Carter Puts Down 18 Kills, Cats Fall to No. 10 Baylor

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Aliyah Carter led all players Sunday with 18 kills, but No. 10 Baylor hit .398 as a team and completed a straight-set victory in the series finale at Bramlage Coliseum, 25-22, 25-17, 25-15.

Carter's match-high kill total came at a .275 pace, as she had 18 of K-State's 41 total kills. Kadye Fernholz chipped in eight kills while Jayden Nembhard added five. The Wildcats (9-4, 0-2 Big 12) hit .202 on the day, but the Bears (7-3, 2-0 Big 12) turned in an efficiency over .400 in each of the first two sets.

"I thought our side out efficiency was much better," said head coach Suzie Fritz. "I thought (Aliyah) Carter had a day. I thought she was tremendous. To hit .275 against a really good defensive team and make some really good attack choices. The rhythm between her and Te (Adams-Kaonohi) felt really good in this one, and I thought she held up well in serve receive, as well.

"I thought we put a little more pressure on them with our serving. Scoring points against these guys proved to be incredibly difficult. To put together any kind of a point-scoring run against them even when we were forcing them out of system."

Carter's stat line showed 14 kills through two sets, including seven on 11 swings without an error in the opening set. Teana Adams-Kaonohi had 16 assists on her team's 19 kills in set one, helping the Cats to a 19-17 edge in kills.

Adams-Kaonohi, who finished the day with 34 assists in addition to a team-best four blocks, aided the Wildcats' .395 team efficiency in the first set.

Baylor's hitting trio of Yossiana Pressley (13), Avery Skinner (10) and Lauren Harrison (5) accounted for 28 of the Bears' 42 kills. Pressley hit .310 while Skinner produced a .304 efficiency with Harrison's .273.

"I think the combination of Skinner, Pressley and Harrison, that's a really elite pin trio that is tough to contend with and that's back-to-back nights that they've gotten away from us," Fritz added. "I think they're likely to get away from a lot of people."

K-State trimmed a six-point deficit (20-14) to just two late in the first set following a kill from Fernholz, 23-21. Fernholz did not commit an error on eight swings with five kills, hitting .625. In the set, Carter and Fernholz combined for a dozen kills on 19 attempts without an error.

BU hit a match-best .438, logging 17 kills with three errors. Pressley matched Carter's seven kills, as she hit .385.

Carter added seven more kills in the second set. As a team, the Cats totaled 13 kills and hit .194. Baylor hummed at a .407 clip, with five kills on nine swings by Skinner.

Baylor closed set two on a 5-2 scoring run, capped by Pressley's fourth kill of the frame. Skinner paced BU with five in the set.

Entering the third set with just 10 attacking errors, K-State was forced into 10 in the final set by itself. The Cats recorded just nine kills for a -.033 attacking efficiency. Carter put down four of her team's nine kills while Haley Warner produced three.

The Bears put together two separate 7-1 scoring runs midway through set three to go with a late 5-1 burst.

K-State libero Mackenzie Morris tallied a match-high 11 digs while Loren Hinkle and Jacque Smith each registered five.

Sydney Bolding picked up three block assists while Fernholz added a pair.

All four of K-State's losses have come to nationally ranked teams, with three of the four coming against the nation's top 10.

K-State's next two-match set is against the Oklahoma Sooners next Friday and Saturday at McCasland Field House in Norman, Oklahoma. Both matches will be broadcast on Bally Sports with radio coverage available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) and at K-StateSports.com/Watch.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

K-State produced a .202 hitting percentage (41 kills, 20 errors, 104 attacks).
Baylor hit .398 (42 kills, 9 errors, 83 attacks).
Carter led all player with 18 kills.
Fernholz added eight kills and Nembhard tallied five.
Morris had a match-high 11 digs and Hinkle and Smith tallied five apiece.
Adams-Kaonohi dished out 34 assists with a team-leading four blocks.
Bolding picked up three block assists and K-State finished the day with five total blocks.
The Wildcats failed to register a service ace for the second straight match.
Conversely, K-State committed seven service errors.
Baylor tallied six aces against four errors.
Pressley led BU with 13 kills and a .310 hitting efficiency.
Skinner logged 10 kills at a .304 clip.
Sedwick totaled 36 assists with nine digs.
Baylor's .398 hitting percentage marked a season high for a K-State opponent.

NOTES

K-State leads the all-time series with Baylor, 29-25.
The Bears have won the last eight matchups in the series, dating back to 2018.
Fritz is 22-21 in her career against BU.
The Wildcats are 17-10 at home vs. Baylor.
K-State dropped back-to-back matches for just the second time this season.
The Cats fall to 2-3 in three-set matches.
The Wildcats begin Big 12 play with an 0-2 record for the first time since 2017.
All four of K-State's losses have come to nationally ranked teams, including three against the top 10.

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Team Stats

Aliyah Carter

Kadye Fernholz

Jayden Nembhard

Haley Warner

Players Mentioned

Teana Adams-Kaonohi

Sydney Bolding

Aliyah Carter

Kadye Fernholz

Loren Hinkle

Mackenzie Morris

Jayden Nembhard

Jacque Smith

Haley Warner

Players Mentioned

Teana Adams-Kaonohi

Sydney Bolding

Aliyah Carter

Kadye Fernholz

Loren Hinkle

Mackenzie Morris

Jayden Nembhard

Jacque Smith

Haley Warner

Kansas State University Athletics