K-State Edged in Five Sets by TCU Saturday

Saturday, November 11

Manhattan, Kan.

7 p.m.

Kansas State University

9-17, 2-11Big 12

TCU

11-14, 3-10Big 12

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
TCU	22	25	25	17	16	3
K-State	25	14	20	25	14	2

Nov 11, 2017 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (.pdf)Photo Gallery Game Highlights

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State forced a fifth set behind Kylee Zumach's match-high 18 kills, but the Wildcats fell to TCU Saturday night at Ahearn Field House, 25-22, 14-25, 20-25, 25-17, 14-16.

K-State (9-17, 2-11 Big 12) trailed 13-10 in the final set before a four-point run had that Cats at match point. Out of a timeout, TCU (11-14, 3-10 Big 12) outside hitter Abigail Buckingham ended the match by tallying three straight kills to help the Horned Frogs take the season series from the Cats. The match was K-State's 10^th five-set match this season (3-7), a single-season program record.

"I liked our match demeanor, quite a bit," said head coach Suzie Fritz. "I thought we stayed pretty loose, I thought we played pretty confidently even when we gave up a couple point-scoring runs. We found our way to create some momentum. We worked our way back into the fourth after being down to give ourselves a chance to go to five.

"I thought [TCU] took bigger, more aggressive swings late in the match than we did. And we have to try to continue to stabilize our serve-receive."

Playing its first match without the services of senior captain Bryna Vogel (knee injury), K-State was forced to utilize a variety of lineups and rotations. Zumach, a redshirt junior, played all six rotations for the first time since the season's opening weekend, finishing with nine digs.

"I thought Kylee Zumach did a really nice job," Fritz added. "She took on a bigger role and still hit .240. Having to play six rotations for the first time in a while, I thought she did a nice job of handling a pretty significant workload. I thought Brooke Smith came in and was impactful in the match – set really well, played really well – once we kicked back in that 6-2. I thought Zsofia Gyimes was a difference maker. She came in and put together a point-scoring run late in Game 1 that helped separate us and got a big block at the end of Game 5, she did some nice things."

Smith, a junior-transfer setter, came on in Set 4 to help the Wildcats level the match and force a decisive fifth set. She handed out eight of her 12 assists in the set as K-State recorded five more kills than the Horned Frogs and never trailed in Set 4.

K-State led 15-7 in the fourth but a run of eight consecutive points by the Frogs tied the score at 15. After the Cats' final timeout of the set, they responded with five straight points to reopen the gap and finish a 25-17 win. K-State used six blocks to force TCU into 12 errors and a -.136 team hitting percentage in the set.

The final set had nine ties and three lead changes as middle blockers Macy Flowers and Elle Sandbothe opened the set with back-to-back tandem blocks. K-State recorded 10 of its 13 blocks on the night in the final two frames. Flowers had a team-high eight while Sandbothe was next with seven.

K-State took the opening set after withstanding 10 tied scores and three lead changes. The Cats closed the set on a 7-2 run, capped by Zumach's fifth kill of the set, after trailing by a pair late.

TCU claimed Sets 2 and 3, hitting .462 and .333 as a team, respectively, while holding K-State under a .150 team efficiency in each game. A 10-2 run midway through the second opened an unsurmountable gap for the Cats while the Frogs' late five-point spurt helped clinch the third set.

TCU's Anna Walsh posted a double-double with 15 kills (.355) to go with 12 blocks. The Frogs held edges in total kills, hitting percentage, digs and blocks.

Junior outside hitter Alyssa Schultejans ended with 11 kills. Junior libero Reilly Killeen had a team-high 18 digs while redshirt junior Devan Fairfield posted 12 digs. Setter Sarah Dixon picked up 37 assists, her highest total since the opening match of the season.

The Horned Frogs sweep the season series with K-State for the first time since TCU joined the Big 12 in 2012 and have won the last three in the series. The loss extends the Cats' season-long skid to eight matches.

K-State travels to Waco, Texas, for its final road match of the season, taking on No. 23 Baylor (21-5, 11-2 Big 12) on Wednesday. First serve is set for 6 p.m., and the match will be televised on FOX Sports Southwest. Fans can also listen to Rob Voelker call the action on KMAN 1350 AM, 93.3 AM and streaming live on k-statesports.com.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

K-State posted a .160 attacking percentage and TCU hit at a .181 clip.
Zumach recorded a match-high 18 kills (.239), her 60^th career match in double figures.
Flowers led the defense with eight blocks while Sandbothe added seven.
K-State had 13 blocks as a team while the Frogs picked up 14.
Two Wildcats recorded double-digit digs: Killeen (18) and Fairfield (12).
TCU recorded eight aces to K-State's five. TCU setter Tori Dilfer had five aces.

NOTES

K-State leads the all-time series with TCU, 7-5, dating back to 2012 when TCU joined the Big 12.
TCU has won the last three meetings in the series, its longest winning streak in the series.
The Frogs take the season series from K-State for the first time.
The match was K-State's 10^th five-set match this season, setting a single-season program record. Saturday was TCU's second five-set match this year.
The Cats' eight-match losing streak ties the longest such streak under Fritz (since 2001)