Syracuse Hands Wildcats Third Straight Defeat

Friday, September 1

Manhattan, Kan.

7:30 p.m.

Kansas State University

2-3

Syracuse

3-3

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Syracuse	17	25	25	25	3
K-State	25	18	22	18	1

Sep 02, 2017 | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Following K-State's 25-17 opening-set victory, Syracuse claimed the next three sets to hand the Wildcats their third straight loss Friday night at Ahearn Field House on the second day of the K-State Invitational.

The Orange (3-3) hit over .300 as a team in two of the final three sets while keeping K-State (2-3) to a season-low .150 attacking percentage on the night. The three-match losing streak is the longest for the Cats since 2015 as they begin the season 0-2 at home for the first time since 1992.

"Early, I felt okay," said head coach Suzie Fritz after the match. "I thought we were executing okay early in the match but the more we pressed, the worse it got. I didn't think we played well under pressure. We're searching right now for the right mix. We are becoming a volleyball team. We are trying to become a volleyball team. I think we've got a lot of really good volleyball players and individuals that are working really, really hard, but I don't think that we are a team yet.

"First and foremost, we have to execute better and play together better – not just when it's going our way, but be able to play under stress and under pressure," Fritz added. "We are learning that and my hope is that the lack of success doesn't hinder our ability to learn and continue to grow together."

K-State used a 7-0 stretch late in the opening set that took its lead from one point to eight. Alyssa Schultejans, who finished with a team-best 14 kills, posted five in the frame. The Wildcat defense forced Syracuse into five errors while limiting its kills to seven (.059) in the opening game.

Syracuse flipped the script in the second, hitting at a .333 clip while holding the Cats to .069. An early five-point spurt by Cuse pushed the lead to four and K-State failed to close the gap to smaller than three the rest of the set.

Following a 25-22 third set, set four read much like the second, with the Orange out-hitting K-State, .360-.057. K-State cut SU's lead to two (15-13) midway through the final game, but a 6-1 stretch by Syracuse out of a timeout kept the Cats at arm's length.

A trio of Wildcats – Schultejans (14), Elle Sandbothe (10) and Bryna Vogel (10) – reached double-figure kills. Redshirt junior Kylee Zumach was the team's digs leader with eight with Vogel and libero Reilly Killeen each contributing seven. Sophomore defensive specialist Maureen Schick matched her career-high of five digs in two sets of action.

"I thought (Maureen) Schick came in and did a great job, came in and made a difference as a defender and as a passer helped us upgrade in terms of handling first contact," Fritz said. "I thought Macy Flowers came in and took over the net and shut some things down for us. I thought those two were bright spots. Bryna Vogel was Bryna Vogel. She was consistently good from start to finish."

Vogel (.222) registered the team's highest hitting percentage among players with at least 10 attempts and had two of the Wildcats' three aces. Flowers tallied a block, a kill and a dig after entering the match in the fourth set.

Syracuse had 11.5 blocks to K-State's seven. Sandbothe and setter Sarah Dixon each had three blocks. Dixon ended with a match-high 38 assists.

K-State concludes the three-day tournament at Ahearn Field House Saturday against sixth-ranked Wisconsin. First serve is set for 1:30 p.m. CT and the match will stream live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

K-State posted a season-low .150 attacking efficiency while Syracuse finished with a .190 hitting percentage.
The Cats hit under .100 in sets two and four. Syracuse hit over .330 in the same sets.
K-State had 11 service errors compared with three aces. Syracuse had seven aces and seven errors.
SU had a 52-40 edge in total team digs.

NOTES

This was Syracuse's first win in the series (2-1) with the last meeting coming in 2012.
The Wildcats begin their home campaign 0-2 for the first time since 1992.
The three-match losing streak is longer than any stretch during the 2016 season.
K-State is under .500 for the first time since beginning the 2011 season 0-2.