Kansas State University Athletics
Thursday, September 19
Denton, Texas
7 p.m.
Kansas State University
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North Texas
5-5
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K-State
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North Texas
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K-State Outlasts North Texas in Five Sets Thursday Night
Sep 19, 2019 | Volleyball
DENTON, Texas – K-State twice came back from a one-set deficit to outlast North Texas Thursday night in five sets (18-25, 25-13, 16-25, 27-25, 15-11) on the opening day of the North Texas Challenge at North Texas Volleyball Center.
"Consistency," said head coach Suzie Fritz when asked about the difference in the match. "I thought we stayed pretty consistent really through the whole match. Even the ones that we lost, early on, offensively, we had a little trouble getting going but once we stabilized our first-swing offense, I felt like we played pretty consistently from start to finish."
Brynn Carlson and Gloria Mutiri led K-State (5-5) with 17 kills apiece while Peyton Williams added 11. Williams led the Wildcats with a .417 hitting percentage and Sarah Dixon turned in a double-double with a season-high 56 assists to go with 11 digs.
"Brynn came in and gave us a little boost on the left," Fritz added. "Both the middles [Megan Vernon and Peyton Williams] and Gloria had a really nice match. Some of that balance comes from Sarah [Dixon] and comes from our ball handlers. The better we take care of the ball, the better Sarah is allowed to distribute and make good choices.
"I was really pleased with the serve to productive touch at the net to our transition game, which was a little bit of a team focus coming in."
Trailing 2-1 in the match, the Cats registered 23 kills in the fourth set to force a winner-take-all fifth set. Carlson produced 10 of those kills on 22 swings, as K-State hit .354 in the fourth. Freshman Anna Dixon recorded five of her eight kills in Set 4.
North Texas (5-5) was limited to a .125 team hitting efficiency in the final frame behind three team blocks by the Wildcat defense, including two by Mutiri. The sophomore opposite also added four kills on six attacks without an error, and her 17th kill ended the match.
The Mean Green tied the score at 10 in the fifth set, before K-State finished the night on a 5-1 run to end its three-match skid.
K-State held an 84-67 edge in total digs, as four Wildcats reached double figures. Dru Kuck and Jacque Smith tied for the team lead with 19 while Loren Hinkle added 14. Smith's total marked a career high for the redshirt sophomore.
The Cats rebounded from an opening-set loss with a commanding 25-13 win in Set 2. The Mean Green hit just .020 as a team in the second set, as K-State tallied 26 digs in the set, including six from Smith.
UNT was led by Valeria Valerian's 18 kills. Three North Texas players –, Sarah Haeussier, Alyssa Johnson and Barbara Teakell – turned in 11 kills.
The Cats continue the North Texas Challenge Friday against Ohio. First serve is set for 3:30 p.m. as Rob Voelker will have the call on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Fans can also listen free at K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
"Consistency," said head coach Suzie Fritz when asked about the difference in the match. "I thought we stayed pretty consistent really through the whole match. Even the ones that we lost, early on, offensively, we had a little trouble getting going but once we stabilized our first-swing offense, I felt like we played pretty consistently from start to finish."
Brynn Carlson and Gloria Mutiri led K-State (5-5) with 17 kills apiece while Peyton Williams added 11. Williams led the Wildcats with a .417 hitting percentage and Sarah Dixon turned in a double-double with a season-high 56 assists to go with 11 digs.
"Brynn came in and gave us a little boost on the left," Fritz added. "Both the middles [Megan Vernon and Peyton Williams] and Gloria had a really nice match. Some of that balance comes from Sarah [Dixon] and comes from our ball handlers. The better we take care of the ball, the better Sarah is allowed to distribute and make good choices.
"I was really pleased with the serve to productive touch at the net to our transition game, which was a little bit of a team focus coming in."
Trailing 2-1 in the match, the Cats registered 23 kills in the fourth set to force a winner-take-all fifth set. Carlson produced 10 of those kills on 22 swings, as K-State hit .354 in the fourth. Freshman Anna Dixon recorded five of her eight kills in Set 4.
North Texas (5-5) was limited to a .125 team hitting efficiency in the final frame behind three team blocks by the Wildcat defense, including two by Mutiri. The sophomore opposite also added four kills on six attacks without an error, and her 17th kill ended the match.
The Mean Green tied the score at 10 in the fifth set, before K-State finished the night on a 5-1 run to end its three-match skid.
K-State held an 84-67 edge in total digs, as four Wildcats reached double figures. Dru Kuck and Jacque Smith tied for the team lead with 19 while Loren Hinkle added 14. Smith's total marked a career high for the redshirt sophomore.
The Cats rebounded from an opening-set loss with a commanding 25-13 win in Set 2. The Mean Green hit just .020 as a team in the second set, as K-State tallied 26 digs in the set, including six from Smith.
UNT was led by Valeria Valerian's 18 kills. Three North Texas players –, Sarah Haeussier, Alyssa Johnson and Barbara Teakell – turned in 11 kills.
The Cats continue the North Texas Challenge Friday against Ohio. First serve is set for 3:30 p.m. as Rob Voelker will have the call on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Fans can also listen free at K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State hit .287 as a team (71 kills, 22 errors, 171 attacks).
- North Texas turned in a .234 hitting percentage (58 kills, 17 errors, 175 swings).
- Carlson and Mutiri led K-State with 17 kills each.
- Williams recorded 11 kills and hit a team-high .417 clip.
- The Cats held an 84-67 edge in total digs.
- Four Wildcats reached double-figure digs, led by Kuck and Smith with 19 each.
- Dixon tuned in her sixth double-double of the season with 56 assists and 11 digs.
- Dixon tallied a career-high seven kills.
- K-State leads the all-time series against North Texas, 4-1, dating back to 1979.
- The Wildcats have won the last four meetings with the Mean Green, including each of the last two seasons.
- K-State has played six five-set matches this season (3-3).
- The Wildcats are 15-6 in their last 21 non-conference matches.
- The Wildcats have yet to play a three-set match this season, a program record to begin a season at 10 straight matches.
- K-State has split the first two sets of a match in nine of 10 matches.
- Kuck's program-record streak of five straight matches with 20 or more digs came to an end.
Team Stats
KSU
UNT
Kills
71
58
Errors
22
17
Attempts
171
175
Hitting %
.287
.234
Points
80.0
72.0
Assists
65
51
Aces
4
7
Blocks
5.0
7.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
OPP
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballMB
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