In the past few weeks, five-game matches have become a regular scenario for the Wildcats.

After seeing just one match go the distance before the month of October, No. 16 K-State (19-4, 9-3 Big 12 Conference) has been taken to the limit in five of its last eight contests. That span includes the Wildcats’ 3-2 victory over Texas A&M (10-12, 5-7 Big 12) Wednesday night at Ahearn Field House.

Neither team pulled away for the majority of the match’s opening game, which featured 16 ties and seven lead changes. K-State jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, but the Aggies scored three straight to even the score.

The brief lead was the only time either squad led by more than two in the game. After trading several points, Texas A&M scored the final three to take the game, 25-23.

The Wildcats responded, catching fire in the second game. Texas A&M took a 2-1 lead early, but that was the last time they led the game. K-State used a series of short runs throughout to slowly bury the Aggies before ending on an 8-2 run to even the match with a 25-12 win.

Fueled by its momentum from the second game, K-State was again strong in the third. The Wildcats fell behind, 1-3, but hung with the Aggies and eventually took their first lead of the game at 15-14. Texas A&M evened the score several times but could never reclaim the lead as K-State held on for a 25-21 win and a 2-1 lead on the night.

Although the Wildcats appeared to have all the momentum after reeling off two straight wins, they weren’t able to close the door as the Aggies responded in the match’s fourth game. Like most of the match, neither team could gain control of the game until midway through the match when Texas A&M jumped out to a 19-14 lead. K-State went on a short 3-0 run to cut the lead to two, but that’s as close as they got as the Aggies finished off the Wildcats, 25-19.

As they have for much of the season, the Wildcats came through in the fifth and final game of the match. Texas A&M scored the first point, but K-State responded with a 4-1 run to put the Aggies away for good. Texas A&M kept the score close for most of the game, but a late 8-3 run by the Wildcats propelled them to a 15-9 win.

After the match, coach Suzie Fritz said she was pleased with the outcome, despite the close score.

“That’s the most fun I think I’ve seen my team have playing volleyball,” said Fritz, who is now just two wins from tying the school’s all-time mark. “We played loose, we played confident, we played well really for a good majority of the match, minus a few ebbs and flows. I thought [Texas A&M] played well. I thought it was a really good volleyball match.”

Fritz said she was exceptionally happy with the effort put forth by seniors Megan Farr and Nataly Korobkova.

“[Megan] put some unreal moves on a couple of people tonight,” said Fritz. “She’s 5-9 and she’s further over the net then any 6-3 player I’ve ever had. In so many ways, I like the way Nataly played tonight. Not just from an execution perspective, but the variety that she had in her shot selection I thought was tremendous.”

Korobkova, as well as fellow outside hitter Rita Liliom, led the Wildcats with 19 kills each. Senior outside hitter Jenny Jantsch and junior middle blocker Kelsey Chipman were both just shy of tallying double-digit kills, as they finished the match with nine apiece. Texas A&M was paced by Mary Batis, Sarah Ammerman and Jennifer Banse, who tallied 19, 15 and 14 kills, respectively. As a team, the Wildcats out-killed the Aggies, 64-59.

The K-State volleyball team will continue its three-match homestand when the Wildcats welcome in-state rival Kansas at 7 p.m. Saturday at Ahearn Field House.