Kansas State University Athletics
Thursday, October 1
Morgantown, WV
6 p.m.
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West Virginia
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Nembhard Fuels Cats’ Comeback Win at WVU
Oct 01, 2020 | Volleyball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Freshmen outside hitters Jayden Nembhard and Aliyah Carter put down 24 and 16 kills, respectively, to spark K-State's comeback five-set victory over West Virginia Thursday night at WVU Coliseum, 25-21, 17-25, 25-27, 26-24, 15-13.
In total, three true freshmen accounted for 46 of the Wildcats' 62 kills on the evening, with middle blocker Kadye Fernholz adding six, to boost K-State (2-1, 2-1 Big 12) to its second straight win. In her first extended action of the season, Nembhard committed just three errors while taking a team-high 54 swings for a .389 efficiency.
"I think the biggest bright spot coming out of tonight was definitely Nembhard and being able to put two freshmen on the left side," head coach Suzie Fritz said after the match. "There's just nothing that can prepare a young player for competition except for competition. I thought her, in her first match, really stepped up for us."
After falling behind in the match 2-1, Nembhard tallied 13 kills without an error on 26 attacks (.500) over the final two sets. Carter logged five kills on five swings in the fifth set alone, including the match-clinching point. K-State's offense produced 11 kills in the decisive frame while hitting.556.
Nembhard, a Keller, Texas, product, added five block assists and four digs while Carter registered three block assists.
The Cats defense combined for 15 total blocks (26 assists, 2 solo), holding West Virginia (1-2, 1-2 Big 12) to a .215 team hitting percentage. Redshirt sophomore Abigail Archibong had a career-high 10 total blocks (9 assists, 1 solo), becoming the first Wildcat since the 2018 season to reach double-figure blocks (Macy Flowers).
Four players reached double-digit digs, highlighted by freshman libero Mackenzie Morris' 18. Jacque Smith picked up 11 while Loren Hinkle contributed 10. Senior transfer setter Shelby Martin collected a double-double with 52 assists and 12 digs, the 30th double-double of her career.
"I thought our liberos did a tremendous job of keeping us in plays," added Fritz. "Our first-swing offense was actually pretty good, but when the transition rallies got a little longer, we didn't hold up. [West Virginia] did a really nice job, their transition game was significantly better than ours."
In the opening set, West Virginia led by as many as four and possessed a late 20-18 lead before K-State finished on a 7-1 run. In that closing burst, the Cats got two kills from Carter to go with a pair of blocks from both Archibong and Holly Bonde. K-State picked up five blocks in the set.
Carter totaled five kills in the first set as the Wildcats accumulated 16 kills at a .406 efficiency ( 3 errors, 32 attacks).
The Mountaineers' defense stifled the Wildcats in the second, as they registered three total blocks in holding the Cats to a .036 efficiency and just seven kills (6 errors). With K-State holding a 13-12 edge, WVU would go on an 15-5 scoring run to even the match at a set apiece, including scoring nine of the last 10 points.
The Cats fought off four set points and earned a set-point opportunity of their own at 25-24 in the third. However, the Mountaineers managed to score the set's final three points to take a 2-1 lead. Nembhard accounted for five of K-State's 14 kills in the set.
Nembhard racked up nine kills on 18 swings without an error in the fourth, helping the Cats force a winner-take-all fifth frame. Four of her kills came in the Cats' final seven points, igniting a pivotal five-point run when trailing 21-19. The Wildcats added four more blocks, including four block assists by Archibong, as they held WVU to .149 efficiency in the set.
The fifth set featured 10 tie scores and five lead changes, as neither side led by more than two points. In total, the match held 46 tie scores and 21 lead changes.
Fernholz served up half of K-State's six aces, as the Miller, South Dakota, native, recorded a career-high three aces.
Behind 17 kills apiece from Kristin Lux and Natali Petrova, West Virginia owned a 72-62 edge in total kills. K-State hit at a higher efficiency than the Mountaineers, .238 to.215.
WVU middle blocker Briana Lynch posted 16 kills and hit .438.
The Wildcats and Mountaineers conclude the two-match set on Friday at 5 p.m. CT., with the match streaming live 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
NOTES
In total, three true freshmen accounted for 46 of the Wildcats' 62 kills on the evening, with middle blocker Kadye Fernholz adding six, to boost K-State (2-1, 2-1 Big 12) to its second straight win. In her first extended action of the season, Nembhard committed just three errors while taking a team-high 54 swings for a .389 efficiency.
"I think the biggest bright spot coming out of tonight was definitely Nembhard and being able to put two freshmen on the left side," head coach Suzie Fritz said after the match. "There's just nothing that can prepare a young player for competition except for competition. I thought her, in her first match, really stepped up for us."
After falling behind in the match 2-1, Nembhard tallied 13 kills without an error on 26 attacks (.500) over the final two sets. Carter logged five kills on five swings in the fifth set alone, including the match-clinching point. K-State's offense produced 11 kills in the decisive frame while hitting.556.
Nembhard, a Keller, Texas, product, added five block assists and four digs while Carter registered three block assists.
The Cats defense combined for 15 total blocks (26 assists, 2 solo), holding West Virginia (1-2, 1-2 Big 12) to a .215 team hitting percentage. Redshirt sophomore Abigail Archibong had a career-high 10 total blocks (9 assists, 1 solo), becoming the first Wildcat since the 2018 season to reach double-figure blocks (Macy Flowers).
Four players reached double-digit digs, highlighted by freshman libero Mackenzie Morris' 18. Jacque Smith picked up 11 while Loren Hinkle contributed 10. Senior transfer setter Shelby Martin collected a double-double with 52 assists and 12 digs, the 30th double-double of her career.
"I thought our liberos did a tremendous job of keeping us in plays," added Fritz. "Our first-swing offense was actually pretty good, but when the transition rallies got a little longer, we didn't hold up. [West Virginia] did a really nice job, their transition game was significantly better than ours."
In the opening set, West Virginia led by as many as four and possessed a late 20-18 lead before K-State finished on a 7-1 run. In that closing burst, the Cats got two kills from Carter to go with a pair of blocks from both Archibong and Holly Bonde. K-State picked up five blocks in the set.
Carter totaled five kills in the first set as the Wildcats accumulated 16 kills at a .406 efficiency ( 3 errors, 32 attacks).
The Mountaineers' defense stifled the Wildcats in the second, as they registered three total blocks in holding the Cats to a .036 efficiency and just seven kills (6 errors). With K-State holding a 13-12 edge, WVU would go on an 15-5 scoring run to even the match at a set apiece, including scoring nine of the last 10 points.
The Cats fought off four set points and earned a set-point opportunity of their own at 25-24 in the third. However, the Mountaineers managed to score the set's final three points to take a 2-1 lead. Nembhard accounted for five of K-State's 14 kills in the set.
Nembhard racked up nine kills on 18 swings without an error in the fourth, helping the Cats force a winner-take-all fifth frame. Four of her kills came in the Cats' final seven points, igniting a pivotal five-point run when trailing 21-19. The Wildcats added four more blocks, including four block assists by Archibong, as they held WVU to .149 efficiency in the set.
The fifth set featured 10 tie scores and five lead changes, as neither side led by more than two points. In total, the match held 46 tie scores and 21 lead changes.
Fernholz served up half of K-State's six aces, as the Miller, South Dakota, native, recorded a career-high three aces.
Behind 17 kills apiece from Kristin Lux and Natali Petrova, West Virginia owned a 72-62 edge in total kills. K-State hit at a higher efficiency than the Mountaineers, .238 to.215.
WVU middle blocker Briana Lynch posted 16 kills and hit .438.
The Wildcats and Mountaineers conclude the two-match set on Friday at 5 p.m. CT., with the match streaming live 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 .238 as a team (62 kills, 23 errors, 164 attacks).
- West Virginia turned in a .215 hitting percentage (72 kills, 32 errors, 186 swings).
- Nembhard (24) and Carter (16) each recorded career highs in kills.
- True freshmen accounted for 46 of K-State's 62 kills.
- Archibong had a career-high 10 total blocks (9 assists, 1 solo), becoming the first Cat with double-digit blocks since Macy Flowers had 10 at Texas Tech on October 3, 2018.
- Martin turned in the 30th double-double of her career with 52 assists and 12 digs.
- Four Wildcats had 10 or more digs, led by Morris with her career-best 18.
- Fernholz served up three aces to lead all players.
- K-State's 15 total blocks marked a season high
NOTES
- K-State leads the all-time series 10-7.
- The Cats are now 5-4 in Morgantown.
- K-State is now 2-5 in the last seven meetings.
- K-State handed WVU its first loss in a home opener since 2014.
Team Stats
KState
WVU
Kills
62
72
Errors
23
32
Attempts
164
186
Hitting %
.238
.215
Points
83
84
Assists
56
64
Aces
6
3
Blocks
15
9
Game Leaders
Kills
24
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
10
Kills
6
Aces
3
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
MB/OPP
/ Volleyball
OPP/OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballOH/OPP
/ Volleyball
DS/L
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