Kansas State University Athletics
Friday, September 3
Santa Barbara, Calif.
5 P.M.
Kansas State University
1-2,0-0Big 12
0
vs
3
Pepperdine
4-0,0-0WCC
1
2
3
F
Pepperdine
25
32
25
3
Kansas St.
22
30
22
0
Cats Fall in Straight Sets to No. 21 Pepperdine Friday
Sep 03, 2021 | Volleyball
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – K-State had three players reach double-digit kills, but No. 21 Pepperdine prevailed with a three-set victory over the Wildcats Friday in the opener of the Gaucho Invitational, 25-22, 32-30, 25-22, at the Thunderdome.
Aliyah Carter led K-State (1-2) with a dozen kills and was one dig shy of her third straight double-double to open the season. Holly Bonde and Kadye Fernholz each registered 11 kills, with Fernholz hitting a team-high .450 while Bonde turned in a .333 efficiency. Fernholz tied her career high with seven blocks and has hit .333 or higher in all three matches this season.
Pepperdine (4-0) held slim margins in total kills (48-46) and team hitting percentage, turning in a .283 mark to the Wildcats' .282. K-State, however, totaled 14 service errors over three sets to the Waves' seven.
"We hurt ourselves, really, with too many service errors," said head coach Suzie Fritz. "We played so clean in transition last weekend, and we were feeling pretty good about that phase. But today, unfortunately, that phase was not locked up. It really cost us.
"There were some untimely service errors. We are trying to find that balance between being able to score points with our serve and not hurt ourselves with our serve. I think we leave that (match) feeling like we just simply hurt ourselves more than normal and more than we can against a really good team."
The Wildcats had four set-point opportunities in the second set, their first coming after a 4-1 run to overcome a 22-20 deficit. A pair of Bonde kills handed the Cats two more chances to even the match at a set apiece, but Pepperdine rattled off four of the final five points to open a two-set lead.
K-State fended off three-point chances of its own in the second, as the frame saw 20 tie scores and eight lead changes. Bonde picked up five kills on 10 swings without committing an error while Carter and Fernholz both chipped in four kills.
The Waves led throughout the final set despite the Cats putting down 17 kills to Pepperdine's 13. K-State tossed up seven service errors without recording an ace. Carter's six kills paced all players in the set while Fernholz added four on seven swings.
In the opening set, K-State had five service errors while tallying all three of its service aces. A 6-1 Pepperdine scoring burst opened a four-point lead at 9-5. The Cats clawed within two, 19-17, before the Waves responded with three consecutive points.
Libero Mackenzie Morris led the Cats with 10 digs. Teana Adams-Kaonohi handed out 40 assists while recording seven digs, three blocks and an ace.
The Waves were led by Meg Brown with 15 kills. Brown, the 2020 West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year, hit .565 to lead all players in attacking efficiency.
Rachel Ahrens produced a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs for Pepperdine. Ahrens added four blocks.
K-State concludes the weekend with a Saturday doubleheader against host UC Santa Barbara at 2 p.m. CR and San Diego State at 6:30 p.m. CT. The matchup with the Gauchos will stream live at UCSBGauchos.com while the finale against SDSU can be heard on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM).
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Aliyah Carter led K-State (1-2) with a dozen kills and was one dig shy of her third straight double-double to open the season. Holly Bonde and Kadye Fernholz each registered 11 kills, with Fernholz hitting a team-high .450 while Bonde turned in a .333 efficiency. Fernholz tied her career high with seven blocks and has hit .333 or higher in all three matches this season.
Pepperdine (4-0) held slim margins in total kills (48-46) and team hitting percentage, turning in a .283 mark to the Wildcats' .282. K-State, however, totaled 14 service errors over three sets to the Waves' seven.
"We hurt ourselves, really, with too many service errors," said head coach Suzie Fritz. "We played so clean in transition last weekend, and we were feeling pretty good about that phase. But today, unfortunately, that phase was not locked up. It really cost us.
"There were some untimely service errors. We are trying to find that balance between being able to score points with our serve and not hurt ourselves with our serve. I think we leave that (match) feeling like we just simply hurt ourselves more than normal and more than we can against a really good team."
The Wildcats had four set-point opportunities in the second set, their first coming after a 4-1 run to overcome a 22-20 deficit. A pair of Bonde kills handed the Cats two more chances to even the match at a set apiece, but Pepperdine rattled off four of the final five points to open a two-set lead.
K-State fended off three-point chances of its own in the second, as the frame saw 20 tie scores and eight lead changes. Bonde picked up five kills on 10 swings without committing an error while Carter and Fernholz both chipped in four kills.
The Waves led throughout the final set despite the Cats putting down 17 kills to Pepperdine's 13. K-State tossed up seven service errors without recording an ace. Carter's six kills paced all players in the set while Fernholz added four on seven swings.
In the opening set, K-State had five service errors while tallying all three of its service aces. A 6-1 Pepperdine scoring burst opened a four-point lead at 9-5. The Cats clawed within two, 19-17, before the Waves responded with three consecutive points.
Libero Mackenzie Morris led the Cats with 10 digs. Teana Adams-Kaonohi handed out 40 assists while recording seven digs, three blocks and an ace.
The Waves were led by Meg Brown with 15 kills. Brown, the 2020 West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year, hit .565 to lead all players in attacking efficiency.
Rachel Ahrens produced a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs for Pepperdine. Ahrens added four blocks.
K-State concludes the weekend with a Saturday doubleheader against host UC Santa Barbara at 2 p.m. CR and San Diego State at 6:30 p.m. CT. The matchup with the Gauchos will stream live at UCSBGauchos.com while the finale against SDSU can be heard on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM).
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State finished with a .282 attack percentage (46 kills, 15 errors, 110 attacks).
- Pepperdine hit .283 for the match (48 kills, 16 errors, 113 attacks).
- Carter had a team-high 12 kills and was one dig shy of her third straight double-double.
- Bonde and Fernholz each added 11 kills.
- Bonde hit .333 while Fernholz led K-State with her .450 hitting percentage.
- Fernholz has hit .333 or better in all three matches this season.
- The Cats had four set-point chances in the second set.
- Fernholz tied her career high with seven blocks (1 solo, 6 assists).
- Morris paced the back row with 10 digs.
- The Cats recorded 14 service errors against three aces.
- Pepperdine had seven service errors to go with a pair of aces.
- The Waves' Brown led all players with 15 kills at a .565 clip.
- Ahrens added 11 kills for Pepperdine.
- Pepperdine leads the all-time series 3-1.
- The meeting marked the first matchup between the teams since the Sweet 16 in the 2011 NCAA Volleyball Championship.
- Fritz is 0-2 against the Waves in her career.
- Pepperdine marked the second straight ranked opponent the Wildcats have faced.
Team Stats
PEP
KState
Kills
48
46
Errors
16
15
Attempts
113
110
Hitting %
.283
.282
Points
56
57
Assists
47
44
Aces
2
3
Blocks
6
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballOPP/OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
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