Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, August 25
Honolulu, HI
11:59 p.m.
Kansas State University
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Hawaii
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K-State
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Hawaii
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K-State Rolls to Season-Opening Sweep of Hawaii
Aug 26, 2018 | Volleyball
HONOLULU – After a delayed start to its season due to Hurricane Lane, K-State finally began its 2018 season with a 3-0 sweep over Hawaii, 25-21, 29-27, 25-20, Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center in a match that was closed to the public.
Redshirt senior outside hitter Kylee Zumach led all players with 19 kills, including nine errorless kills in the final set. Senior Alyssa Schultejans added 11 kills, as K-State (1-0) tallied 21 team kills while hitting .353 in the final game to close out its first-ever sweep of Hawaii (0-1). Zumach finished the night hitting .364 (3 errors, 44 attacks) to go with eight digs and two blocks.
"It feels pretty good," head coach Suzie Fritz said after the match. "I was pleasantly surprised with our effort and execution given that we have been off for a couple days. But sometimes rest is the best thing you can do in terms of having good energy and being hungry to play again."
K-State, who did not find out it would be playing until Saturday morning, was unable to practice Thursday and Friday due to the hazardous weather conditions that were predicted for the Hawaiian Islands. K-State and Hawaii officials made the decision to play Saturday and Sunday after Saturday's match had originally been cancelled.
"First and foremost, we thankful that everyone is safe," said Fritz. "We are very appreciative of the way the University of Hawaii handled the situation and worked to get us some matches."
The Wildcat offense produced a higher hitting efficiency than Hawaii in each of the three sets, capped by a match-best .353 (21 kills, 3 errors, 51 total attempts) in Set 3. Middle blocker Peyton Williams, who was the Cats' leader in hitting percentage in 2017, led the team with a .444 efficiency with nine kills on 18 swings and just one error.
Redshirt junior Sarah Dixon handed out a match-high 37 assists to go with seven digs. Libero Devan Fairfield led all players with 16 digs, her highest total since the 2016 season.
In her Wildcat debut, redshirt freshman Jacque Smith turned in seven digs and a service ace. Honolulu-native Reilly Killeen recorded a pair of aces in the match.
The Cats never relinquished their lead in the opening set despite the Rainbow Wahine leveling the score four different times. Zumach tallied three kills as K-State opened an early 5-1 lead. The 6-foot-4 outside hitter finished with five kills in Set 1, helping the Wildcats outhit Hawaii, .220-.171. The Cats closed the set on a three-point run, including a service ace from Dixon.
Set 2 saw 14 ties and seven lead changes, as K-State fought off a pair of set points and scored four of the final five points to close out the extra-point frame, 29-27. Early in the set, the Cats rattled off seven straight points at one time, only to see Hawaii respond with five unanswered. Zumach tallied five more kills in the set while Schultejans added four.
A 6-1 spurt by K-State in the final set pushed a one-point lead into a six-point advantage at 23-17. Zumach ended the match with her 19th kill. Williams had four kills on eight swings without an error in the set.
K-State will face Hawaii again at the Stan Sheriff Center Sunday at 7 p.m. CT (2 p.m. HT). The match will stream live at BigWest.TV while Rob Voelker will have the call on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Free, live audio is also available on K-StateSports.com/watch.
Hawaii, who ranked second in the nation in average attendance at over 6,300 fans a match last season, will have its crowd on Sunday after Saturday's match was closed to the public due to the decision to play Saturday morning.
"I think it will change the dynamic significantly," added Fritz. "It was relatively quiet in here, so it will change significantly. It will create the home-court advantage that Hawaii is famous for – which we welcome. That's part of the reason why we came here. We want to play a great team and have an opportunity to be in a great environment to prepare us for the Big 12."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Redshirt senior outside hitter Kylee Zumach led all players with 19 kills, including nine errorless kills in the final set. Senior Alyssa Schultejans added 11 kills, as K-State (1-0) tallied 21 team kills while hitting .353 in the final game to close out its first-ever sweep of Hawaii (0-1). Zumach finished the night hitting .364 (3 errors, 44 attacks) to go with eight digs and two blocks.
"It feels pretty good," head coach Suzie Fritz said after the match. "I was pleasantly surprised with our effort and execution given that we have been off for a couple days. But sometimes rest is the best thing you can do in terms of having good energy and being hungry to play again."
K-State, who did not find out it would be playing until Saturday morning, was unable to practice Thursday and Friday due to the hazardous weather conditions that were predicted for the Hawaiian Islands. K-State and Hawaii officials made the decision to play Saturday and Sunday after Saturday's match had originally been cancelled.
"First and foremost, we thankful that everyone is safe," said Fritz. "We are very appreciative of the way the University of Hawaii handled the situation and worked to get us some matches."
The Wildcat offense produced a higher hitting efficiency than Hawaii in each of the three sets, capped by a match-best .353 (21 kills, 3 errors, 51 total attempts) in Set 3. Middle blocker Peyton Williams, who was the Cats' leader in hitting percentage in 2017, led the team with a .444 efficiency with nine kills on 18 swings and just one error.
Redshirt junior Sarah Dixon handed out a match-high 37 assists to go with seven digs. Libero Devan Fairfield led all players with 16 digs, her highest total since the 2016 season.
In her Wildcat debut, redshirt freshman Jacque Smith turned in seven digs and a service ace. Honolulu-native Reilly Killeen recorded a pair of aces in the match.
The Cats never relinquished their lead in the opening set despite the Rainbow Wahine leveling the score four different times. Zumach tallied three kills as K-State opened an early 5-1 lead. The 6-foot-4 outside hitter finished with five kills in Set 1, helping the Wildcats outhit Hawaii, .220-.171. The Cats closed the set on a three-point run, including a service ace from Dixon.
Set 2 saw 14 ties and seven lead changes, as K-State fought off a pair of set points and scored four of the final five points to close out the extra-point frame, 29-27. Early in the set, the Cats rattled off seven straight points at one time, only to see Hawaii respond with five unanswered. Zumach tallied five more kills in the set while Schultejans added four.
A 6-1 spurt by K-State in the final set pushed a one-point lead into a six-point advantage at 23-17. Zumach ended the match with her 19th kill. Williams had four kills on eight swings without an error in the set.
K-State will face Hawaii again at the Stan Sheriff Center Sunday at 7 p.m. CT (2 p.m. HT). The match will stream live at BigWest.TV while Rob Voelker will have the call on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Free, live audio is also available on K-StateSports.com/watch.
Hawaii, who ranked second in the nation in average attendance at over 6,300 fans a match last season, will have its crowd on Sunday after Saturday's match was closed to the public due to the decision to play Saturday morning.
"I think it will change the dynamic significantly," added Fritz. "It was relatively quiet in here, so it will change significantly. It will create the home-court advantage that Hawaii is famous for – which we welcome. That's part of the reason why we came here. We want to play a great team and have an opportunity to be in a great environment to prepare us for the Big 12."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State posted a .274 team hitting percentage while limiting Hawaii to .240.
- Zumach led all players with 19 kills while Schultejans added 11.
- The Wildcats had 21 kills as team in the final set.
- Fairfield recorded a match-best 16 digs, one shy of her career high of 17 set in the 2016 season.
- Williams led the Cats with a .444 efficiency (9k-1e-18ta).
- Jacque Smith made her Wildcat debut, recording seven digs and a service ace.
- K-State held a 51-46 edge in total kills.
- K-State now trails the all-time series with Hawaii, 2-5, and have won the last two matches.
- The Wildcats won their season opener for the seventh straight season.
- K-State sweeps the Rainbow Wahine for the first time in the series history.
- Due to weather and a quick turnaround, the match was closed to the public. Hawaii ranked second in the nation in attendance last season with over 6,300 fans per match.
- Fritz is now four wins shy of moving into fourth on the Big 12's career wins list (327-196).
Team Stats
KSU
UH
Kills
51
46
Errors
14
16
Attempts
135
125
Hitting %
.274
.240
Points
58.0
55.0
Assists
47
45
Aces
5
3
Blocks
2.0
6.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
19
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
OH
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