Wildcats looking for conference victory

The K-State volleyball team will be back on the road Saturday for the second straight away game as it battles the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., at 2 p.m.

The match starts just hours before a football game with the same match-up. The Sooners are receiving votes from the AVCA.

Oklahoma (14-7, 7-5 Big 12 Conference) swept Colorado Wednesday night, but posted individual and team stats much lower than those from K-State in its match against Colorado. Meanwhile, K-State (8-13, 2-9) fell to Missouri, a despairing defeat in a highly anticipated match. Junior outside hitter JuliAnne Chisholm said that her team was disappointed, but spirits were still running high.

“Last night was frustrating, because it was not the outcome that we were looking for,” Chisholm said. “It’s not fun to lose. It brings out the not-so-good qualities. But we had a little team meeting today, we really refocused, and we had a great practice.”

Oklahoma leads the overall series 44-25. However, the record book has been dripping with purple since 1999, with the Wildcats winning 16 of 20 meetings.

Four strong defensive players appear on Oklahoma’s roster. Of those, Maria Fernanda, junior defensive specialist, leads with 376 digs, followed by senior outside hitter Bridget Laplante. Overall, the team has 1,399 digs, compared to 1,200 from K-State. Up front, sophomore right side hitter Suzy Boulavsky has swung for strong figures. Also well-rounded offensively is junior middle blocker Francie Ekwerekwu, who has 182 kills for .272 attack percentage, 11 aces and 71 total blocks.

K-State will answer with strong numbers. The back row will rally around junior libero Lauren Mathewson, fresh off capturing eighth place in career digs for K-State, with 330 digs and 17 aces this season. Her right-hand woman will be freshman defensive specialist Caitlyn Donahue, totaling an even 200 digs to pair nicely with her 11 aces. Senior middle blocker Kelsey Chipman, who performed well against Missouri despite battling sickness, will hopefully return to the court alongside freshman middle blocker and break-out star Alex Muff and the aforementioned Chisholm, who said the Wildcats will show up in Oklahoma as a new team.

“We’re excited,” Chisholm said. “We’ve got nothing to lose. We’re ready to go out there and start winning some volleyball games. We’re tired of losing. We just want to go and put everything out there and play up to our capabilities. We’re excited for Saturday.”