No. 11 K-State Fends off Jayhawks in Five Sets Friday

LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 11 K-State held off rival Kansas Friday night behind 23 kills from Aliyah Carter, claiming a five-set victory in the Dillons Sunflower Showdown at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena, 22-25, 25-21, 25-19, 17-25, 15-10.

Carter turned in her second straight 20-kill performance, and third of the season, to give K-State (6-4, 6-4 Big 12) a split in the two-match series. Holly Bonde hit .360 in logging 10 kills while Abigail Archibong had seven kills while hitting .600 to go with five blocks.

"Their fight was tremendous," said head coach Suzie Fritz. "The commitment to competitiveness I thought was tremendous. We had to do it a little bit by committee tonight. There were a lot of ebbs and flows to the match and so you hope when you make those changes, they have productive results. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't."

In the decisive final set, K-State sprinted out to a 6-0 lead. Kansas (2-8, 2-8 Big 12) responded with a five-point scoring run of its own. With the Cats holding a 9-8 lead, Jayden Nembhard went on to collect four kills on four swings, including the match-sealing point, as K-State closed by scoring six of the final eight points.

The Wildcats utilized both setters in the match, with senior Shelby Martin handing out 17 assists in the first and fifth sets. Teana Adams-Kaonohi came off the bench and registered 32 assists, helping K-State claim the second and third sets.

"I thought when Teana (Adams-Kaonohi) came in, she gave us a little bit of a boost," Fritz said. "She just does things a little different, and so I thought we gained some momentum. Particularly, getting quick and right-side offense going a bit more, which I thought was a nice change from what we got last night."

K-State held a 61-55 edge in total kills while hitting .250 to KU's .201. The Wildcats out-dug the Jayhawks 73-57, as Mackenzie Morris recorded a match-high 18 while Jacque Smith added a season-high 14.

"The match was a lot different than last night," added Fritz. "I thought we stabilized in serve receive. Our liberos upgraded significantly. From a serve and pass perspective, we were quite a bit better and I think, ultimately, that was the difference."

The match's first two sets saw a total of 19 tie scores and eight lead changes while the last three frames held just one tie score and zero lead changes.

Archibong, Carter and Kadye Fernholz each tallied five blocks while Bonde added three. Fernholz ended the night with nine kills and hitting .217.

In the opening set early four-point scoring run gave KU a 12-6 lead. K-State clawed back to even the score at 17 following kills by Archibong, Bonde and a service ace by Loren Hinkle. Later with the score at 22-22, Kansas closed the set with three consecutive points, capped by back-to-back aces from Caroline Crawford.

In the opening set, Bonde had a team-high five kills while hitting .400. Carter added four kills.

A 9-1 Wildcat stretch midway through the second frame helped key K-State to tie the match at a set apiece. The pivotal scoring run contained three kills by Carter and a pair from Bonde, handing the Cats a six-point lead at 18-12. Carter finished the set with six kills (.444) while Archibong picked up five kills on six swings (.667).

K-State hit a match-best .385 in leading throughout the third set to take a 2-1 lead. Fernholz hit at a .500 clip, with four kills coming on six swings (one error). Archibong added three blocks while Morris served up two aces.

In tying the match, 2-2, KU got five kills from Jenny Mosser and limited K-State to a .091 team hitting percentage. Carter accounted for five of the Wildcats' nine kills, as the Cats never led in the fourth.

Kansas was led by Mosser, who finished the match with 21 kills. Crawford ended with 13 kills and Rachel Langs added 10. Mosser collected six aces while Crawford had five as the duo combined for all 11 of the Jayhawks' service aces.

K-State has won four of the last six meetings against KU, with the last three all coming in five sets. The Cats have played six five-set matches this season (4-2).

The Wildcats continue a four-match road swing as they head to Texas Tech for a two-match set beginning Friday. Saturday's match is scheduled to stream on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Fans can also listen to Rob Voelker on 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 .250 as a team (61 kills, 24 errors, 148 attacks).
Kansas turned in a .201 hitting percentage (55 kills, 23 errors, 159 swings).
Carter led all players with 23 kills, her second straight 20-kill performance.
Bonde finished with 10 kills and hitting .360.
Archibong hit a career-best .600 (7 kills, 1 error, 10 swings).
Archibong, Carter and Fernholz each finished with five blocks.
Morris led K-State in digs for the 10^th straight match, picking up 18.
Smith turned in a season-high 14 digs.
KU held an 11-5 edge in service aces.
K-State recorded 73 digs to the Jayhawks' 57.

NOTES

K-State leads the all-time series 67-54-1.
The Cats are 31-18 on the road in the series.
Fritz is 23-17 in her career against KU.
K-State has won four of the last six meetings in the rivalry, with the last three coming in five sets.
The Wildcats have played six five-set matches this season, going 4-2.

😸🌻 Cats Win 🌻😸#KStateVB pic.twitter.com/DpBr8JsRWw
— K-State Volleyball (@KStateVB) October 31, 2020

Jayden with the finishing touch 😸#KStateVB x @JaydenNembhard pic.twitter.com/xRqaQEF0sL
— K-State Volleyball (@KStateVB) October 31, 2020

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Team Stats

Aliyah Carter

Holly Bonde

Kadye Fernholz

Abigail Archibong

Players Mentioned

Teana Adams-Kaonohi

Abigail Archibong

Holly Bonde

Aliyah Carter

Kadye Fernholz

Loren Hinkle

Shelby Martin

Mackenzie Morris

Jayden Nembhard

Jacque Smith

Players Mentioned

Teana Adams-Kaonohi

Abigail Archibong

Holly Bonde

Aliyah Carter

Kadye Fernholz

Loren Hinkle

Shelby Martin

Mackenzie Morris

Jayden Nembhard

Jacque Smith

Kansas State University Athletics