K-State, KU Split Dillons Sunflower Showdown

Saturday, November 16

Lawrence, Kan.

1 p.m.

Kansas State University

8-17, 3-10Big 12

Kansas

8-15, 4-9Big 12

K-State

Kansas

Nov 16, 2019 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

LAWRENCE, Kan. – K-State saw three players reached double-digit kills, but Kansas took the final two sets Saturday to split the season's Dillons Sunflower Showdown with a four-set victory at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena, 18-25, 25-23, 23-25, 24-26.

Brynn Carlson had a team-high 12 kills while hitting .308. Peyton Williams added 10 kills and led the team with a .421 hitting efficiency, three aces and four blocks. Anna Dixon (10) rounded out the trio of Wildcats in double figures.

KU (8-15, 4-9 Big 12) hit over .300 in each of the first three sets, including a match-high .517 in the opening frame, while holding K-State (8-17, 3-9 Big 12) under .300 in all four sets. The Jayhawks finished with a team hitting percentage of .314 to the Cats' .215.

"Very poor start by us, which was unfortunate," head coach Suzie Fritz said after the match. "But in Games 2-4, I thought we had plenty of chances. We didn't take care of the ball very well but in first-swing offense, we saw some pretty dramatic improvements.

"I don't think we are going to be able to get away with letting people hit over .300, and then feel like we can match that."

Four Jayhawks produced 10 or more kills, paced by Rachel Langs with 13 on 18 swings as she hit .556. Gracie Van Driel put down nine kills on 14 attacks (.429).

Freshman Loren Hinkle recorded 12 digs to lead all players and senior Mckenzi Weber finished with nine digs.

"From a passing perspective, I was really proud of Loren Hinkle," added Fritz. "I thought Loren Hinkle and Brynn Carlson passed really well for us. And then in swing production, Peyton (Williams) was terrific and Brynn (Carlson) had another good night."

KU registered 18 kills at a .517 clip to win a wire-to-wire opening set. An early 7-1 spurt broke a 5-5 tie and handed the Jayhawks a six-point edge. K-State threatened late, putting together a five-point scoring run behind the serve of Williams, including three aces during that stretch. Williams accounted for three of the Cats' eight kills in the set.

Two kills by Carlson aided a 5-1 K-State run that ended the second set, leveling the match. In total, K-State finished Set 2 on an 8-3 run that erased a three-point deficit. Carlson and Dixon each finished the set with five kills, as the Cats produced 15 kills to KU's 10. The second set saw 11 tie scores and four lead changes.

K-State fought off one set-point chance before the Jayhawks took a 2-1 lead with a 25-23 victory in the third. The Cats never led in the frame and trailed by as many as six at 13-7, as neither side managed a scoring run larger than three points. Williams led K-State with five kills and Carlson contributed four.

The Cats fended off two consecutive match points with a kill and block turned in by Carlson, forcing the fourth set to go extra points. Morgan Christon's 10^th kill of the day ended the match and produced the first season split of the Sunflower Showdown since 2014. The final frame held 12 tie scores while the lead changed hands seven times.

K-State turned in its lowest attacking percentage in the fourth at .069 (10 kills eight errors, 29 attacks). The Cats picked up four of their seven blocks in the fourth.

Langs registered seven block assists to lead Kansas while Sarah Nielson added four. Camryn Ennis turned in a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs.

In total, the match held 30 tie scores and 11 lead changes.

The Wildcats return to Ahearn Field House as they host Oklahoma Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The match will air on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Rob Voelker will have the call on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with free, live audio available at K-StateSports.com/watch.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

K-State hit .214 as a team (49 kills, 23 errors, 121 attacks).
KU turned in a .315 hitting percentage (57 kills, 19 errors, 121 swings).
Carlson led the Wildcats with 12 kills and hit .308.
Williams led K-State in hitting percentage (.421), aces (3) and blocks (4).
Williams' three aces matched her career high.
Dixon and Megan Vernon each added three blocks.
K-State picked up six aces to KU's three.
Hinkle had a match-high 12 digs.
The match saw 30 tie scores and 11 lead changes.

NOTES

K-State lead the all-time series with Kansas, 66-53-1.
The Cats are 30-17 all-time in Lawrence.
Fritz is 22-17 in her career vs. KU.
The Wildcats snapped their three-match winning streak vs. Kansas.
K-State and Kansas split the season series for the first time since 2014.
The Cats are now 3-6 in four-set matches and 6-10 when splitting the first two sets.