Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, November 25
Houston, Texas
2 p.m.
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Houston
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K-State Drops Regular Season Finale at #22 Houston
Nov 25, 2023 | Volleyball
HOUSTON, Texas – K-State's Aliyah Carter turned in 15 kills Saturday, but No. 22 Houston picked up the four-set victory (19-25, 29-27, 25-18, 25-11), in the regular-season finale at the Fertitta Center.
In the first-ever Big 12 competition between the two programs, the Cougars (18-9, 11-7 Big 12) hit .206 as a team (55 kills, 26 errors) with two players reaching double figure kills. Kenna Sauer, a native of Ankeny, Iowa, paced both squads with 25 kills for an impressive .357 hitting percentage while Katie Corelli added 11 kills for the Cougars.
In just the fourth four-set match of the season, K-State (16-11, 10-8 Big 12) was limited to a .121 hitting percentage (41 kills, 24 errors), while 53 digs, 36 assists, five aces and eight blocks.
Senior Aliyah Carter was the lone Wildcat to reach double figures as the Dubuque, Iowa product produced 15 kills to go along with nine digs and two service aces.
Aniya Clinton added nine kills for the Cats offense followed by Sydney Bolding (6) and Kadye Ferholz (5).
On defense, Mackenzie Morris turned in a match-high 17 digs followed by Liz Gregorski with 10. Bolding generated a match-high seven blocks while Clinton had three.
FROM THE WILDCATS
Jason Mansfield, K-State Head Coach
Overall Thoughts…
"Congratulations to Houston. I thought they played exceptional defense. After the first set, we got pretty tight and had some plays in the second set that I think would have potentially changed the match and put us up 2-0. I like our chances there, and it wasn't for lack of effort, but I think that their serve and their defense was really good and did a great job of slowing us down."
On first season as a head coach in the books…
"Just a lot of gratitude. I mean, it's been an up and down season for sure, but just so many great memories. Hope it's not over. As I told the players, I would love to coach them for at least another week, but that's out of our hands. It's been special because of the people on the team, and how much they've improved, and how much they've grown this season. I'm obviously really proud of them, but I still feel like we can get better. So hope we have another week to do that. I couldn't ask for anything more in my first season."
SET-BY-SET
Set One – K-State 25, Houston 19
K-State took advantage of an 8-0 scoring run to grasp a 9-1 lead in the first behind eight consecutive serves from Szulczewski.
Houston cut the lead to four, 12-8, until Fernholz connected on a pass from Szulczewski to ignite another impressive run sealing a Wildcat set win.
K-State forced 10 errors from Houston as the Cougars were held to a .029 efficiency five kills coming from Sauer, while the Cats hit .190. Three Wildcats registered three kills in the opening set with Carter, Clinton and Bolding.
Set Two – Houston 29, K-State 27
Tied at 10-10, K-State rallied behind a kill from Carter to put together a 5-1 scoring run, forcing a timeout from Houston.
Following the mid-set break, the Cougars scored three straight points with a block assist from Morin and Corelli along with an ace from Tullos.
After 10 tie scores, the Cats used a 3-0 run to take a two-point lead, 24-22, until the Cougars leveled the score at 25-all.
With the set tied at 27-27, a service error handed the Cougars the go-ahead lead before Sauer delivered the final blow with her 15th kill of the match.
Sauer led the set with 10 kills for the Cougars offense that hit .136 in the set while the Wildcats had a .211 hitting percentage with six from Carter.
Set Three – Houston 25, K-State 18
After back-and-forth action, Houston grabbed hold of a 14-11 lead before an attack error ended the Cougars 4-1 run.
After a media timeout, Clinton laid down her eighth kill of the afternoon before an attack error by the Cougars' Tullos brought the set back within one.
UH turned in a 7-2 closing run behind three kills from Sauer to secure the third set. The Cougars hit a match-high .353 in the third (16 kills, four errors).
Set Four – Houston 25, K-State 11
Houston turned in a .333 hitting percentage (15 kills, 4 errors) while the Cats were held to just three kills (-.174) in the fourth and final set.
INSIDE THE BOX
The Wildcats will await their postseason fate as the NCAA Division I Volleyball Selection Committee will announce the pairings for the 2023 NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship on Sunday at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN. The first round of the NCAA Tournament begins Thursday, November 30 on campus sites.
In the first-ever Big 12 competition between the two programs, the Cougars (18-9, 11-7 Big 12) hit .206 as a team (55 kills, 26 errors) with two players reaching double figure kills. Kenna Sauer, a native of Ankeny, Iowa, paced both squads with 25 kills for an impressive .357 hitting percentage while Katie Corelli added 11 kills for the Cougars.
In just the fourth four-set match of the season, K-State (16-11, 10-8 Big 12) was limited to a .121 hitting percentage (41 kills, 24 errors), while 53 digs, 36 assists, five aces and eight blocks.
Senior Aliyah Carter was the lone Wildcat to reach double figures as the Dubuque, Iowa product produced 15 kills to go along with nine digs and two service aces.
Aniya Clinton added nine kills for the Cats offense followed by Sydney Bolding (6) and Kadye Ferholz (5).
On defense, Mackenzie Morris turned in a match-high 17 digs followed by Liz Gregorski with 10. Bolding generated a match-high seven blocks while Clinton had three.
FROM THE WILDCATS
Jason Mansfield, K-State Head Coach
Overall Thoughts…
"Congratulations to Houston. I thought they played exceptional defense. After the first set, we got pretty tight and had some plays in the second set that I think would have potentially changed the match and put us up 2-0. I like our chances there, and it wasn't for lack of effort, but I think that their serve and their defense was really good and did a great job of slowing us down."
On first season as a head coach in the books…
"Just a lot of gratitude. I mean, it's been an up and down season for sure, but just so many great memories. Hope it's not over. As I told the players, I would love to coach them for at least another week, but that's out of our hands. It's been special because of the people on the team, and how much they've improved, and how much they've grown this season. I'm obviously really proud of them, but I still feel like we can get better. So hope we have another week to do that. I couldn't ask for anything more in my first season."
SET-BY-SET
Set One – K-State 25, Houston 19
K-State took advantage of an 8-0 scoring run to grasp a 9-1 lead in the first behind eight consecutive serves from Szulczewski.
Houston cut the lead to four, 12-8, until Fernholz connected on a pass from Szulczewski to ignite another impressive run sealing a Wildcat set win.
K-State forced 10 errors from Houston as the Cougars were held to a .029 efficiency five kills coming from Sauer, while the Cats hit .190. Three Wildcats registered three kills in the opening set with Carter, Clinton and Bolding.
Set Two – Houston 29, K-State 27
Tied at 10-10, K-State rallied behind a kill from Carter to put together a 5-1 scoring run, forcing a timeout from Houston.
Following the mid-set break, the Cougars scored three straight points with a block assist from Morin and Corelli along with an ace from Tullos.
After 10 tie scores, the Cats used a 3-0 run to take a two-point lead, 24-22, until the Cougars leveled the score at 25-all.
With the set tied at 27-27, a service error handed the Cougars the go-ahead lead before Sauer delivered the final blow with her 15th kill of the match.
Sauer led the set with 10 kills for the Cougars offense that hit .136 in the set while the Wildcats had a .211 hitting percentage with six from Carter.
Set Three – Houston 25, K-State 18
After back-and-forth action, Houston grabbed hold of a 14-11 lead before an attack error ended the Cougars 4-1 run.
After a media timeout, Clinton laid down her eighth kill of the afternoon before an attack error by the Cougars' Tullos brought the set back within one.
UH turned in a 7-2 closing run behind three kills from Sauer to secure the third set. The Cougars hit a match-high .353 in the third (16 kills, four errors).
Set Four – Houston 25, K-State 11
Houston turned in a .333 hitting percentage (15 kills, 4 errors) while the Cats were held to just three kills (-.174) in the fourth and final set.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Wildcats suffered a four-set loss in the season finale, 25-19, 27-29, 18-25, 11-25
- K-State hit .124 with 41 kills and 24 errors
- The match had 16 scores and nine lead changes
- Carter posted 15 kills (.074) along with nine digs
- Clinton followed with nine kills and three blocks
- Szulczewski dished out 29 assists with five digs
- Morris produced a match-high 17 digs followed by Gregorski with 10
- Bolding turned in a match-high seven blocks.
- The Cats out-blocked the Cougars, 8-6.
- UH hit .206 (55 kills, 26 errors)
- Sauer had a match-high 25 kills (.357) with eight digs.
- Corelli was the second Cougar to reach double digit kills with 11
- The Wildcats ended the regular season 16-11 overall with a 10-8 record in Big 12 action
- K-State finished 4-7 on the road, including 3-6 in conference
- The Cats are 1-3 in four-set matches
- In 27 total matches, K-State is 14-2 when winning the first set
- The Cougars leveled the all-time series, 4-4
The Wildcats will await their postseason fate as the NCAA Division I Volleyball Selection Committee will announce the pairings for the 2023 NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship on Sunday at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN. The first round of the NCAA Tournament begins Thursday, November 30 on campus sites.
Team Stats
KState
UH
Kills
41
55
Errors
24
26
Attempts
140
141
Hitting %
.121
.206
Points
54.0
67.0
Assists
36
53
Aces
5
6
Blocks
8
6
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
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