K-State defeats Kansas in four games

Wednesday night, the K-State volleyball team proved that cats really do eat birds, even mythical ones with a funny aftertaste reminiscent of bad hair gel and hemp.

K-State (6-5, 1-0 Big 12 Conference) defeated the University of Kansas (9-3, 0-1) in a four-game match that came down to the final points.

"I thought we were dialed in, for lack of a better term," head coach Suzie Fritz said. "I thought we were pretty focused; we were playing disciplined early on."

Fritz said the assistant coaches had prepared the team well before the match.

Sophomore middle blocker Alex Muff took player of the match after two career-highs, one with 12 kills and a .500 hitting percentage and the other with 9 block assists. Muff put the numbers back onto the strong support play from her team.

"A lot of that goes to my teammates," Muff said. "(Caitlyn) Donahue set me amazing tonight. My passers — Tristan (McCarty) and Lauren (Mathewson) — did awesome. Obviously, I can't hit unless I get a pass or a set, so I think that's definitely props to them."

There were two double-doubles in the night, with sophomore setter Donahue recording 45 assists and 12 digs, and senior outside hitter JuliAnne Chisholm hitting 15 kills and just falling into double digits on digs. Sophomore opposite hitter Kathleen Ludwig put up eight kills for a .438 hitting percentage.

A hit from freshman middle blocker Kaitlynn Pelger set off a series of runs for K-State, each three points, to bring the game to 7-3. The Jayhawks grabbed two more, and then senior libero Mathewson served up five straight to extend the lead to 13-5. Three more points went K-State's way —highlighted by Mathewson's pancake during a long rally — to end the first rotation 16-6. With Kansas having burned through both of its timeouts, the Wildcats continued on to the finish, sucking up the remaining points to shut out the Jayhawks 25-15.

The home team wasted no time in pumping up its statistics. Muff soared out to a .600 hitting percentage with four kills and four block assists. But it didn't stop there, as Ludwig hit .500.

The Jayhawks apparently woke up some in the second game, as they gave K-State a run for its money, but the effort still was not enough. The teams went point for point, ending the first rotation 9-7 Kansas. Two small runs put K-State back in the lead, but Kansas tied the game 15-all. Another straight swap kept the competition close until K-State finally opened up. Tied 20-all, the Wildcats set up a three-point run to pull within two of a win after freshman defensive specialist McCarty's ace. A hit by Chisholm put K-State at game point, and Donahue and Muff paired up for a brick roof to take the game 25-20.

Fritz said the first game was one of the best that her team has ever played, but the back-to-back stellar performances were even better.

"I think the combination of the first two games, in a lot of ways, was the best two-game set that we put together, which I'm more excited about," Fritz said. "Anybody can play well for one game, one point, one something. It's a matter of being able to put it together over time."

The Jayhawks returned from intermission a new team. A six-point run, which broke two timeouts, put Kansas ahead 9-4. Feeling the heat, K-State returned fire with four of its own to tie the game 10-all after Mathewson found the weak link in the opposing defense and fired up two great serves. Runs from both teams moved the score closer to the end. Kansas grabbed two in a row to move to game point, but a net violation shifted possession back to K-State. Ludwig took an ace to almost stop the win, but the Jayhawks managed to hold on for one more to win their first game 25-23.

Muff said that her team decided to not concede any more games.

"I think it was just kind of a matter of fact that we weren't having it," she said.

However, the Wildcats checked out in the beginning of game four. To start it off, Kansas scored five points right off the bat and then five more a few serves later to lead 13-5. The score grew from there with back-and-forth play until K-State made a complete reversal. Sitting on a nine-point deficit, the Wildcats strung together six points to narrow the gap considerably. A volley of minuscule runs pushed the game up until Kansas was sitting on game point.

Down 21-24, K-State forced the ball back to its side and took four more to pull ahead one and send the game into extra points. Pelger lit up the scoreboard for her team, hitting four kills in the last eight points, and sent the crowd into a deafening roar when the final ball dropped in favor of K-State 31-29.

Fritz gave a large amount of credit to the student fans in attendance for their help in getting the win.

"It's truly unbelievable what's happening in the Field House, the students and their participation in the match," Fritz said. "I hope that they understand how many points they're worth for us right now."

The Wildcats return to action this weekend with an away match against Texas Tech.