Kansas State University Athletics
Wednesday, March 31
Waco, TX
2 p.m.
Kansas State University
13-8,10-6Big 12
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Baylor
19-5,13-3Big 12
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Kansas St.
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Baylor
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K-State Ends Regular Season with Straight-Set Loss at No. 9 Baylor
Mar 31, 2021 | Volleyball
WACO, Texas – In the regular-season finale, K-State suffered a three-set defeat at the hands of ninth-ranked Baylor (24-26, 14-25, 23-25) in a non-conference contest Wednesday afternoon at Ferrell Center.
K-State (13-8, 10-6 Big 12) was led by a trio of players with nine kills in Aliyah Carter, Kadye Fernholz and Jayden Nembhard. Fernholz picked up her kill total at a team-high .421 efficiency while Carter matched her career high with 10 digs.
Baylor (19-5, 13-3 Big 12) owned a 45-34 edge in total kills and hit .270 to the Wildcats' .124 mark. The Bears tallied 10 total blocks as they claimed all three matchups with K-State this season.
"At times, I thought we looked really good and did a lot of positive things," said head coach Suzie Fritz. "But also, at times, we looked like freshmen and out of sorts a little bit. In sets one and three, a couple points fall our way and the match completely changes. In the second set, we didn't do a good enough job adjusting to what Baylor was throwing at us defensively. That's a tremendous team on the other side and they're top 10 in the country for a reason."
Freshman libero Mackenzie Morris logged a team-best 12 digs and has paced the Cats in digs in all 21 outings this season.
Fernholz and Shelby Martin teamed up for three block assists while Holly Bonde and Megan Vernon added two block assists each. Bonde hit .300 in recording four kills.
The opening set held 18 tie scores and seven lead changes, as the Wildcats fought off set point and evened the score at 24 before back-to-back kills gave the Bears a one-set lead. Carter and Fernholz logged four kills each to pace the K-State offense. The Cats hit .256 in the first set in collecting 15 kills while Baylor produced 17 kills at a .405 clip.
K-State hit -.182 in the second frame, as the Cats were forced into 12 errors while registering only six kills. Baylor totaled six team blocks in set two, with three coming during a late 9-2 BU scoring run. Nembhard accounted for half of the Wildcats' kills in the set.
K-State held a three-point lead late in the third set, 19-16, forcing a Baylor timeout. The Bears responded out of the break with three straight points to tie the score. The sides again were even at 22 before BU closed out the match on a 3-1 burst. The final set saw a dozen ties and four lead changes.
Fernholz notched a team-leading five kills in the third set. K-State hit .243 in picking up 13 kills. Carter and Nembhard chipped in three kills apiece. The Wildcats limited Baylor to a match-low .200 hitting efficiency.
Baylor was led by Lauren Harrison and Big 12 preseason player of the year Yossiana Pressley, who each picked up 13 kills. Harrison hit .321 while KJ Johnson tallied eight kills and hit .353.
BU libero Shanel Bramschreiber had a match-high 15 digs while Hannah Sedwick and Kara McGhee led the Baylor block with six blocks apiece.
K-State, who finished third in the Big 12 standings, will await its postseason fate as the 48-team NCAA Tournament field will be announced Sunday. The championship tournament will take place April 13-24 at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
K-State (13-8, 10-6 Big 12) was led by a trio of players with nine kills in Aliyah Carter, Kadye Fernholz and Jayden Nembhard. Fernholz picked up her kill total at a team-high .421 efficiency while Carter matched her career high with 10 digs.
Baylor (19-5, 13-3 Big 12) owned a 45-34 edge in total kills and hit .270 to the Wildcats' .124 mark. The Bears tallied 10 total blocks as they claimed all three matchups with K-State this season.
"At times, I thought we looked really good and did a lot of positive things," said head coach Suzie Fritz. "But also, at times, we looked like freshmen and out of sorts a little bit. In sets one and three, a couple points fall our way and the match completely changes. In the second set, we didn't do a good enough job adjusting to what Baylor was throwing at us defensively. That's a tremendous team on the other side and they're top 10 in the country for a reason."
Freshman libero Mackenzie Morris logged a team-best 12 digs and has paced the Cats in digs in all 21 outings this season.
Fernholz and Shelby Martin teamed up for three block assists while Holly Bonde and Megan Vernon added two block assists each. Bonde hit .300 in recording four kills.
The opening set held 18 tie scores and seven lead changes, as the Wildcats fought off set point and evened the score at 24 before back-to-back kills gave the Bears a one-set lead. Carter and Fernholz logged four kills each to pace the K-State offense. The Cats hit .256 in the first set in collecting 15 kills while Baylor produced 17 kills at a .405 clip.
K-State hit -.182 in the second frame, as the Cats were forced into 12 errors while registering only six kills. Baylor totaled six team blocks in set two, with three coming during a late 9-2 BU scoring run. Nembhard accounted for half of the Wildcats' kills in the set.
K-State held a three-point lead late in the third set, 19-16, forcing a Baylor timeout. The Bears responded out of the break with three straight points to tie the score. The sides again were even at 22 before BU closed out the match on a 3-1 burst. The final set saw a dozen ties and four lead changes.
Fernholz notched a team-leading five kills in the third set. K-State hit .243 in picking up 13 kills. Carter and Nembhard chipped in three kills apiece. The Wildcats limited Baylor to a match-low .200 hitting efficiency.
Baylor was led by Lauren Harrison and Big 12 preseason player of the year Yossiana Pressley, who each picked up 13 kills. Harrison hit .321 while KJ Johnson tallied eight kills and hit .353.
BU libero Shanel Bramschreiber had a match-high 15 digs while Hannah Sedwick and Kara McGhee led the Baylor block with six blocks apiece.
K-State, who finished third in the Big 12 standings, will await its postseason fate as the 48-team NCAA Tournament field will be announced Sunday. The championship tournament will take place April 13-24 at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State hit .124 (34 kills, 20 errors, 113 attacks).
- Baylor hit .270 (45 kills, 15 errors, 111 attacks).
- Carter, Fernholz and Nembhard all had nine kills.
- Morris had a team-high 12 digs.
- Morris has led the team in digs in all 21 matches this year.
- Fernholz had the only K-State ace of the match.
- Martin dished out 26 assists.
- Martin and Fernholz each had three blocks.
- Pressley and Harrison each had 13 kills for Baylor.
- K-State leads the all-time series 29-23.
- The Cats are 12-15 on the road in the series.
- Fritz is 22-19 against Baylor in her career.
- Baylor has won six in a row in the series, including three matchups in Waco this season.
- K-State is 5-4 on the road this season.
- The Cats went 1-5 against ranked teams this season.
- Carter's season averages of 4.11 kills per set and 4.47 points per set are the highest by a freshman in K-State history.
Team Stats
KState
Baylor
Kills
34
45
Errors
20
15
Attempts
113
111
Hitting %
.124
.270
Points
40
58
Assists
29
38
Aces
1
3
Blocks
5
10
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OPP/OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballOH/OPP
/ Volleyball
MB
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