No. 12 K-State defeated Colorado 3-0 (30-17, 30-26, 30-16) Saturday night, but that wasn't why the Wildcats had tears in their eyes.
Seniors Angie Lastra, Lauren Rosenthal and Stacey Spiegelberg played their last regular-season match at Ahearn Field House.
"It was so emotional," said Lastra, who is K-State's career digs leader. "It was great to have all of the fans there for support. I am so glad that I made the decision (to come to K-State)."
Lastra finished with a match-high 10 digs and has tallied more than 400 on the season. She is the only player in K?State history to surpass the 400-dig mark in four-consecutive seasons.
"I am very proud to be her coach," Fritz said. "She is wonderful to watch and wonderful to coach. She is very humble."
After the match, the Senior Night festivities began. K-State President Jon Wefald and Athletics Director Tim Weiser presented each senior with flowers and a framed collage of photos with a jersey.
Spiegelberg contributed a match-high 43 assists while adding five kills and a service ace.
Rosenthal posted eight digs and an ace.
"I felt like we had a little bit of a turnaround with this match," Fritz said. "We played sharper than we had in the last three-consecutive matches. I do feel like we are on our way back up, but a little bit of rest will do us good."
Junior Rita Liliom led the Wildcats' attack with 17 kills on .438 hitting. K-State hit .393 as a team, while Colorado finished with a .168 hitting percentage.
The Wildcats' victory moves them to 22-7 overall and 14-5 in Big 12 Conference play. The Buffaloes (6-20, 1-17 Big 12) continued to struggle, losing for the 20th time this season.
"I liked the sense of urgency we came out with in the start of the match," Fritz said. "I felt like we were focused and loose."
After game one, K-State had 20 kills on .679 hitting, including three aces.
There were 1,824 fans in attendance to watch the Wildcats, and the short match ended in 81 minutes.
Six K-State players posted double-digit attacks, led by Liliom's 32.
"(Our hitting) was relatively balanced," Fritz said. "We don't want to have to ride one player like Rita or Nataly (Korobkova), and have to have them take 60 percent of the swings. We want to get our quick hitters involved."
K-State essentially has secured an NCAA tournament berth, with only No. 3 Texas left on its regular season schedule. The Wildcats will face the Longhorns on Saturday at Austin, Texas, at 6:30 p.m.
"I'm a little bit sad because I love playing for K-State, but we have a long ways to go still," Spiegelberg said. "We have some high expectations for the postseason. The Sweet 16 or Elite Eight isn't an unrealistic goal."
Selections for the tournament will be announced Sunday at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
