Killing It

One sweep just wasn't enough at the Varney's Invitational for the K-State volleyball team, so it decided to get another. And then another.

Over the weekend, the team hosted the Varney's Invitational, a two-day tournament between K-State (4-3), Loyola Marymount University (4-2), Oral Roberts (2-5) and Georgia Tech (3-3). On Friday, K-State dropped both Loyola Marymount and Oral Roberts in three games apiece, and followed up the performances with another three-game defeat over Georgia Tech on Saturday.

The fans might not have been present in as strong of numbers for the 12:30 p.m. match Friday as they were for the home opener, but K-State certainly was all there. The Wildcats kicked off the first game with a nice run to take an early lead, but the Lions soon caught up to even out the game 15-all. Not to be outdone, sophomore setter Caitlyn Donahue served up three aces — two back-to-back — and made a backward, one-handed set to throw her team back up to the top. One purple run later, and K-State was at game point.

Going off the momentum boost, K-State leapt ahead and dominated the second game, ending the first rotation — in which Loyola Marymount burned up both of its timeouts in minutes — up 17-7. The Lions put together a solid run to close the gap a little, but K-State would have none of it, and left for intermission with a second game under its belt, 25-18.

Loyola Marymount mounted a fight, but a five-point run under freshman defensive specialist Tristan McCarty virtually gave the match to the Wildcats. Up 20-18, K-State pulled together a couple runs to 25-21, securing the final win.

With one match in their pocket, the Wildcats returned to the court a few hours later against Oral Roberts with a continuous push, which served to keep tallying points in small doses. After some big hits and a handful of small runs, K-State finally secured game No. 1.

The second game started out much differently. For the first nine points, neither team scored after it had served, save one for K-State. In a dead heat for the finish, the Wildcats opened up a can of something hefty; with Pelger serving, the home team took a six-point run to nearly double the Golden Eagles' score.

After one more rotation, K-State had finished the drive for game two.

Seeing another sweep opportunity, K-State came back from the ten-minute break with three runs and two aces within minutes. Up 11-2, the Wildcats kept up the effort to finish the annihilation of the Golden Eagles 25-14.

Georgia Tech proved to be K-State's most challenging opponent, but even the Yellow Jackets were not enough to stop the illustrious volleyball team.

Georgia Tech crept up the scoreboard for the first half, racking up a 14-6 lead after a brutal, timeout-busting run. With nothing much to lose, K-State began to slowly chip away at the Yellow Jackets. With three consecutive three-point runs and a follow-up five-pointer, the Wildcats tied the game at an even 20-all. The teams traded points for a bit, but K-State managed to win game one 25-23.

In the second game, the Wildcats wasted no time with a slow start; they duked it out with their opponents for a rotation, but the favor was almost always on the home team's side. With a one-point advantage for K-State, Mathewson drove up with a five-point run to settle the game dispute 18-13, and her team continued its conquest to win 25-18.

The last game was a bit tighter squeeze. With a 12-12 tie, Mathewson began a scoring run of six points to get the crowd roaring for a third sweep. The tempo shifted over to Georgia Tech to bring the team two points over K-State, but the Wildcats were set on perfection. Donahue served up three points to even the match 23-all, then closed out the tournament with a pair of unstoppable aces.

"We're feeling really good about it," said Kathleen Ludwig, sophomore opposite hitter. "We just wanted to come out and play well — put some stuff together — and I think that turned into some success for us. We're really excited about it."

After the final match, K-State head coach Suzie Fritz said she was happy with her team's improvements and accomplishments.

"We played really well tonight, and we're getting better, and we won the match," coach Fritz said. "I think it says we're getting better."

Senior outside hitter JuliAnne Chisholm led the offensive attack for K-State in all three matches, earning her the tournament's highest honor of Most Valuable Player. She hit double digits in the second and third matches and recorded her highest percentage of the weekend — .300 — against Oral Roberts.

But Chisholm turned the accolades back onto her team.

"It's great to be recognized and honored with something like this, but it wasn't me," Chisholm said. "We played wonderfully as a team; every time we've been out, we've gotten better."

Two more Wildcats joined Chisholm on the All-Tournament Team: senior libero Lauren Mathewson, who fortified the back row with 5.56 digs per game, and sophomore middle blocker Alex Muff. The latter never dropped below a .250 hitting percentage in this tournament, even going as high as .571 with eight kills and six block assists against Oral Roberts on Friday.

The Wildcats have the week off to practice before returning to action Friday in the three-match Kentucky Invitational.