On the eve of the Sunflower Showdown, the odds seemed to favor the home team.

The K-State volleyball team had momentum coming off its first conference win against the Missouri Tigers. Meanwhile, KU was coming off its fifth straight loss. Also, the Wildcats have beaten the Jayhawks 26 out of 28 times since 1996.

But it all meant nothing at the end of the day.

K-State (7-11, 1-7 Big 12 Conference) did everything to give away the match to Kansas, and the Jayhawks (10-8, 3-6) took advantage.

"We didn't keep any kind of pressure on them whatsoever," said head coach Suzie Fritz. "I thought they played very well. I thought we played very poorly as far as defensive consistency and our serving."

Fritz's observation was evidenced in the first set. The two teams never broke away from each other until Kansas scored three straight points to take a 14-10 lead. The Wildcats marched back and got back within one at 21-20, but KU ended the first set on a four-point run, winning the set 25-21.

In the second set, the two teams were once again deadlocked, with neither team gaining a significant advantage until the Jayhawks scored four consecutive points to take a 24-20 lead. K-State won a point, but Kansas took the second set again at 25-21.

The Wildcats jumped out to an early lead in the third set, until the Jayhawks tied it at 6-6. Kansas held on to that lead until senior middle blocker Kelsey Chipman picked up two kills that highlighted a four-point run to take a 22-20 lead. Kansas answered with five straight points to win the set 25-22, and the match 3-0.

Sophomore outside hitter Allison Mayfield led the Jayhawks with 14 kills and added 7 digs. Senior middle blocker Paige Mazour added nine more kills with a .643-hitting percentage. Kansas hit .312 as a team, picking up most of that in the second set where they hit .565.

K-State was led by junior outside hitter Vanessa Murray, who had 14 kills and was the only Wildcat to break double digits. K-State hit .164 as a team and had 20 hitting errors.

The Wildcats continue conference action and head to Boulder, Colo., to take on the Colorado Buffaloes Wednesday night. First serve is set for 8 p.m.