Volleyball looks to continue success Sunday

The K-State volleyball team will return to action Sunday against Texas Tech, capping a two-match stint at home.

The teams were originally slated to play in September, but Texas Tech was forced to reschedule following a bout of flu that hit six players, according to a news release from Texas Tech.

K-State has defeated Texas Tech in 15 of the last 17 meetings, highlighted by an eight-match winning streak from 2005 that remains unbroken. The Red Raiders have won only once in Ahearn Field House.

The Wildcats (9-14, 3-10 Big 12 Conference) upset No. 23 Texas A&M Wednesday night in Manhattan in a five-game match. Senior middle blocker Kelsey Chipman said the match ranked in the top three of her favorite matches at K-State, adding that the win was long overdue.

“It’s so great to finally play to our potential,” Chipman said. “It would have been really easy to shut the door, but we kept going and kept pushing and never gave up, and so I was really proud of everyone.”

Texas Tech (2-19, 0-12) was swept on the road last Saturday at Baylor. Due to the conflict with the flu outbreak, the Red Raiders will be playing back-to-back matches this weekend, the first at home on Saturday evening and the second in Manhattan on Sunday evening. They have not won a single game at home or on the road this season, only winning twice on neutral courts.

Sophomore middle blocker Amanda Dowdy leads Texas Tech in kills per set, followed by junior middle blocker Barbara Conceicao, who leads the team in blocks. The Red Raiders’ back row will center around senior libero Jenn Goehry, who has 152 digs and eight aces, and Dowdy, who has recorded 124 digs and a team-high 18 aces.

K-State’s front row saw strong numbers against Texas A&M. Chipman, who leads the Big 12 in hitting percentage at .364, will return to the Purple Pit with a new K-State record in assisted blocks. Junior outside hitter JuliAnne Chisholm leads the team in kills with 284, averaging 3.19 per game. Both players were recently named to the first team Academic All-District VII Team for their collegiate success.

In the back row, junior libero Lauren Mathewson has an average of 4.66 digs per game with 18 total aces. She claimed another record Wednesday after recording 41 digs, the most ever in one match at K-State. She will be joined by freshman defensive specialist Caitlyn Donahue, who ran a string of kills against Texas A&M to put her back up front for two games. After the match on Wednesday, she said her team refused to concede, despite a large deficit.

“We came in the huddle and said, ‘We’re not giving up. We’re not going to lose these matches,’” Donahue said. “We were down in that fifth game, but there was no one time when I felt like our team was about to give up or about to lose. We kept firing back.”

The Wildcats plan to continue their perseverance Sunday night in Ahearn Field House. The match against Texas Tech is set for 6 p.m. Chipman said her team will try for a strong finish in the final seven matches of the season.

“It’s late, and it might be too late for us, but we’re going to end as strong as we can. We’re going to knock off as many teams as we can,” she said.