The No. 14 K-State volleyball team beat No. 22 Iowa State in straight sets on Wednesday in Ahearn Field House, boosting their overall record to 16-1. This was not only the first time that the Wildcats have beaten the Cyclones since 2007, but also the first time they have won a set against the Cyclones since 2008. The Wildcats now lead the country with 13 wins in straight sets.
“I felt good about that one, I thought we played really well,” said head coach Suzie Fritz.
Leading the way for the Wildcats was junior middle blocker Kaitlynn Pelger with 16 kills and nine digs. Both Pelger and senior middle blocker Alex Muff, hit over .500, and Muff added eight kills.
“It was a great win, they are a great team,” Pelger said. “They are such a great team, and we haven’t beaten them, I haven’t beaten them since I’ve been here.”
K-State came out strong in the first set with a 25-15 win. The Wildcats put up a .632 hitting percentage, including 13 kills.
The Cyclones came out fast in the second set, taking a quick 10-5 lead over the Wildcats early on. After pushing the lead to 18-14, K-State was able to fight back and win the set 27-25.
“We are the kind of team that sometimes gets in ruts, so I thought that was really good sign for us to kind of be able to work our way out of it and find a way to win that set,” Muff said.
After the long-fought second set, the Wildcats were able to complete the sweep by winning the final set 25-17.
“I don’t pay any attention to what happened in the past,” Fritz said. “I think we have a good team that can beat a lot of people. I pay a lot less attention to what’s happened in the past, I think we are constantly looking forward in terms of what’s next.”
What is next for the Wildcats is a match against the No. 9 University of Texas Longhorns on Saturday in Ahearn Field House. This will be the second-ranked team that K-State plays this week. K-State is currently undefeated against ranked teams this season.
“We’re going to do the best that we can do every single time,” Pelger said. “We don’t know absolutely anything yet, we will go into them tomorrow, prepare for them tomorrow and Friday, and go into Saturday strong and ready to battle.”
