No. 13 K-State Locks Down Oklahoma Thursday

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Aliyah Carter's match-high 17 kills helped propel the 13^th-ranked K-State Wildcats to a straight-set victory over Oklahoma on Thursday night at Bramlage Coliseum, 25-16, 25-17, 25-22.

In addition to Carter's 17-kill effort, Holly Bonde and Brynn Carlson each added eight kills while Kadye Fernholz pitched in seven. The Wildcats (4-3, 4-3 Big 12) earned their first sweep of the season and ended a four-match losing streak to the Sooners (2-5, 2-5 Big 12). K-State held a 46-22 edge in total kills while limiting OU to a .092 hitting efficiency on the night.

"To win in three (sets), in this league, is a step forward," head coach Suzie Fritz said after the match. "It means you played well over time. It means you fought off some stuff – the ebbs and flows that come with it. We played a lot of five-game matches, and we've felt a lot of the ups and downs throughout them. I think we still felt them in the middle of the third, but we were able to reel it in pretty fast and it felt pretty good to get it on night one."

Carter, a true freshman from Dubuque, Iowa, has reached double-figure kills in six of seven matches and led the Cats in the category for the third time this season. Her 17^th kill capped a 5-1 K-State surge to finish the match.

"I had two choices: I could still be aggressive, or I could just send a free ball over and have them potentially get that point. And I just thought, 'I've been aggressive all night. It's been working for me. So, I might as well be aggressive again.' And it worked out for me," Carter said of her match-ending kill.

Fernholz hit .357 in picking up her seven kills while leading the team with three blocks. Bonde's eight kills came at a .333 clip while middle blocker Megan Vernon added five kills on seven swings without an error. Vernon, in her first start of the season, added a pair of blocks.

"Shelby (Martin) did a really nice job with our right-side offense; Holly had a good night at the right-side pin. Kadye Fernholz had a good night at the right-side pin. That, for us, is progress," added Fritz. "Megan Vernon came in and had a nice night for us, so there were a lot of positives.

"Megan is an elite blocker, in terms of what she can provide for us defensively. There were some big-time touches that she slowed down for us and allowed our defenders to go fly around and try to make plays. I thought she was tremendous. She was savvy as an attacker; she mixed her shots really well and killed the ball in a variety of different ways."

K-State forced Oklahoma into more errors (6) than kills (5) in a 25-16 first-set victory. Bonde teamed up for two block assists while adding four kills in the set. Carter also registered four kills, helping K-State dig out of an early four-point hole with an 8-2 scoring run. With OU within three points at 17-14, the Wildcats closed by scoring eight of the set's final 10 points.

The Cats never trailed in the second, hitting a match-best .314 while holding the Sooners to a .094 hitting percentage. Carter would go on to record eight kills in the frame, including two during the set-finishing 6-0 burst.

OU held a 20-18 lead late in the third set before K-State rallied to close the match on a 7-2 run. In that match-sealing stretch, the Wildcats got kills from Bonde, Carlson, Carter and Vernon. In total, five players turned in at least three kills in the final frame.

K-State tallied nine service aces on the night, a three-set season high. Mackenzie Morris accounted for four aces, a new career high, while also registering a team-leading 15 digs. Morris, a freshman, has led the Wildcats in digs in all seven outings.

Martin handed out 39 assists with three digs, a block and a kill.

Oklahoma's Guewe Diouf, a two-time Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, led her squad with nine kills at a .125 clip. Tyler Alcorn was second on OU with five kills.

Sarah Maras and Sarah Sanders each added four blocks for the Sooners.

The Cats and Sooners finish the two-match set on Friday, with first serve scheduled for 6:30 p.m. from Bramlage Coliseum. The match will be broadcast 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 .257 as a team (46 kills, 18 errors, 109 attacks).
Oklahoma turned in a .092 hitting percentage (22 kills, 7 errors, 95 swings).
K-State held a 46-22 edge in total kills.
Carter led all players with 17 kills.
Bonde and Carlson each finished with eight kills while Fernholz added seven.
Fernholz led K-State with three blocks.
The Wildcats totaled nine aces, a high for a three-set match this season.
Morris had a team-high four aces and 15 digs.

NOTES

Oklahoma leads the all-time series 57-35-1.
The Cats are 19-21 at home in the series.
Fritz is 22-17 in her career against OU.
The Wildcats snapped a four-match losing streak to the Sooners.
The win marked K-State's first straight-set victory of the season.
It was the Wildcats' first three-set win over OU since 2017.
K-State improves to 19-6 all-time at Bramlage Coliseum.

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Team Stats

Aliyah Carter

Brynn Carlson

Holly Bonde

Kadye Fernholz

Players Mentioned

Holly Bonde

Brynn Carlson

Aliyah Carter

Kadye Fernholz

Mackenzie Morris

Megan Vernon

Players Mentioned

Holly Bonde

Brynn Carlson

Aliyah Carter

Kadye Fernholz

Mackenzie Morris

Megan Vernon

Kansas State University Athletics