K-State concludes first round of conference play against Baylor

This is the end. Well, kind of. The end of the first round, at least.

Tonight, when the K-State volleyball team (9-11, 3-6 Big 12 Conference) plays on the road against Baylor University (10-10, 3-6 Big 12), it will conclude the first round of conference play, meaning K-State has faced all 10 of its Big 12 opponents. K-State head coach Suzie Fritz said she thinks the second round will be better than the first.

"We need to be better in the second half," Fritz said. "We had a few missed opportunities the first half, and I think we can continue to grow and improve, and we have a whole second half of the season to prove that."

The Wildcats seem to have decided to save the most even matchup until the end, as the resemblance between the two teams could hardly be any closer.

Their records are nearly identical; their standings in the conference are nearly identical; the teams whom they have defeated are nearly identical. However, there are some differences.

As far as differences in players, there is the back row. K-State's celebrated senior libero, Lauren Mathewson, is nudging against the No. 2 spot for career digs at her school, and she is currently recording 4.57 digs per game. For the Bears, Caitlyn Trice took over the libero position this year, where she is doing remarkably well. With her whopping 5.35 digs per game, Trice leads the Big 12 by a considerable gap.

As a team, Baylor also has K-State beat in the back row; the Bears have 18.79 digs per game — far beyond any other team in the league — while K-State lays claim to 13.94.

For the other positions on the court, the players are paired very well with their respective counterparts, showing a decent amount of comparable skill.

The other major point of difference between the teams is which teams have defeated them in the first round of conference play.

Early in the season, K-State lost to Colorado in five games, but Baylor recently swept the Buffaloes on the road. Conversely, Kansas shut out Baylor last Wednesday in four, while K-State did the exact same to Kansas at the very beginning of the conference season.

One might try to single these events out in the hopes of drawing some conclusion, but the singularity of the outcomes of these matches prevents any extrapolation or prediction for the one tonight.

For this match, Fritz made two points that she would like her team to improve on.

"Until we can try to solidify our serve receive and until we can try to side out at a higher level, we're going to have our struggles," Fritz said. "And so, that's been our focus." She said this could include changes in the starting lineup.

First serve is set for 7 p.m. in Waco, Texas. Fans unable to attend the match can listen on KMAN 1350.