Wildcats Survive in Five Against Red Raiders

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State was able to hold off Texas Tech in five sets Wednesday night at Bramlage Coliseum, getting 21 kills apiece from Holly Bonde and Aliyah Carter as the Wildcats took the series opener, 25-23, 25-20, 24-26, 18-25, 15-12.

Bonde and Carter helped K-State (13-7, 4-5 Big 12) to a 70-58 edge in total kills while Carter picked up three kills during a match-ending 5-1 run in the final set. Bonde's kill total set a career high and Carter recorded her fifth 20-kill performance of the season.

"That's a big win for us," said head coach Suzie Fritz. "There are a number of teams fighting for position within the league. Texas Tech is a really, really good volleyball team. They play a lot of juniors and seniors, and they don't make a lot of errors. They dig like crazy and make you play long and are just really gritty and tough. I think they're really talented and so we felt like it was an opportunity at home for us."

The Cats and Texas Tech (13-9, 3-6 Big 12) entered the night in a five-way tie for fourth place in the Big 12 standings. K-State raced out to a two-set lead, recording a higher hitting efficiency in each set while stacking up a 31-22 advantage in kills.

"I'm thrilled about getting off to a good start and being up 2-0, clearly not as thrilled about not being able to maybe finish it a little bit sooner," added Fritz. "But having said that, it's very, very difficult to beat a good volleyball team in three. It's very rare, and it's very difficult."

In the final set, K-State found itself down 11-10 after a 5-2 Red Raider run. Carter responded by collecting back-to-back kills, sandwiched between a pair of Kadye Fernholz kills, to push the contest to match point. Carter's 21^st kill of the night ended the match, as she picked up five in the decisive frame.

The Wildcats recorded 11 kills to Tech's five in the fifth set. Fernholz, who ended the night with 10 kills, added three while Bonde put down a pair.

TTU did not hit above .200 in sets one and two, but managed a hitting percentage over .250 in both the third and fourth sets while suppressing K-State under .200.

Bonde put down 10 of her 21 kills in the night's first two frames, with six coming in the second set at a .357 pace. The redshirt junior carded her second career match with 20 or more kills.

"Savvy and smart," Fritz said of Bonde. "She was hitting it where they weren't and not trying to necessarily always overpower, but her skillset and her strength is in her ability to hit with a tremendous amount of range, and it doesn't always have a lot of gas on it. Sometimes it does and she's capable of doing that, but I thought savvy and smart and really just great swing management by her."

K-State looked to finish off a sweep of TTU, leading 18-14 in the latter stages of the third set. However, the Red Raiders battled their way to a 22-20 lead courtesy of an 8-2 spurt that included six unanswered points.

Reagan Cooper tallied back-to-back kills to fend off match point and TTU scored the final three points to earn its first set victory. The third set held 11 tie scores and eight lead changes.

Setter Teana Adams-Kaonohi handed out a career-high 61 assists and equaled her career-best dig output with 17 for her sixth double-double of the season.

Adams-Kaonohi was one of five Wildcats to reach double-figure digs, led by Mackenzie Morris' 19. Loreen Hinkle and Jacque Smith each added a dozen while Carter finished with 10.

Hinkle and Morris turned in three service aces apiece, helping the Cats to eight aces on the night.

Haley Warner joined Bonde, Carter and Fernholz in double-digit kills with 10. Sydney Bolding chipped in seven with a pair of blocks.

TTU registered 90 digs on the night to K-State's 80. Libero KJ Adams accounted for 30 digs, a match high, while setter Alex Kirby had 19 to go with 39 assists.

Caitlin Dugan and Kenna Sauer paced the Texas Tech offense with 13 kills each while Cooper added a dozen.

The Cats and Red Raiders conclude the two-match series Thursday 6:30 p.m. at Bramlage Coliseum. Rob Voelker will have the call on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) and online at K-StateSports.com/Watch.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

K-State turned in a .190 hitting percentage (70 kills, 31 errors, 205 attempts).
Texas Tech finished with a .194 efficiency (58 kills, 23 errors, 180 attempts).
Bonde and Carter led all players with 21 kills.
Bonde's effort marked a career high and her second match reaching the 20-kill plateau.
Carter notched her fifth 20-kill performance of the season and second straight.
Carter's double-double (10 digs) was her team-leading 11^th of the season and ninth over her last 14 contests.
Adams-Kaonohi set a career best with 61 assists and matched her career-high dig output with 17.
Adams-Kaonohi's double-double was her sixth of the year and ninth of her career.
Fernholz and Warner each added 10 kills, while Fernholz carded a team-high six blocks.
As a team, the Cats' 70 kills were a season high.
Five Wildcats reached double-figure digs, led by 19 from Morris.
Hinkle and Smith accounted for a dozen digs apiece.
Hinkle and Morris led all players with three aces each.
Texas Tech held a 90-80 edge in total digs.
Adams registered 30 digs to pace all players in the match.
Three Red Raiders reached double-figure kills: Dugan (13), Sauer (13) and Cooper (12).
Six TTU players recorded multiple blocks, led by six from Kanas.
Kirby turned in a double-double for Tech, handing out 39 assists with 19 digs.

NOTES

K-State leads the all-time series with Texas Tech, 41-14, dating back to 1982.
The Wildcats have won four straight matches against the Red Raiders.
The Cats are 22-3 at home vs. TTU.
Fritz is 33-8 against the Red Raiders in her career.
Carter turned in her fifth match this season, and 11^th of her career, with 20 or more kills.
Her 11 career 20-kill efforts move her into a tie for second place in K-State history during the rally-scoring era (since 2001).
K-State moves to 4-0 in five-set matches this season and has won eight of its last nine five-setters, dating back to last season.
The Cats improve to 8-1 this season when winning the opening set.

CATS WIN!!#KStateVB pic.twitter.com/LR6bjHNOJj
— K-State Volleyball (@KStateVB) October 28, 2021

Let's gooooo#KStateVB x #BuiltDifferent pic.twitter.com/AIULteiXl2
— K-State Volleyball (@KStateVB) October 28, 2021

🟣 𝕃𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕀𝕥 𝕌𝕡 🟣#KStateVB pic.twitter.com/GPLnKed7i0
— K-State Volleyball (@KStateVB) October 28, 2021

Ah, ha, ha! That's 🔥#KStateVB x @Nike pic.twitter.com/iHRsPXflyb
— K-State Volleyball (@KStateVB) October 27, 2021

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Team Stats

Holly Bonde

Aliyah Carter

Haley Warner

Kadye Fernholz

Players Mentioned

Teana Adams-Kaonohi

Sydney Bolding

Holly Bonde

Aliyah Carter

Kadye Fernholz

Mackenzie Morris

Jacque Smith

Haley Warner

Players Mentioned

Teana Adams-Kaonohi

Sydney Bolding

Holly Bonde

Aliyah Carter

Kadye Fernholz

Mackenzie Morris

Jacque Smith

Haley Warner

Kansas State University Athletics