Kansas State University Athletics
Wednesday, September 19
Ahearn Field House
6 p.m.
Kansas State University
10-2, 0-1Big 12
2
vs
3
Texas
6-3, 1-0Big 12
1
2
3
4
5
F
Texas
24
25
25
18
19
3
K-State
26
19
17
25
17
2
Cats Take No. 5 Longhorns to Five, Fall in Big 12 Opener
Sep 19, 2018 | Volleyball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State pushed No. 5 Texas to a fifth set, but fell in the Big 12 opener for both teams Wednesday night at Ahearn Field House, 26-24, 19-25, 17-25, 25-18, 17-19, in front of a national television audience on ESPNU.
K-State (10-2, 0-1 Big 12) fought off three match points in the fifth set and had a match point of its own at 16-15, but Texas (6-3, 1-0 Big 12) scored four of the match's final five points to snap the Wildcats' eight-match winning streak.
"I'm pretty proud of them," head coach Suzie Fritz said after the match. "I thought we played hard and thought we were in it and we had opportunities to win it. It's very easy to get caught up in the result and, not necessarily, the things you did to put yourself in a position to win – which I felt like we did."
"That's the fifth-best team in the country," redshirt senior Kylee Zumach added. "If that's how we go out and we are playing our very first game of the Big 12, that's nothing to hang your head about … When it was time to compete, we gave it our all."
Zumach moved into sole possession of second place on K-State's all-time kill list, as she turned in her second straight match with 20 kills to go with 14 digs. Senior Alyssa Schultejans added 17 kills while freshman Gloria Mutiri registered 14, six of which came in the fifth set with the final two fending off UT match points.
"I thought she got warmer as she went," said Fritz of Mutiri. "Early, I didn't think she was as productive as she has been up to this point. But she started heating up late when we needed her the most."
Despite being out-hit by over a hundred points (.346-.244) and tallying 11 fewer kills (77-66), the Cats forced a fifth set after a 25-18 win in Set 4. Schultejans picked up five kills in the fourth while the K-State defense held Texas to a .079 hitting efficiency behind 3.0 team blocks.
The fifth set saw a total of nine tied scores and four lead changes and the Longhorns picked up 3.0 team blocks and hit .355, ending the match on a 4-1 run.
The Cats claimed the opening set, 26-24, before Texas took a 2-1 lead with victories in Sets 2 and 3. UT hit over .350 in four of the five sets on the night.
Redshirt junior Sarah Dixon tallied a career-high 54 assists and libero Devan Fairfield recorded a match-high 20 digs, a career high for the redshirt senior.
Three Longhorns reached double-digit kills: Micaya White (21), Brionne Butler (14) and Yaazie Bedart-Ghani (10). White added 13 digs while setter Ashley Shook gave out 62 assists and picked up eight digs.
Texas doubled up the Cats in team blocks (12.0-6.0). Zumach and junior Elle Sandbothe led K-State with three blocks each while Schultejans and redshirt sophomore Peyton Williams each had a pair.
K-State faces Oklahoma Friday in its first Big 12 road test. The Cats and Sooners start at 7 p.m. at McCasland Field House and will be broadcast on SoonerSports.TV (paid). Fans can listen to Rob Voelker on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with live, free audio streaming on K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
K-State (10-2, 0-1 Big 12) fought off three match points in the fifth set and had a match point of its own at 16-15, but Texas (6-3, 1-0 Big 12) scored four of the match's final five points to snap the Wildcats' eight-match winning streak.
"I'm pretty proud of them," head coach Suzie Fritz said after the match. "I thought we played hard and thought we were in it and we had opportunities to win it. It's very easy to get caught up in the result and, not necessarily, the things you did to put yourself in a position to win – which I felt like we did."
"That's the fifth-best team in the country," redshirt senior Kylee Zumach added. "If that's how we go out and we are playing our very first game of the Big 12, that's nothing to hang your head about … When it was time to compete, we gave it our all."
Zumach moved into sole possession of second place on K-State's all-time kill list, as she turned in her second straight match with 20 kills to go with 14 digs. Senior Alyssa Schultejans added 17 kills while freshman Gloria Mutiri registered 14, six of which came in the fifth set with the final two fending off UT match points.
"I thought she got warmer as she went," said Fritz of Mutiri. "Early, I didn't think she was as productive as she has been up to this point. But she started heating up late when we needed her the most."
Despite being out-hit by over a hundred points (.346-.244) and tallying 11 fewer kills (77-66), the Cats forced a fifth set after a 25-18 win in Set 4. Schultejans picked up five kills in the fourth while the K-State defense held Texas to a .079 hitting efficiency behind 3.0 team blocks.
The fifth set saw a total of nine tied scores and four lead changes and the Longhorns picked up 3.0 team blocks and hit .355, ending the match on a 4-1 run.
The Cats claimed the opening set, 26-24, before Texas took a 2-1 lead with victories in Sets 2 and 3. UT hit over .350 in four of the five sets on the night.
Redshirt junior Sarah Dixon tallied a career-high 54 assists and libero Devan Fairfield recorded a match-high 20 digs, a career high for the redshirt senior.
Three Longhorns reached double-digit kills: Micaya White (21), Brionne Butler (14) and Yaazie Bedart-Ghani (10). White added 13 digs while setter Ashley Shook gave out 62 assists and picked up eight digs.
Texas doubled up the Cats in team blocks (12.0-6.0). Zumach and junior Elle Sandbothe led K-State with three blocks each while Schultejans and redshirt sophomore Peyton Williams each had a pair.
K-State faces Oklahoma Friday in its first Big 12 road test. The Cats and Sooners start at 7 p.m. at McCasland Field House and will be broadcast on SoonerSports.TV (paid). Fans can listen to Rob Voelker on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with live, free audio streaming on K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State hit .244 as a team while Texas hit .346, a season high for a K-State opponent.
- Zumach turned in her second straight match with at least 20 kills and 10 digs and leads the team with six double-doubles this season.
- The Wildcats were out-blocked (12.0-6.0) for the first time since the season's opening match at Hawaii.
- Dixon turned in her first 50-assist match while Fairfield posted the first 20-dig match of her career.
- Texas held an 11-kill edge in total kills, 77-66.
- The fifth set had nine tied scores and four lead changes.
- Three Wildcats and three Longhorns reached double-digit kills.
- K-State now trails the all-time series with Texas, 7-40, as the Longhorns extend their winning streak vs. the Cats to 30 matches.
- Texas has taken the last three matches at Ahearn Field House in five sets.
- Zumach (1,230 kills) passed Lauren Goehring for second all-time on K-State's all-time kills list (rally-scoring era).
- The match marked the longest five-set loss in K-State history (19-17).
- With 336 career wins, head coach Suzie Fritz sits in a tie for third place on the Big 12's all-time wins list with Nebraska's John Cook as members of the conference.
Team Stats
UT
KSU
Kills
77
66
Errors
21
23
Attempts
162
176
Hitting %
.346
.244
Points
92.0
80.0
Assists
71
62
Aces
3
8
Blocks
12.0
6.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
20
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
17
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
14
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
OPP
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
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