Wildcats frustrated with loss to Jayhawks

In front a packed crowd, KU swept K-State at Horejsi Center in Lawrence Wednesday night in a repeat of their performance in Manhattan earlier this season.

The Jayhawks (10-15, 4-11 Big 12 Conference) took the first two sets by six points each. K-State (14-11, 6-9) rallied back for a close third game, but its efforts proved unsuccessful when KU finalized the match at 25-23.

After the match, head coach Suzie Fritz said her team was disappointed with a double sweep from its rival.

"We're frustrated," Fritz said. "They had our number this year, for sure. We played very poorly both times."

After trading points to begin the match, the Jayhawks took an early lead to put them ahead 10-6. K-State managed to stop the run five points in, but KU returned with another three points to keep its lead 15-9.

A timeout from K-State brought back the rally and started a drive of steady points that would bring the score to 21-14. From there, the Wildcats found their first string of the night to narrow the gap to 17-22. The run was not enough as KU claimed the first game as their own with a final score of 25-19.

Junior JuliAnne Chisholm recorded the strongest numbers on K-State's side with three kills for a .375 hitting percentage.

KU commenced game two with double points for every one point on K-State's side up to 6-3, when K-State found an ace from senior setter Soriana Pacheco and a small run to level the match 11-all. Both teams scrapped together a handful of small runs to keep the game close, until the Jayhawks scored four consecutive points to secure the second game at 25-19.

By the end of game two, three players from KU had swung for hitting percentages above .300, the goal for K-State.

Up two games, the Jayhawks returned from the intermission with two immediate aces from sophomore setter Nicole Tate. The rest of the rotation was filled with mistakes and service errors on both sides. K-State changed gears in the second rotation to pull even at 15-all, followed by three-point runs on each side of the net. KU found its stride under senior middle blocker Paige Mazour to take a lead within two points of a match win, but K-State returned the heat with an ace and a point to pull within one. However, the Jayhawks were determined for a sweep, and they got it after a long serve from K-State to take the game and the match at 25-23.

Three Jayhawks recorded hitting percentages above .300, with junior outside hitter Karina Garlington and sophomore outside hitter Allison Mayfield also scoring double digits in kills. Defensively, the team was outplayed in blocks by K-State, but it registered modestly more digs as a whole, with 45 digs to K-State's 38.

For K-State, freshman defensive specialist Caitlyn Donahue reclaimed her original position and started all-around. She led the team, and nearly the match, offensively, with 13 kills for a .346 hitting percentage.

Junior libero Lauren Mathewson stopped her spree of record-breaking performances, but still had more digs than any other player on the court.

After the match, Donahue saved a lengthy speech for other times, instead opting for two words to sum up her team's feelings: "Pretty disappointed."

K-State will return to action when it takes the court against Iowa State Saturday in Ahearn Field House.