while WVU picked up four.
K-State responded by not committing a single attacking error as it hit .500 (17 kills, 34 swings) to force a fifth set. Carlson, Vogel and Zumach each posted four kills in the set while Williams contributed three on four attacks. The Cats scored four of the set's first five points and never relinquished the lead on their way to a 25-19 set win.
West Virginia scored the first three points on its way to a wire-to-wire win in the final set. The Wildcats managed to cut WVU's lead to three points on multiple occasions but were unable to get closer in a 15-11 set loss. K-State had five kills and three errors (.080) in the decisive frame while WVU had nine kills.
West Virginia held a 60-51 edge in kills but had 20 more hitting errors than K-State (38-18) as the Cats hit .220 while limiting the Mountaineers to a.133 team efficiency. WVU's Caffrey ended with a match-high 25 kills while hitting .298.
K-State returns home to Ahearn Field House on Wednesday, October 25 to face No. 22 Iowa State (14-4, 5-3 Big 12). The match with the Cyclones will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU and begin at 8 p.m. CT. Fans can also listen to Rob Voelker call the action live KMAN 1350 AM, 93.3 FM and on K-StateSports.com.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
K-State (9-12, 2-6 Big 12) forced a decisive fifth set with West Virginia (14-7, 3-5 Big 12) after an errorless fourth set – a set after the Wildcats registered more errors (8) than kills (7). WVU claimed Sets 2 and 3 after the Cats used a 12-0 spurt in a dominant opening-set victory.
"Volleyball naturally has some pretty significant ebbs and flows to it," said head coach Suzie Fritz. "But we have got to get better at minimizing those ebbs and flows. It really is just a matter of consistency. There are times, in both the Baylor match and in this match, where things are really starting to come together. Eighteen blocks in five games is an extraordinary effort at the net."
West Virginia, after tallying four of the first five points, led wire-to-wire in the final set. It was the third consecutive match between K-State and WVU to go five sets. The Wildcats are now 3-4 in five-set matches this season.
The Wildcat defense posted 18.0 team blocks, matching a season high. Flowers (9) and Williams (8) led the push as the Cats forced the Mountaineers into 38 team attacking errors. Williams also paced K-State's offense as she killed a team-best dozen balls while hitting at a .375 clip.
"Peyton continues to do some really nice things," Fritz added. "I thought Brynn Carlson had a nice match, that's back-to-back matches for her where she was pretty productive from an offensive perspective. I thought Macy Flowers was extraordinarily good at the net and Elle Sandbothe in right-front, too. From a blocking perspective, there was a lot of good."
Carlson finished with eight kills (.273) while Sandbothe recorded a season-best seven blocks. Vogel ended the match with 11 kills and tied for the team lead with 13 digs for her seventh double-double of the year. Dixon dished out a team-best 26 assists to go with 10 digs.
Redshirt junior Kylee Zumach had nine kills, two aces and equaled her career-best output with five blocks. Junior libero Reilly Killeen had 13 digs.
Trailing 10-8, K-State put together 12 consecutive points as part of a 16-1 run midway through the opening set to earn its first lead and cruise to a 25-16 set win. Behind Dixon's serve, the redshirt sophomore setter picked up four aces during the 12-0 stretch – a career high. The Wildcat defense chipped in five blocks in the set, led by Williams and Zumach who were each part of three stuff blocks. Williams also added three kills on four swings with Vogel also collecting a trio of kills.
Neither side was able to put together more than three consecutive points in the second set, but a 6-2 Mountaineer run handed WVU a five-point advantage at 17-12. The Cats cut the deficit to three after a 3-0 run at 21-18, but West Virginia closed the frame by scoring four of the final five points to level the match. Brynn Carlson led K-State's offense with four kills in the set but a pair of Mountaineers – Payton Caffrey and Morgan Montgomery – each picked up five kills as WVU hit .290 in the set.
Set 3 saw nine tied scores and four lead changes. The early stages of the set were all runs, as WVU had runs of five and four straight points sandwiched around a 6-0 Wildcat run. West Virginia tallied five of six points to break a 16-16 tie midway through and eventually opened a 24-18 lead. The Cats fought off four straight set points before WVU took the set, 25-22. Both sides had more errors than kills in Set 3 as K-State recorded nine blocks while WVU picked up four.
K-State responded by not committing a single attacking error as it hit .500 (17 kills, 34 swings) to force a fifth set. Carlson, Vogel and Zumach each posted four kills in the set while Williams contributed three on four attacks. The Cats scored four of the set's first five points and never relinquished the lead on their way to a 25-19 set win.
West Virginia scored the first three points on its way to a wire-to-wire win in the final set. The Wildcats managed to cut WVU's lead to three points on multiple occasions but were unable to get closer in a 15-11 set loss. K-State had five kills and three errors (.080) in the decisive frame while WVU had nine kills.
West Virginia held a 60-51 edge in kills but had 20 more hitting errors than K-State (38-18) as the Cats hit .220 while limiting the Mountaineers to a.133 team efficiency. WVU's Caffrey ended with a match-high 25 kills while hitting .298.
K-State returns home to Ahearn Field House on Wednesday, October 25 to face No. 22 Iowa State (14-4, 5-3 Big 12). The match with the Cyclones will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU and begin at 8 p.m. CT. Fans can also listen to Rob Voelker call the action live KMAN 1350 AM, 93.3 FM and on K-StateSports.com.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State posted a .220 hitting percentage while West Virginia hit .133
- It marks the first time this season in which K-State lost a match while posting a higher hitting percentage than its opponent (8-1).
- The Bears out-produced the Cats in kills by a 60-51 margin.
- Dixon posted a career-best four service aces – all in the first set during a 12-0 Wildcat run.
- Three Cats reached double-figure digs: Killeen (13), Vogel (13) and Dixon (10).
- Dixon and Vogel both posted double-doubles. Dixon leads the team with nine while Vogel is second with seven.
- Williams led the team in kills for the second time this season.
- K-State's 18.0 team blocks equaled a season high. Flowers (9) and Williams (8) each set new career highs while Zumach (5) tied her career-best output.
- K-State had an 18.0-6.0 lead in blocks, forcing WVU into 20 more attacking errors (38-18).
- K-State leads the all-time series with West Virginia, 8-3.
- The Wildcats are now 4-2 in Morgantown.
- The Cats have dropped six of their past seven matches overall.
- In 21 matches this season, K-State has now played an equal number of three-, four- and five-set matches (7).
- K-State is 3-4 in five set matches and each of its last three wins have all been in five.
- The seven five-setters is the most in a season since 2014 (8).
Team Stats
KSU
WVU
Kills
51
60
Errors
18
38
Attempts
150
166
Hitting %
.220
.133
Points
76.0
72.0
Assists
48
58
Aces
7
6
Blocks
18.0
6.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
2
Blocks
5
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballOPP
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH
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